Last updated October 17, 2026. Every calculator on TheTripShock works the same way. Here is what goes into the numbers, where they come from, and what changes them most.
Your plan is what most people budget for: getting there (airfare, or gas for road trips), where you sleep (a hotel, rental or cruise fare), food for each day, and the main tickets for trips built around them, like park passes or a festival ticket. These are the numbers in Step 1 of each calculator.
The starting numbers are a sample trip at mid-range prices, flying round trip in economy from a major US airport. Change any of them to match your own trip.
These are real costs that sit outside the headline price, so they are easy to leave out of a budget:
Optional costs, like passports or day trips, are listed but switched off. If you already budgeted for something, uncheck it.
We check each number against published prices, in this order:
Some numbers have no single published price, like what a couple spends on food in Rome or a typical tip on a tour. Those are our estimates. Every trip page has a "How we built this estimate" section that lists each number with its source link, or labels it as our estimate and says what it is based on. Right now 409 of the 969 main numbers across the site link to a source.
Prices in other currencies are converted at the European Central Bank's reference rates (last set on October 16, 2026).
All prices were last checked on October 17, 2026. We re-check every trip each month. A number changes only when a current source shows it is off by more than about 10%. Changes of more than 30% are held back until a person reviews them, so one odd source can't swing a trip. Every change is logged with its source.
Each trip page lists the four costs that make up the biggest share of its total.
It depends on the trip, so we don't use one rule of thumb. Across our 95 sample trips, the costs people forget add between 19% and 138% to the plan. Half of the trips are above 47%. 27 trips come in under 30%, and 4 more than double the plan.
Cruises and ski trips run highest, because gratuities, drinks, excursions, lift tickets and rentals all sit outside the fare. European city trips run lowest, because the flight and hotel make up most of the cost. Your own trip may come in higher or lower, which is why every number can be changed.
They are planning numbers, not quotes. Prices change daily, and your dates, group and choices will differ from our sample. Check your actual bookings before you pay. If you find a number that looks wrong, tell us and we'll check it.