Review criteria
- +Leg-by-leg miles, drive time, and fuel cost
- +Stop and overnight planning
- +Total trip cost estimate
- +Works in Google Sheets and Excel
Road Trip Planner in Travel Planning
The Road Trip Planner is a copy-ready spreadsheet for travel planning that tracks stops, miles, drive time, fuel, lodging. It opens unchanged in both Google Sheets and Excel, needs no add-ons or macros, and takes about 15 minutes to set up.
Last updated: August 2026
Excel workbook · opens in Google Sheets · 3 tabs · no sign-up
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What’s inside “Road Trip Planner”
Tabs: How to use · Legs · TripFormat: Excel (.xlsx) · opens in Google SheetsSetup: About 15 minutesColumns: 11
Columns (grey = calculated for you)
- Day
- From
- To
- Miles
- Avg mph
- Stops (min)
- Overnight
- Lodging cost
- Sights / notes
- Drive time (hr)
- Fuel cost
- Open the Legs tab and replace the sample rows with your own — one row per entry. Formulas fill in automatically for new rows.
- One row per driving day; drive time adds stop minutes, and days over 8 hours turn amber.
- Book lodging ahead in national park towns during peak season.
- Using Google Sheets? Upload the file to Google Drive, then open it with Google Sheets (or File → Import in an open sheet). Formulas, dropdowns and highlights carry over.
The file opens locally on your device — nothing is uploaded, and you own the copy outright.
Road Trip Planner
About this template
It is built for people who want results without another subscription: anyone planning a multi-stop road trip. The whole template is free to copy — there is no paid tier. Because it is a plain spreadsheet, you own your data outright and can shape every column to how you actually work.
Review evidence
What to verify before choosing Road Trip Planner
Use the review criteria below to decide whether this template fits your workflow.
Often worth considering when
- +Anyone planning a multi-stop road trip
- +Groups coordinating a driving route and budget
Pause before choosing when
- -Live maps and traffic
- -Turn-by-turn navigation
About Travel Planning
Why people consider this option
- +Plan an itinerary, budget, and packing list in one shared sheet
- +Everyone on the trip edits the same live plan from their phone
- +Reuse the template for every trip instead of starting over
What to review before acting
- -No live flight or price data without a connector tool
- -Not a substitute for a booking or maps app on the day
Trust FAQ
Questions people ask before copying a template
Does the Road Trip Planner work in both Google Sheets and Excel?
Yes. It is built with standard functions and no macros, so it opens and works the same in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel — on desktop or your phone.
Is the Road Trip Planner really free?
The core template is free to copy and use. There is no paid tier — download the Excel workbook, replace the sample rows with your own, and you are ready to work.
What does the Road Trip Planner track?
It tracks stops, miles, drive time, fuel, lodging. The workbook comes with these columns plus the formulas, dropdowns and highlights already set up. Replace the sample rows and the totals update as you go.