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Travel and outings with kids

Travel budget

A plan for how much a trip will cost in total, split into travel, lodging, food, activities and a cushion, set before you book.

What It Means

A travel budgetBudgetA plan for a set period, usually a month, that lists the money you expect to receive and how you'll spend or save it. See more is the total you plan to spend on a trip, worked out before you book and split into its main parts: getting there, a place to stay, food, things to do, and smaller costs like parking, fees and souvenirs. A cushion added on top covers what you can't predict. Dividing the total by the number of days gives a daily figure that makes it easier to stay on track while you're away.

Try It: Build a Trip Budget With a Cushion

Swap in your own trip. All starting numbers are examples for a family of four on a five-day trip.

Before the cushion$2,100
Cushion$210
Trip budget$2,310
Per day$462
Per person$578

How People Say It

  • "What's our number for the trip?"
  • "We're over on food already, let's do picnic lunches."
  • "Put the souvenirs on the cushion line."

The Breakdown

Worked example. A family of four, five days and four nights away (all example amounts):

Part of the tripMathAmount
Getting there and back$600
Lodging4 nights × $150$600
Food$30 × 4 people × 5 days$600
Activities and tickets$300
Before the cushion$2,100
Cushion1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more% of $2,100$210
Trip budget$2,310

That's $462 a day, or about $578 a person.

What the result means. The per-day figure is the one to watch while you travel. Lodging and transport are mostly fixed once you book, so food and activities are where a trip runs over or comes in under.

Costs that are easy to leave out

  • Passports: a child's passport book was $135 in 2026 with the acceptance fee, per the State Department's fee chart on Buhata's passport for kidsPassport for kidsA U.S. passport for a child under 16. The child applies in person on Form DS-11 with both parents' consent, and it's valid for 5 years. See more page.
  • Card fees abroad: a foreign transaction feeForeign transaction feeA fee a card provider charges, usually a percentage of the transaction, when you use the card in another country or pay in a foreign currency. See more adds a percentage to each purchase on some cards.
  • Travel insuranceTravel insuranceA policy bought for a trip that can repay prepaid costs if you cancel for a covered reason, and pay for medical care or evacuation while away. See more, if you buy it.
  • A pre-trip doctor's visit for vaccines or medicines before going abroad.
  • Park fees beyond entrance: on National Park Service fee-free days, camping and reservation fees still apply.

Good to Know

For a trip abroad, CDC advises seeing a health care provider who knows travel medicine at least a month before you leave, and packing enough of any prescription medicine for the whole trip plus extra. The State Department suggests checkingChecking accountA bank or credit union account for everyday money going in and out, used by debit card, checks, transfers and direct deposit. See more your passport's expiration date as soon as you start planning, since some countries require it to be valid for at least 6 more months after your travel dates, and a renewal costs money as well as time.

FAQ

How do I make a travel budget?

List the trip's parts (transport, lodging, food, activities and extras), estimate each, add them up, and add a cushion for surprises. Divide the total by the days away to get a daily figure.

How big should the cushion be?

There's no official rule. Buhata's suggestion is about 10% of the trip total, more for a trip abroad or with young children, where plans change more often.

How much should I budget for food on vacation?

Multiply a daily amount per person by the number of people and days. At $30 a person a day, a family of four on a five-day trip needs $600 for food; your own figure depends on where you go and how often you eat out.

Do It in Buhata

Goals (Plus)

Set the trip total as a target in Goals (Plus) in Buhata and record what you set aside each month until departure.

Open Buhata

Related Terms and Categories

  • Vacation planning

    Working out where, when and how a trip will happen, including what it costs, how to save for it and what paperwork it needs, well before you leave.

  • Family vacation

    A trip taken together by a parent or parents and their children, usually planned around school breaks, the children's ages and a shared budget.

  • Foreign transaction fee

    A fee a card provider charges, usually a percentage of the transaction, when you use the card in another country or pay in a foreign currency.

  • Travel insurance

    A policy bought for a trip that can repay prepaid costs if you cancel for a covered reason, and pay for medical care or evacuation while away.

  • Sinking fund

    Money set aside in small, regular amounts for a known future cost, so the bill doesn't land on a single paycheck.

Travel and outings with kids

Sources

National Park Service, "Entrance Passes"; CDC Travelers' Health, "Travelers' Health Most Frequently Asked Questions"; CDC Travelers' Health, "Survival Guide to Safe and Healthy Travel"; U.S. Department of State, "International Travel Checklist"

Last updated .