Free Road Trip Planner: Route and Stops Planner with Miles, Drive Times and Fuel Cost, a Road Trip Checklist for the Car and the Ride, and a Day-by-Day Road Trip Budget (PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the road trip planner

Miles and drive hours

From a map app for each leg. Add about 15 minutes for every two hours of driving for stops.

Fuel cost

Miles divided by your car's highway mpg, times the gas price. Excel works it out for each day and the trip.

Max driving hours

The most driving you want in a day. Many families find five to seven hours comfortable.

Overnight

Where you sleep each night and whether it is booked. Book ahead near national parks in summer.

Planned vs actual

The daily budget against what you actually spent; Excel shows whether you are over or under.

Planning the route

Start with the places you must see, then split the drive into days that fit your limit. Long days are fine once or twice, but a trip of eight-hour days wears everyone out, especially children. Use a map app for miles and times, add time for stops, and plan the overnight towns. Enter your car's highway mpg and the current gas price, and the planner works out the fuel cost per day and for the whole trip. Afterwards, the fuel mileage tracker shows what your car really used.

Getting ready

Have the car serviced a week or two before, not the day before, so there's time to fix anything found. Check tire tread and pressure, including the spare, and pack a vehicle emergency kit. Download offline maps for areas with no signal which includes many national parks. For families, the family travel checklist covers packing for each person.

Keeping to a budget

Road trips feel cheap until the receipts are added up. Plan a budget for each day, then fill in what you actually spent each evening; it takes two minutes and avoids a surprise at the end. Gas and lodging are the big items; eating one meal a day from a cooler saves a lot. In the US, an annual national parks pass often pays for itself if you visit three or more parks. Combine the totals with the rest of the trip on the travel budget planner.

Editing the files

The PDFs are fillable. In Excel, enter mpg and gas price once and the fuel cost fills in for each leg; the budget totals each day and shows the difference from the plan.

Questions

How do I plan a road trip?

List must-see stops, split the route into daily legs within your driving limit, book overnight stays, check the car and set a budget.

How do I calculate gas cost for a road trip?

Divide total miles by your car's mpg to get gallons, then multiply by the price per gallon.

How many hours a day should I drive on a road trip?

Many people aim for five to seven hours, with a break every two hours and swaps between drivers.

What should I check on my car before a road trip?

Oil and service, tire tread and pressure including the spare, wipers, fluids, lights, brakes and the emergency kit.

How much does a road trip cost per day?

It depends on distance, lodging and food; track planned and actual spending each day to see your real cost.