Road Trip Planner

Plan the shape of a long drive: how many days it takes at the number of hours you are happy to drive, how far you get each day, when you arrive and what the trip costs in fuel, hotels and food. It uses your own pace and stops, not a non-stop map estimate.

How to use this tool

1. Enter the one-way distance from your map app and a realistic average speed that allows for traffic and towns.
2. Set the most hours you want to drive per day and how often you stop for a break.
3. Pick the departure date and the time you start driving each morning.
4. Add fuel economy and price, lodging per night, a daily food budget and the number of travellers.

Formula

Driving time = distance ÷ average speed; driving days = ⌈driving time ÷ daily limit⌉; nights = days − 1

Each day you drive up to the daily limit, and the last day takes whatever is left. A break is added each time the interval passes during a day but not at its end, so 8 hours with a stop every 2 hours gives 3 breaks. Budget = fuel + lodging × nights × rooms + food × days × travellers.

Example

A 1,200-mile trip at an average of 60 mph is 20 hours of driving. With an 8-hour daily limit that is 8 + 8 + 4 hours: 3 days and 2 nights. Leaving at 08:00 and stopping for 15 minutes every 2 hours, the last day has one break, so you arrive at 12:15 on day three. At 30 mpg and $3.50 a gallon, fuel costs $140; two hotel nights at $120 add $240 and food for two at $40 a day adds $240, for a $620 total, or $310 each.