In February 2022, we bought a campervan in Canada and traveled for 4 months in our home-on-wheels. In 120 days, we traveled almost 7,000 miles and stayed in the most beautiful places. In this post, I want to share how much exactly we spent so you are better able to plan your own trip like this!
We diligently tracked every dollar we spent on the road in a giant spreadsheet, per spending category, and per day. Finally, we get to share these costs in as much detail as we can.
Contents
Our expenses per category
Here’s how we spent $15,603.98 in our 4 months in Canada, and how much we managed to see of this beautiful country before our money ran out!
| Category | Amount Spent |
|---|---|
| Accommodation | $4,728.12 |
| Food & Drinks | $4,413.77 |
| Activities | $2,007.95 |
| Transport | $4,454.14 |
| Total Spent | $15,603.98 |
| Total Days in the USA | 120 |
| Cost per Day | $130.03 |
There are a couple of things you should know:
- We bought and registered our campervan in New Brunswick, Canada. The costs of purchasing, insuring, owning, fixing, and selling this campervan are not included in this post. For more details, check this page.
- This post is technically about our 2nd visit to Canada. After we bought our campervan in New Brunswick, we immidiately traveled south to the US. After 3 amazing months in the US, we crossed the border to Canada on the 10th of June, 2022. That’s when we started counting our expenses for this breakdown!
Here’s a more detailed breakdown per month of our time in Canada:
| Month | June 2022 | July 2022 | August 2022 | September 2022 | October 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | $908.92 | $1,834.98 | $943.75 | $555.19 | $485.28 |
| Food & Drinks | $563.57 | $922.35 | $858.18 | $1,830.37 | $239.30 |
| Activities | $528.00 | $1,291.18 | $45.00 | $143.77 | $0.00 |
| Transport | $613.58 | $1,529.33 | $776.35 | $1,534.88 | $0.00 |
| Total Spent | $2,614.07 | $5,577.84 | $2,623.28 | $4,064.21 | $724.58 |
| Total Days in the USA | 21 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 7 |
| Cost per Day | $124.48 | $179.93 | $84.62 | $135.47 | $103.51 |
There’s a complete table further down this post (here), which shows our expenses per day, including which area we were traveling through at the time!
Could we have done this cheaper?
Can you budget less for your trip?
Probably, yes.
We had been saving for years for this trip, so naturally, we tried to make the most of it. As a result, we probably spent more than we could have as we decided on a bit more luxury.
You could definitely do this cheaper if you always cook your own food and sleep at (free) rest stops, boondock sites or public parks instead of paid campgrounds.
What exactly did we spend our money on?
There are 4 main categories for our spending:
- Accommodation
- Food & drinks
- Activities
- Transport
Here’s a bit more context for each of these!
Disclaimer: This is by no means a brag of how much/little we spent. People are often quick to compare these cost breakdowns to see who is the most frugal or glamorous. We’re not sharing this data to participate in these leaderboards (it’s not like we’re winning anyway). Instead, we’re trying to help other travellers who are planning similar trips of their own. It can be really overwhelming to plan an adventure like this, and having first-hand data like this could have really helped us before we embarked on our trip!
Accommodation
- Total spent: $4,728.12
- Average per day: $39.40
This was our first time traveling in a campervan, so we wanted to be more comfortable. Also, we had to work on our businesses during our travels. As a result, we often chose to stay at (paid) campgrounds that offered hookups and wi-fi.
This also includes the occasional hotel/motel. At the end of our stay, we stayed in a nice Airbnb before crossing the border to the US so we could clean the entire campervan.
While they were a nice break from our small campervan, these nights increased our average accommodation expenses!
Food & drinks
- Total spent: $4,413.77
- Average per day: $36.78
These are for 2 persons, and your mileage may vary a lot! We often tried to cook all our food inside our campervan. We mostly shopped at Walmart and tried to keep a strict budget.
But, since life on the road can get a little unpredictable – which is an understatement – we occasionally opted for the easy way out and ordered takeout or a pizza or something!
Activities
- Total spent: $2,007.95
- Average per day: $16.73
Canada has a lot of free activities to offer: beautiful hikes, waterfalls and stunning beaches. Most of these were accessed with out National Park Discovery Pass.
On other occasions, we happily spent more money on some amazing activities. These included some amazing orca, whale and bear spotting activities with Wild Waterways Adventures, bear spotting in Bella Coola, winetasting in Kelowna and Kamloops. We also bought 2 Standup Paddleboards, which allowed us to paddle over some of the most beautiful Canadian lakes (including Lake Louise!)
Transportation
- Total spent: $4,454.14
- Average per day: $37.12
This cost mostly consists of the gasoline we poured in our ’91 Chevy campervan. We also took the ferry to Vancouver Island (from Bella Coola) which cost us $562.63.
