Road Trip Cost Calculator
Estimate the total cost of a driving road trip including fuel, tolls, food and accommodation.
Formula last reviewed 4 August 2026 · How we verify our calculators
Total trip cost
- Fuel
- ₹4,000
- Tolls
- ₹500
- Food
- ₹1,500
- Accommodation
- ₹2,500
Updates live as you type
Frequently asked questions
It is driving-focused: fuel (from distance, mileage and fuel price), tolls, food and accommodation. Accommodation is charged for nights, which is days minus one.
Distance ÷ mileage gives litres, multiplied by the fuel price. For a round trip, enter the total there-and-back distance.
A two-day trip usually means one overnight stay. The calculator assumes you do not pay for a night after the final day; adjust days if your plan differs.
This one is for self-drive journeys (fuel and tolls). The broader Trip Cost Calculator in the Travel section covers flights, hotels and activities for any kind of trip.
Eight and a half thousand for six hundred kilometres
A 600 km trip in a car returning 15 km/L, with fuel at ₹100 a litre, one night's accommodation at ₹2,500, ₹500 of tolls and ₹1,500 of food, totals ₹8,500.
The breakdown is the useful part: ₹4,000 of fuel, ₹2,500 of accommodation, ₹1,500 of food and ₹500 of tolls. Fuel is under half the trip. Most people budget fuel carefully and everything else vaguely, which is precisely backwards.
How the total is built
Fuel = (distance ÷ mileage) × price per litre 600 ÷ 15 = 40 litres, × ₹100 = ₹4,000
Accommodation = nights × rate, where nights is one fewer than days for a return trip — two days means one night.
Total = fuel + tolls + food + accommodation
Note that the distance entered should be the total you will drive, including the return leg and local running at the destination. A 600 km destination is a 1,200 km round trip, and entering the one-way figure halves the fuel estimate.
What the calculator does not include
Tolls are entered manually because Indian toll rates vary by highway stretch, vehicle class and whether you hold a FASTag. On national highways, tolled sections commonly run ₹1.50–₹2.50 per kilometre, so a 600 km highway run can carry ₹700–₹1,200 of tolls rather than the ₹500 assumed here. Checking the actual plazas on your route is worth a few minutes.
Vehicle wear is real and invisible. Fuel is roughly half the true per-kilometre running cost of a car once tyres, servicing, insurance and depreciation are apportioned. A 1,200 km round trip consumes perhaps ₹6,000–₹9,000 of non-fuel vehicle cost that no one writes down.
Parking, entry fees, interstate permits and the occasional challan.
Driving versus the alternatives
The comparison that matters is per person. This ₹8,500 trip costs ₹8,500 whether one person travels or five — so it is ₹8,500 each alone, ₹4,250 each for two, or ₹1,700 each for five.
Against a train fare of ₹1,200–₹2,500 or a flight at ₹4,000–₹7,000 for the same route, a car with three or more occupants is usually the cheapest option, and a car with one occupant usually is not.
Time is the other axis. Road travel in India averages 50–60 km/h on mixed routes once stops, traffic and town crossings are counted — so 600 km is a 10–12 hour day, not a six-hour drive at highway speed.
Planning the drive itself
Two practical rules that survive contact with Indian highways: plan no more than 400–500 km per driving day if you want to arrive functional, and avoid driving after dark on unfamiliar routes, where unlit vehicles, livestock and poor lane discipline make the risk profile materially worse.
Build in a stop roughly every two hours. It costs an hour across a long day and meaningfully reduces fatigue.
Common mistakes
Entering one-way distance. Doubles the error on the largest line.
Guessing tolls. They frequently exceed the estimate on long highway runs.
Using brochure mileage. Real-world figures run 15–25% lower.
Forgetting local running at the destination. Sightseeing and errands add up.
Comparing car cost per vehicle against fares per person. Divide before concluding.