Free tool
Luxury Trip Budget Estimator
Add up the real cost of a luxury trip: accommodation, flights, transfers, private guiding, dining, park fees, insurance, gratuities and a contingency. See the total, the cost per person and per night, and where the money goes. Advisors can embed it on their own site.
Estimated trip budget
£20,812
2 travellers, 7 nights, 1 room, business flights. Includes a 10% contingency.
These are example figures for two people for a week, not prices. Replace them with your own quotes.
Per person
£10,406
Per night
£2,973
Per person per night
£1,487
On the ground, per person per night
£913
| Category | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | £6,300 | 30% |
| Flights | £7,000 | 34% |
| Transfers | £600 | 3% |
| Private guiding and experiences | £1,800 | 9% |
| Dining and drinks | £2,520 | 12% |
| Travel insurance | £300 | 1% |
| Gratuities | £400 | 2% |
| Contingency | £1,892 | 9% |
| Total | £20,812 | 100% |
An estimate built from the amounts you enter. It doesn’t look up live prices or availability. “On the ground” leaves out flights and insurance.
How the estimate works
- Accommodation. The rate per room per night × rooms × nights. Enter the rate including taxes and service charges, or use one room for a villa, lodge or yacht priced as a whole.
- Per-person costs. Flights, park and permit fees and travel insurance × the number of travellers.
- Daily costs. Dining per person per day × travellers × nights, and guiding or experiences per day × the days you plan them (up to nights + 1).
- Party costs. Transfers and gratuities, entered as totals for the whole trip.
- Contingency. A percentage of everything above, for currency moves and the extras that appear on any trip. The 10% default is a planning choice, not a benchmark.
- Results. The total, divided by travellers and by nights, and an “on the ground” cost per person per night that leaves out flights and insurance so you can compare trip styles fairly.
Getting a realistic figure
- Use real quotes where you have them: the accommodation and flight lines usually make up most of the budget.
- Check what is included. Safari lodges and villas often bundle meals, drinks, guiding or park fees; set those lines to zero rather than counting them twice.
- Add a line for anything specific to your trip, such as a yacht day, helicopter transfer or a chef, in guiding and experiences or in transfers.
What the estimator doesn’t do
- It doesn’t look up live prices or availability, and the example figures are not prices.
- It doesn’t convert currencies: enter every amount in the currency you choose.
- It doesn’t cover visas, vaccinations or entry requirements.
Questions & answers
How much should I budget for a luxury trip?
It depends far more on where you stay and how you travel than on the destination’s reputation. Start with your accommodation and flight quotes, which are usually the two largest lines, then add guiding, dining and the smaller costs. A contingency of around 10% covers currency moves and extras you will almost certainly add on the ground.
What does a luxury hotel room cost per night?
Market averages give a sense of scale, not a price for your trip. CoStar data reported in November 2025 put the average daily rate at US luxury-class hotels at US$394 for the year so far, and the ten most expensive hotels in Paris, London, New York and Rome at US$1,500 or more a night. Suites, peak dates and resort destinations can be several times higher.
Why doesn’t the estimator suggest prices for each destination?
We only use figures we can source, and there is no reliable published set of luxury prices by destination and trip style. Rates also move with season and availability. The example figures are there to show how the budget fits together: replace them with quotes from your advisor or suppliers.
Are park and permit fees included in a safari lodge rate?
Often, but not always. Many safari lodges quote fully inclusive rates with park and conservancy fees, while others add them separately. Some permits are always extra: Rwanda’s gorilla trekking permit is US$1,500 per person per trek, and Maasai Mara National Reserve entry has been reported at about US$200 per non-resident adult per day. Fees change, so check the current rate before you book.
What does “on the ground per person per night” mean?
It is the budget without flights and insurance, divided by travellers and nights. It is the figure to compare between destinations or trip styles, because flight costs depend on where you start and the cabin you choose.
Can I put this budget estimator on my website?
Yes. Use the embed code on this page to add it to your own site free of charge. It resizes to fit, shares results through a link and credits Luxury Travel Tools with a small link back.
Sources & data
Every figure this tool uses by default is listed here with where it came from and when we last checked it. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
- Average daily rate at US luxury-class hotels (2025, year to date)Bisnow, 11 November 2025: “Average daily room rates at U.S. luxury hotels reached $394 this year, a record high … the WSJ reported, citing CoStar data.” Secondary report of CoStar (STR) data; a year-to-date figure across the whole US luxury class, so a market average rather than the rate at any particular hotel. Room rate only, before taxes and fees.
- Average rate at the 10 most expensive hotels in Paris, London, New York and Rome (2025)Bisnow, 11 November 2025, reporting a CoStar analysis (Jan Freitag): “In cities like Paris, London, New York and Rome, the top 10 ultra-luxury hotels are charging an average of $1,500 or more a night”, often double the rate at most luxury hotels. A lower bound for the top of the market, not a typical five-star rate; suites cost considerably more.
- Rwanda gorilla trekking permit (Volcanoes National Park)Rwanda Development Board, 6 May 2017: “increase in the price of Gorilla Permits from US$ 750 to US $1,500 for all visitors effective immediately.” The official page has not been updated since; third-party operators still quote US$1,500 for foreign non-residents in 2026, and there are unconfirmed reports of revised tariffs. Check with RDB or your operator before booking.
- Maasai Mara National Reserve entry fee, non-resident adultKenyans.co.ke, 24 July 2024, quoting Narok County: “USD 100 per non-resident adult per day from January 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024, and USD 200 per non-resident adult per day, from July 1 2024 onwards.” A tour-operator page says the 2026 schedule is US$100 from 1 January to 30 June and US$200 from 1 July, which conflicts with the 2024 wording and with a lower per-24-hours rate it gives for some lodges. We could not confirm the current fee on the Narok County site. Private conservancies charge their own fees, usually included in the lodge rate.
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