Per-Diem Estimator
Apply one flat daily rate across your trip length, with the first and last day counted at a reduced fraction, for a quick top-down cost estimate.
Where the 75% first/last-day rule comes from
Counting travel days at a fraction of the full daily rate is a long-standing convention in per-diem budgeting — official travel per-diem rules commonly use 75% for the day you depart and the day you return, on the reasoning that you spend part of each in transit rather than on the ground. Backpackers can borrow the same shortcut: it's not exact, but it's a fast, reasonable correction that keeps a flat daily rate from overstating a real trip's cost.
Use this estimator when you want a number quickly — a sanity check on whether a trip roughly fits a budget — and reach for the itemized Trip Budget Calculator when you want to see exactly where the money is actually going.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a per diem, and why use one for backpacking?
A per diem is a flat daily allowance meant to cover food, local transport, and incidentals without itemizing every purchase. It's a quick top-down way to sanity-check a trip cost or set a daily spending cap, rather than the bottom-up, category-by-category approach of a full trip budget.
Why do the first and last day count for less?
On the first and last day of a trip you're usually mid-transit for part of it — arriving, departing, or in the air — so you don't incur a full day of on-the-ground spending. Counting those two days at a reduced fraction (75% is a common convention, borrowed from standard travel per-diem rules) keeps the total from overstating the trip cost.
When should I add a separate lodging cost?
Add it whenever your daily rate is meant to cover food and incidentals only, with accommodation booked and paid separately — for example, if you've already booked hostels or a guesthouse for fixed nightly rates and just want to estimate everything else with a per diem.
How is this different from the Trip Budget Calculator?
The Trip Budget Calculator itemizes accommodation, food, local transport, and daily extras as separate figures. This tool skips the itemizing and applies one flat rate — faster for a rough estimate, less precise than building the budget up category by category.
Planning tool only. A per-diem estimate is a shortcut, not a substitute for checking real prices at your destination.