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How much should I budget for a trip?
by: Travel Mama
You do not want to spend all of your money getting there. You may want to eat as well.

When planning a family trip or a getaway for just you and the girls, you have to consider the complete budget. More than likely you will be eating out for all three meals. You may want to use a cab to go certain places as opposed to using the rental car, etc. I suggest you budget as if you splurge every night while on this trip. That way you will be prepared for the worst case costs.

You can get a good estimate for costs based on the per diem (the daily expenses - food gas and shelter).

www.state.gov/www/perdiems/ The U.S. State Department Bureau of Administration Office of Allowances, Foreign Per Diem Rates web page. These per diem rates are the per day maximum amounts the U.S. Government would reimburse it’s employees or contractors during travel. These amounts will help give you an idea on the amount that you’ll need to budget for your trip. The site lists maximum rates for many foreign cities, in addition to, some cities in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and other possessions of the U.S. The rates are divided into sections for lodgings, meals and incidentals, and total amount. The amounts aren’t meant to cover luxury travel, but they should cover a comfortable mid-range stay. You can select a month and year for which to search for foreign per diem rates. You should consult the most recent months and the last figures stated for the time of year you will be visiting to account for high and low season price variations. Search the web and you can typically find the per diem for cities in the US.