How much money do I need for a trip?
Add up flights, lodging and what you'll spend each day, then add a buffer. Say two people spend 7 nights in Europe, with $750 round-trip flights each, $200 a night for lodging and $105 a day each for food, transport and activities: that comes to $4,580, or $5,038 with a 10% buffer. That's $2,519 per person and about $630 a day, or €4,477 at the ECB reference rate on 2026-10-16.
| Cost | How it adds up | USD | EUR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | $750 × 2 travelers | $1,500 | €1,333 |
| Lodging | $200 × 7 nights | $1,400 | €1,244 |
| Food | $60 × 2 × 8 days | $960 | €853 |
| Local transport | $15 × 2 × 8 days | $240 | €213 |
| Activities | $30 × 2 × 8 days | $480 | €427 |
| Buffer | 10% of $4,580 | $458 | €407 |
| Total | $2,519 per person, $630 a day | $5,038 | €4,477 |
How do I work out a daily travel budget?
Add what one traveler spends in a day on food, local transport and activities, then multiply by the number of travelers and days. Count the days you arrive and leave: a 7-night trip is 8 days of spending. In the example, $105 a day × 2 travelers × 8 days is $1,680. Lodging is a cost per night for the whole group, so it doesn't grow with the number of travelers.
| Nights | Total | Per person | Per day | Total in EUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 nights | $3,234 | $1,617 | $809 | €2,874 |
| 5 nights | $4,136 | $2,068 | $689 | €3,675 |
| 7 nights | $5,038 | $2,519 | $630 | €4,477 |
| 10 nights | $6,391 | $3,196 | $581 | €5,679 |
| 14 nights | $8,195 | $4,098 | $546 | €7,282 |
How does the calculator apply exchange rates?
It uses the euro reference rates the European Central Bank publishes around 16:00 CET every working day, through Frankfurter, an open-source exchange rate API that restates them against the US dollar. Prices you type in the local currency are divided by the rate to get dollars, and totals are multiplied by it to show the local amount. Rates are checked once a day; these are from 2026-10-16.
| Currency | 1 USD = | $100 a day | Example trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Euro (EUR) | 0.8887 | €89 | €4,477 |
| British Pound (GBP) | 0.7499 | £75 | £3,778 |
| Japanese Yen (JPY) | 158.02 | ¥15,802 | ¥796,105 |
| Canadian Dollar (CAD) | 1.4161 | CA$142 | CA$7,134 |
| Australian Dollar (AUD) | 1.437 | A$144 | A$7,240 |
| Swiss Franc (CHF) | 0.824 | CHF 82 | CHF 4,151 |
| Chinese Yuan (CNY) | 6.6862 | CN¥669 | CN¥33,685 |
| Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) | 7.8482 | HK$785 | HK$39,539 |
| Singapore Dollar (SGD) | 1.2792 | SGD 128 | SGD 6,445 |
| Indian Rupee (INR) | 94.96 | ₹9,496 | ₹478,408 |
| South Korean Won (KRW) | 1,332.1 | ₩133,210 | ₩6,711,120 |
| New Zealand Dollar (NZD) | 1.7656 | NZ$177 | NZ$8,895 |
| Mexican Peso (MXN) | 18.3835 | MX$1,838 | MX$92,616 |
| Brazilian Real (BRL) | 5.0828 | R$508 | R$25,607 |
| South African Rand (ZAR) | 16.4338 | ZAR 1,643 | ZAR 82,793 |
| Swedish Krona (SEK) | 9.904 | SEK 990 | SEK 49,896 |
| Norwegian Krone (NOK) | 9.441 | NOK 944 | NOK 47,564 |
| Danish Krone (DKK) | 6.6425 | DKK 664 | DKK 33,465 |
| Polish Zloty (PLN) | 3.8834 | PLN 388 | PLN 19,565 |
| Turkish Lira (TRY) | 49.527 | TRY 4,953 | TRY 249,517 |
| Israeli New Shekel (ILS) | 3.0945 | ₪309 | ₪15,590 |
| Czech Koruna (CZK) | 21.615 | CZK 2,162 | CZK 108,896 |
| Hungarian Forint (HUF) | 322.65 | HUF 32,265 | HUF 1,625,511 |
| Philippine Peso (PHP) | 62.968 | ₱6,297 | ₱317,233 |
Will I get the ECB exchange rate when I pay abroad?
Not exactly. The ECB says its reference rates are for information purposes only; your bank or card network sets the rate you pay, and many cards add a foreign transaction fee, typically 1% to 3% of each purchase. A 3% fee on the $5,038 example trip would be about $151. A card with no foreign transaction fee avoids it.
Should I pay in dollars or the local currency abroad?
Usually the local currency. When a card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in dollars, the conversion is done by the shop's or ATM's provider at a rate it sets, instead of by your card. In the EU, Regulation 2021/1230 requires that offer to show its markup over the ECB reference rate before you pay, so you can compare.
How the calculator works
- Flights are per traveler, round trip. Lodging is per night for the whole group.
- Food, local transport and activities are per traveler per day, for one day more than the number of nights.
- The buffer is a percentage of everything else, shown as its own line.
- Switching between dollars and the local currency converts what you've typed at the day's rate, rounded to a whole unit, so the trip costs the same.
- The points estimate divides the cost of the flights, lodging or both by the program's value per point in Points Frog's catalog.
- Nothing you type leaves your browser or goes into the page address.