How TravelWise estimates trip costs

Every TravelWise total is built from a few simple rules. Here they are in full, along with where the numbers come from and what they leave out, so you can judge how far to trust them.

The total

A trip’s total is the cost of being at the destination: accommodation + food + local transport + activities + other. Getting there (flights, trains, driving) isn’t included; you can add it, along with visas or insurance, on the “Other” line.

Each cost in its own unit

• Accommodation: the nightly room rate × rooms × nights.
• Food, local transport and activities: a daily allowance per person × travellers × days.
• Nights and days: come from your dates. A trip with 4 nights has 5 days. Without a return date we assume 4 nights and say so.
• Rooms: unless you choose, we assume two adults per room, up to four people per room, and never more rooms than adults.
• Children (2–11) count as full travellers for daily costs, because many places don’t charge them less. Under-twos aren’t counted.

The result shows the total, the average per traveller and the cost per day, plus the working for each line (for example, “$60–113 per room per night × 1 room × 4 nights”).

Travel style and season

Each destination has three sets of daily costs: Budget, Comfort and Luxury. The month you travel moves hotel prices: about 15% higher in peak season and 10% lower in the low season. Food and transport stay the same through the year.

Where the numbers come from

Our 11 featured destinations (see the guides) use TravelWise’s own starter estimates for each travel style, with a range rather than a single number, and the date they were last checked.

Any other city or country gets a rough estimate. We take how expensive the country is compared with the US (its price level, from World Bank data on purchasing power and exchange rates) and scale our featured destinations’ costs by it. This matches our featured destinations within about 20–35%, so rough estimates use wider ranges and are always labelled “Rough estimate”. No country is treated as cheaper than a fifth of US prices, because prices for visitors rarely fall as far as local ones.

Amounts are stored in US dollars and shown in your currency using daily exchange rates. If live rates aren’t available, we say so and show the date of the rates used.

Your own figures

Any line can be changed to your own figure, and the total updates straight away. In the itinerary, you can add activities to each day: the activities line then follows your plan instead of the daily allowance. Places without a listed price ask you for one.

The budget finder

The budget finder works out the same costs for each featured destination and compares the cost per person with your budget: within budget (the whole range fits), possibly within budget (only the lower end fits), or over budget. Getting there isn’t included, so leave room for it.

What estimates don’t include

• Getting to and from the destination.
• Visa fees, travel insurance, vaccinations and other one-off costs (add them under “Other”).
• Tourist taxes, service charges, card fees and tips, which vary by place. See costs people forget.
• Live prices for specific dates. TravelWise estimates; it doesn’t quote or book.

Estimates are for planning. Prices change, so always check them before you book. Ready to try? Use the trip cost calculator or the budget finder.