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.
Fuel and one night's stay outweigh everything else combined
600 km total distance at 15 km/L and ₹100/L puts fuel at (600 ÷ 15) × 100 = ₹4,000. One night's accommodation at ₹2,500 adds nearly as much again. Add ₹500 in tolls and a ₹1,500 food budget on top, and the grand total comes to ₹8,500 — with fuel and the single overnight stay together accounting for over three-quarters of the trip. That's exactly why a slightly more fuel-efficient route or one fewer night on the road moves this total far more than trimming the food budget ever could.
Why accommodation is charged for nights, not days
A two-day trip usually means one overnight stay, so this calculator charges accommodation for (days − 1) nights rather than for every day entered — the assumption being no one pays for a night's stay after the final day of driving. If an actual itinerary includes an extra night before or after the driving days themselves, adding one to the day count captures that correctly rather than undercounting the real accommodation cost.
What this tool is built for, and what it isn't
This is a self-drive budget covering fuel and road costs specifically — distance, mileage, tolls, food and lodging for a driving trip. For a return journey, enter the round-trip distance rather than the one-way figure. If the trip instead involves flights, hotel bookings and planned activities rather than the open road, the broader Trip Cost Calculator in the Travel section is the better fit — the two are cross-linked for exactly that reason.