Our campervan took us to all the beautiful places in North America, but it burned quite some fuel in the process!
Here are some gasoline-related statistics for our trip:
- Distance traveled: 6,959 miles (or 11,199 kilometers)
- Fuel tanked: 593 gallons (or 2,246 liters)
- Average fuel consumption: 11.73 miles per gallon (or 4.99 kilometers per liter)
- Money spent on gas: $3,131 (We paid in CAD, but converted it to USD).
- Average price of gas: $5.28 per gallon (or $1.39 per liter)
- Average cost per 100 miles: $45.00 (or $27.96 per 100 kilometers)
We drove a lot…
But it was worth every penny!
Here’s a map that shows our route:
Our complete breakdown of costs
Here’s the most detailed cost breakdown of how much it costs to road trip through Canada with a campervan.
Here’s what we spent each day on our 120-day trip:
| Date | Accommodation | Food & Drinks | Activities | Transportation | State(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/10/2022 | – | $13.00 | $108.00 | $86.00 | Waterton Lakes National Park |
| 6/11/2022 | – | $4.00 | – | – | Waterton Lakes National Park |
| 6/12/2022 | – | $23.00 | – | – | Waterton Lakes National Park |
| 6/13/2022 | $177.88 | $21.12 | – | – | Calgary, AB |
| 6/14/2022 | – | $15.00 | – | – | Calgary, AB |
| 6/15/2022 | $177.79 | $53.85 | – | $148.00 | Calgary, AB |
| 6/16/2022 | – | – | – | – | Calgary, AB |
| 6/17/2022 | $72.25 | $105.00 | $39.00 | – | Calgary, AB |
| 6/18/2022 | $73.69 | $15.00 | $10.00 | – | Calgary, AB |
| 6/19/2022 | – | $3.00 | – | – | Calgary, AB |
| 6/20/2022 | $249.31 | $46.50 | – | – | Calgary, AB |
| 6/21/2022 | $38.00 | $23.60 | – | $122.00 | Calgary, AB |
| 6/22/2022 | – | $62.00 | – | – | Banff, AB |
| 6/23/2022 | – | $23.50 | – | – | Revelstoke, BC |
| 6/24/2022 | – | $32.00 | – | $119.58 | Revelstoke, BC |
| 6/25/2022 | – | $10.00 | – | – | Revelstoke, BC |
| 6/26/2022 | – | – | $350.00 | – | Revelstoke, BC |
| 6/27/2022 | – | $42.00 | $7.00 | $138.00 | Kamloops, BC |
| 6/28/2022 | $120.00 | $10.00 | – | – | Kamloops, BC |
| 6/29/2022 | – | $53.00 | $14.00 | – | Kamloops, BC |
| 6/30/2022 | – | $8.00 | – | – | Kamloops, BC |
| 7/1/2022 | $62.00 | $37.00 | $45.00 | – | Kamloops, BC |
| 7/2/2022 | – | – | – | $160.66 | Williams Lake, BC |
| 7/3/2022 | – | $88.26 | – | $76.62 | Williams Lake, BC |
| 7/4/2022 | – | – | – | – | Williams Lake, BC |
| 7/5/2022 | $70.00 | $8.50 | – | – | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/6/2022 | $194.18 | $18.00 | – | $161.83 | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/7/2022 | – | $10.00 | – | – | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/8/2022 | – | – | – | – | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/9/2022 | – | $15.00 | – | – | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/10/2022 | – | – | – | – | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/11/2022 | $405.00 | $36.00 | – | $562.63 | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/12/2022 | – | $28.00 | – | – | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/13/2022 | – | $4.00 | $390.00 | – | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/14/2022 | – | $35.00 | $123.00 | $61.00 | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/15/2022 | $73.00 | $50.00 | – | – | Bella Coola, BC |
| 7/16/2022 | – | $10.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/17/2022 | $38.50 | – | – | $114.38 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/18/2022 | $178.00 | $137.29 | – | $90.78 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/19/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/20/2022 | – | $37.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/21/2022 | – | $77.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/22/2022 | – | – | $476.18 | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/23/2022 | $80.00 | $103.30 | – | $148.43 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/24/2022 | $551.30 | $20.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/25/2022 | – | $126.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/26/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/27/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/28/2022 | $183.00 | – | – | $124.00 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/29/2022 | – | $32.00 | $14.00 | $15.00 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/30/2022 | – | $50.00 | $237.00 | $14.00 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 7/31/2022 | – | – | $6.00 | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/1/2022 | – | $28.00 | $7.00 | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/2/2022 | – | $56.00 | – | $130.00 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/3/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/4/2022 | – | $7.00 | $2.00 | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/5/2022 | – | $15.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/6/2022 | – | $18.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/7/2022 | $90.00 | $38.