Trip Budget Breakdown: Flights, Hotels, Food

This simple trip budget breakdown shows you how to split your total trip cost into clear categories.

Most people think of their “trip budget” as one big number… and then watch it explode once flights, hotels, and little extras all add up. A much easier way is to break your budget into a few simple parts and give each one a job.

In this guide, you’ll see an easy breakdown you can reuse for almost any trip, then plug your numbers into the Trip Cost Calculator on CostPerTrip to see your total cost and cost per person.

We’ll cover:

A simple percentage breakdown for flights, hotels, food, and activities
How to adjust those percentages for cheap vs expensive destinations
How to turn your rough numbers into a real trip budget in minutes

When you’re ready, you can open the Trip Cost Calculator and plug everything in.

Trip planning tools

Step 1: Start with your total budget number

First, pick a rough number for how much you’re comfortable spending in total for this trip.

This can be for:

Just you, or
You + your partner, or
Your whole group or family

Examples:

Weekend getaway for two: $800–$1,200
7-day trip for two: $2,000–$3,500
10-day trip for two: $2,500–$4,500+ depending on destination

Don’t stress about making it perfect. You just want a number that feels realistic and doesn’t make you panic.

Tip: If you’re not sure where to start, check your bank account or credit card and ask, “What amount would I be okay with when this whole trip is over?”

Step 2: Use a simple percentage breakdown

Once you have your total budget, use this basic split:

Flights (or long-distance transport): 30–40%
Accommodation: 30–40%
Food & drinks: 15–25%
Activities & extras: 10–20%

That doesn’t need to total 100% perfectly every time — it’s a starting point. You’ll tweak it later.

Here’s a sample breakdown for a $3,000 total budget for two travelers:

Flights: $1,000 (about 33%)
Accommodation: $1,100 (about 37%)
Food & drinks: $600 (about 20%)
Activities & extras: $300 (about 10%)

Now that $3,000 isn’t a mystery number anymore. You know what each chunk is “for.”

Step 3: Adjust for your destination and travel style

Those percentages won’t be perfect for every trip. Here’s how to adjust them.

1. Expensive flight, cheap destination

Example: flying far away to somewhere where daily costs are low.

In that case you might use:

Flights: 40–50%
Accommodation: 25–30%
Food & drinks: 10–20%
Activities & extras: 10–15%

You’re basically saying: “Flights are pricey, but once I’m there it’s cheap, so that’s okay.”

2. Cheap flight, expensive destination

Example: a short flight to a big, expensive city.

Try something like:

Flights: 15–25%
Accommodation: 35–45%
Food & drinks: 20–30%
Activities & extras: 10–15%

Here, hotels and food will eat more of the budget, so you give them a bigger slice.

3. Upgrade your travel style

If you prefer nicer hotels or more paid activities, lift those categories and lower something else:

Love nicer hotels? Raise accommodation, lower activities.
Want to do lots of tours and experiences? Raise activities, lower food or flights.

There’s no “correct” split — the goal is to match your budget to what you personally care about.

Step 4: Turn each category into real dollar amounts

Take your total budget and multiply by the percentages you chose.

Example: 7-day trip for two, $2,500 total budget

Let’s say you choose:

Flights: 35%
Accommodation: 35%
Food & drinks: 20%
Activities & extras: 10%

Now calculate:

Flights: 0.35 × $2,500 ≈ $875
Accommodation: 0.35 × $2,500 ≈ $875
Food & drinks: 0.20 × $2,500 ≈ $500
Activities & extras: 0.10 × $2,500 ≈ $250

Next, turn those into daily or per-night numbers:

For a 7-day trip (6 or 7 nights, depending how you count):

Accommodation: $875 ÷ 7 nights ≈ $125 per night
Food & drinks: $500 ÷ 7 days ≈ $70 per day
Activities & extras: $250 ÷ 7 days ≈ $35 per day

Now you can compare those numbers to real prices when you look at hotels, restaurant menus, and tour prices.

Step 5: Plug the daily budget into the Trip Cost Calculator

Once you have a rough daily budget per person, you can use the Trip Cost Calculator on CostPerTrip to see a more complete estimate.

You’ll need:

Number of travelers
Number of nights
Travel style (Budget, Mid-range, or Luxury)
Average daily budget per person (based on the breakdown you just did)

The calculator will show you:

Estimated total trip cost
Estimated cost per person

You can then adjust:

Number of nights (shorten or extend the trip)
Travel style (Budget vs Mid-range vs Luxury)
Daily budget per person (higher or lower)

Each change gives you a new total in seconds.

Want to see a real example? Check out out:

– 7-Day Trip Cost Example: How Much Does a Week-Long Vacation Really Cost?
– 10-Day Trip Cost Example: How Much Does a Longer Vacation Really Cost?

Step 6: Don’t forget “hidden” costs

Your simple breakdown (flights, hotels, food, activities) covers most of the budget, but there are a few extras people forget:

Airport transfers and local transport (taxis, rideshares, trains, buses)
Travel insurance
Baggage fees and seat selection
Tips and service charges
Last-minute changes or emergency expenses

You can either:

Add another small category (for example “Extras: 5–10%”), or
Treat these as part of Activities & extras

If you want a deeper dive on this, read:

–13 Hidden Travel Costs Most People Forget to Budget For

Step 7: Turn your plan into action

By now you should have:

A total budget number you’re comfortable with
A simple breakdown across flights, accommodation, food, and activities
Rough daily or per-night numbers you can compare to real prices

The final step is to run everything through the Trip Cost Calculator so you can see your total trip cost and cost per person in one place.

When you’re ready, open the calculator and plug in your details.

Key takeaway

You don’t need a complicated spreadsheet to build a realistic trip budget. Start with one number, split it into a few simple categories, then adjust until the totals feel right for your destination and travel style.

Once you’ve done that, the Trip Cost Calculator on CostPerTrip can do the math for you so you can focus on planning a trip you’re excited about — not stressing about surprise costs.