When U.S. gasoline prices were at a buck a gallon, the fuel budget wasn’t much of an issue when it was time to take a cross-country journey. These days, you might want to know how much that vacation will set you back in terms of transportation costs. If math is not your strength, or you’re just in a hurry, you can visit AAA’s Fuel Cost Calculator page to figure out what the whole trip will cost you.
It’s a pretty cool little tool. You can plug in your specific route and specific vehicle. If you are driving from Chicago to the Grand Canyon and back, for instance, it will cost you $380 in a 2000 Honda Accord. If you do the same trip with a big road-hogging Ford SUV of the same model year, it will cost you $666 (coincidence?). But hey, $666 is still probably cheaper than flying the whole family out, even with an extra hotel night on the way, but maybe not cheaper for a couple. Now you know.