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/8/2022 | – | $26.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/9/2022 | $71.00 | $46.00 | – | $133.61 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/10/2022 | – | $7.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/11/2022 | $84.00 | $80.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/12/2022 | – | $63.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/13/2022 | $86.00 | $17.00 | – | $127.00 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/14/2022 | – | $8.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/15/2022 | – | $19.00 | $4.00 | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/16/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/17/2022 | $15.00 | $52.00 | – | $87.34 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/18/2022 | $38.00 | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/19/2022 | $38.00 | $15.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/20/2022 | – | $32.00 | – | $93.57 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/21/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/22/2022 | $39.00 | $47.00 | $32.00 | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/23/2022 | – | $62.00 | – | $84.06 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/24/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/25/2022 | $52.00 | $15.00 | – | $120.77 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/26/2022 | $48.12 | $121.18 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/27/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/28/2022 | $46.00 | $46.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/29/2022 | $336.63 | $40.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/30/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 8/31/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 9/1/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 9/2/2022 | – | $212.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 9/3/2022 | – | $13.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 9/4/2022 | – | $52.00 | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 9/5/2022 | $15.00 | – | – | $118.00 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 9/6/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 9/7/2022 | – | $182.00 | – | $156.00 | Vancouver Island, BC |
| 9/8/2022 | $23.00 | $27.00 | – | – | Whistler, BC |
| 9/9/2022 | – | $7.00 | – | $183.00 | Whistler, BC |
| 9/10/2022 | $144.00 | $88.00 | – | – | Whistler, BC |
| 9/11/2022 | – | – | – | – | Whistler, BC |
| 9/12/2022 | $35.00 | $15.00 | – | $191.00 | Clearwater, BC |
| 9/13/2022 | $165.00 | $166.00 | – | $128.00 | Mount Robson, BC |
| 9/14/2022 | – | $97.00 | – | – | Jasper, AB |
| 9/15/2022 | – | $25.00 | – | – | Jasper, AB |
| 9/16/2022 | – | $18.00 | – | $147.00 | Jasper, AB |
| 9/17/2022 | $20.00 | $33.00 | – | – | Jasper, AB |
| 9/18/2022 | $68.00 | $23.00 | – | $88.00 | Jasper, AB |
| 9/19/2022 | – | $327.50 | – | – | Banff, AB |
| 9/20/2022 | – | $45.13 | – | – | Banff, AB |
| 9/21/2022 | – | $21.02 | – | – | Banff, AB |
| 9/22/2022 | – | – | – | $119.00 | Banff, AB |
| 9/23/2022 | – | $34.50 | $12.60 | – | Banff, AB |
| 9/24/2022 | – | $115.16 | – | – | Banff, AB |
| 9/25/2022 | – | $128.45 | $9.49 | – | Banff, AB |
| 9/26/2022 | – | $8.90 | – | – | Banff, AB |
| 9/27/2022 | $52.99 | $31.15 | – | $104.14 | Banff, AB |
| 9/28/2022 | -$126.41 | $43.37 | $52.74 | $197.70 | Revelstoke, BC |
| 9/29/2022 | $158.61 | $71.49 | $68.94 | – | Kelowna, BC |
| 9/30/2022 | – | $45.70 | – | $103.04 | Vancouver, BC |
| 10/1/2022 | – | $216.00 | – | – | Vancouver, BC |
| 10/2/2022 | $485.28 | $13.30 | – | – | Vancouver, BC |
| 10/3/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver, BC |
| 10/4/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver, BC |
| 10/5/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver, BC |
| 10/6/2022 | – | $10.00 | – | – | Vancouver, BC |
| 10/7/2022 | – | – | – | – | Vancouver, BC |
Our expenses per destination
As you can see in the complete breakdown, we traveled to lots of beautiful destinations. Here are our total expenses for each of these areas where we spent a significant amount of time:
| Area | Total Spent | Number of Full Days in State | Cost per Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterton Lakes National Park | $234.00 | 3 | $78.00 |
| Calgary, AB | $1,390.99 | 9 | $154.55 |
| Banff, AB | $1,072.03 | 10 | $107.20 |
| Revelstoke, BC | $702.48 | 5 | $140.50 |
| Kamloops, BC | $536.00 | 5 | $107.20 |
| Bella Coola, BC | $2,245.14 | 11 | $204.10 |
| Vancouver Island, BC | $6,234.44 | 54 | $115.45 |
| Jasper, AB | $519.00 | 5 | $103.80 |
| Vancouver, BC | $873.32 | 8 | $109.17 |
Wrapping up
This must be the most detailed cost breakdown of how much it costs to road trip through Canada with a campervan. However, if I still forgot to include something that you want to know about, please let me know in the comments below and I’ll get back to you!
