Driving Time Calculator
Estimate driving time and arrival for a road trip from distance and average speed, including rest breaks and overnight stops, with a full schedule.
Estimate how long a road trip takes once rest stops and, for long drives, overnight stays are included. Enter the distance and a realistic average speed, choose how often you stop, and the calculator builds a leg-by-leg schedule with your arrival day and time.
How to use this tool
- Enter the trip distance and choose miles or kilometres.
- Enter your expected average speed — usually below the speed limit once traffic and towns are included.
- Set how often you take a break and for how long (0 for no breaks).
- Pick the departure date and time, and optionally a daily driving limit for multi-day trips.
- Check the arrival time and the schedule table.
Formula
Driving time = distance ÷ average speed; trip time = driving time + breaks × break length + overnight stops
A break is taken after each full interval of driving, but not at the moment you arrive. With a daily limit, driving stops for the night when the limit is reached and resumes at your usual departure time the next day.
Example
A 300-mile trip at an average of 60 mph is 5 hours of driving. With a 15-minute break every 2 hours you stop twice, after 2 and 4 hours, so the trip takes 5 h 30 min. Leaving at 8:00 AM you arrive at about 1:30 PM.
Frequently asked questions
What average speed should I use?
Divide the distance by the time a map app predicts for the route to get a realistic average. For example, 300 miles predicted at 5 h 20 min is about 56 mph.
How often should I take a break?
The UK Highway Code (rule 91) recommends a break of at least 15 minutes after every two hours of driving, which is the default here. Stop sooner if you feel drowsy.
Does it account for time zones?
No. All times are shown in the departure time zone. If you cross a zone boundary, adjust the arrival — for example, subtract one hour when driving from Central into Mountain time.
How many hours can I drive in a day?
Fatigue builds over a long trip. The daily limit here is a planning input, not a legal or medical safe-driving limit; fatigue and applicable rules must guide the actual trip.
Sources
Last updated: 2026-10-30