Family travel budget calculator
For parents travelling with children: adult and child costs are entered separately (fares, visa fees, meals), accommodation is per night for the whole family, and insurance is one family plan.
What this tool does
A family trip is not two adult trips plus small change. Children pay different fares, different visa fees and sometimes nothing at all, they eat less, they need their own insurance cover, and one family room usually beats two hotel rooms. This calculator is for parents planning a holiday or a family visit abroad from Pakistan with children. It asks for adult and child costs separately where they differ, takes the stay as one nightly rate for the whole family, and treats insurance as one family plan.
How to use it
- Set the number of adults, children and nights away. Children here means under 18; an infant under 2 is a child too (enter their fare and visa fee as the airline and consulate quote them).
- Flights & visas: enter the return fare per adult and per child, and the visa fee per adult and per child. Many consulates reduce or waive the fee for young children; enter what the consulate page says.
- Insurance: one amount for the whole family. Price a Family policy on the cost calculator and copy it.
- Staying there: the per-night rate for the family room or apartment, then meals per adult and per child per day.
- Getting around & fun: transport per day for everyone, attractions per person, a line for child essentials (nappies, formula, medicines, stroller hire), shopping and other.
- Press Calculate budget. The buffer defaults to 15% because family trips produce more surprises.
How the result is worked out
Adult lines are multiplied by the number of adults, child lines by the number of children, per-person lines by everyone, the nightly rate by nights, daily lines by nights + 1, and meal lines by adults (or children) × days. Insurance and child essentials count once. The total includes the buffer; per person divides by the whole family, which is useful for a per-head comparison with a package tour.
Example
A family from Lahore, two parents, a 9-year-old and a 3-year-old, plans 6 nights in Istanbul. They enter the adult fare and the (lower) child fare from the airline, the Turkish e-visa fee per person, one family insurance price from the cost calculator, a family room rate per night, meals per adult and per child per day, a daily transport sum, and museum tickets per person. The table shows the adult fares at the top, then the children’s fares and the hotel, with the family insurance a small line near the bottom, and the per-person figure to set against a tour operator’s family package.
Frequently asked questions
Do children pay the Schengen visa fee?
Under the EU Visa Code, children under 6 pay no fee and children aged 6 to 11 pay a reduced fee (EUR 45 against EUR 90 for adults, since June 2024). Visa centre service charges still apply per application. Other countries have their own rules; check the consulate page and enter what it says.
How does family travel insurance work?
UIC and Crescent Star both sell a family rate covering the policy holder, spouse and up to four children under 18 on one price, usually priced on the policy holder’s age. It is almost always cheaper than separate policies. Children travelling with only one parent, or a grandparent, fall outside the insurers’ family definition and are quoted individually or manually; the cost calculator handles both.
What about an infant’s airfare?
Airlines typically charge about 10% of the adult fare for an infant under 2 on a parent’s lap and about 75% for a child with a seat, but this varies by airline and route. Enter the quoted fare rather than a percentage.
Should I budget per person or for the family?
Enter costs the way they are charged (fares per person, rooms per night) and let the calculator total them. The per-person figure it reports is the family total divided by everyone, including children.
Limitations and sources
All prices are the ones you enter. The calculator does not apply child discounts for you, does not know visa fee rules by country, and does not price insurance; it links to the tools that do. Inputs are saved in this browser only.
Sources (checked 10 October 2026): EU Visa Code — visa fee (Article 16)