How much does travel
really cost?

The calculator uses crowd-sourced price data from Numbeo, covering 5,000+ cities worldwide. Prices are stored in USD and converted using exchange rates updated weekly. It's designed as a realistic budget guide — not a quote. Accommodation in particular can vary significantly by season, location within the city, and how far in advance you book.

Mid-range covers a 3–4★ hotel or equivalent, a mix of restaurant meals (cheaper lunches, one sit-down dinner per day), 2–3 coffees and drinks, local public transport for most journeys, and occasional entertainment. Budget style uses hostels and street food; Comfortable covers 4–5★ hotels and fine dining throughout.

Accommodation. Across most destinations and travel styles, it accounts for 35–50% of a typical trip budget — making it the single largest cost for the majority of trips. It's also the one expense SwapSpace members can eliminate entirely, by swapping homes with verified members at their destination.

Home swapping is the most effective approach — SwapSpace members stay in each other's homes for free, cutting the largest single travel expense to zero. Other options include booking 6–8 weeks ahead for European routes (3–4 months for long-haul), travelling in shoulder season, and choosing apartments over hotels for stays longer than 5 nights.

As a rough guide: budget travellers typically spend £15–30 per person per day on food; mid-range travellers £35–65; and comfortable travellers £70–150+. Costs vary enormously by destination — Southeast Asia is far cheaper than Scandinavia. The calculator uses real local prices for each city rather than generic estimates.

All prices in the dataset are stored in USD and converted to your chosen currency using rates refreshed weekly. Exchange rates can shift 5–15% over weeks or months, so it's worth re-running the calculator closer to your departure date. For long trips, a zero-fee travel card can protect you from adverse rate movements at the point of spending.

It covers 5,000+ cities and towns globally. For smaller destinations not directly in the dataset, it automatically falls back to an average of nearby cities in the same country — so you'll always get a reasonable estimate rather than an error. Coverage is strongest in Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.

For flights, 6–8 weeks ahead tends to hit the sweet spot for European routes; 3–4 months for long-haul. For accommodation, booking early locks in lower rates — but always check the cancellation policy. Travelling in shoulder season (e.g. Paris in October rather than July) can cut accommodation costs by 20–40% and significantly reduce crowds.