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How Much Does an RV Trip Cost In Canada?

How Much Does an RV Trip Cost In Canada?

Six RV travel styles. Six very different budgets.

How much should you really budget for an RV trip in Canada?

Well, it depends.

The reality is, there’s no one-size-fits-all RV budget. A weekend trip close to home will look very different from a two-week venture that covers thousands of kilometres. Your destination, distance, family size, and activities majorly impact the final cost of your RV trip.

To better understand how much an RV trip truly costs, we asked our Go RVing Canada Ambassadors to share their real-world RV trip expenses with us. These budgets show where the money really goes, and where you may have opportunities to save.

While every trip looks different, the biggest RV travel expenses typically include:

Fuel
Campgrounds and site fees
Food and groceries
Activities and attractions
Propane
Maintenance
Parking, tolls and transportation fees
Everyday extras and supplies

The amount spent in each category depends on how you like to travel! A couple that cooks most meals at the campsite will have a different food budget than a family that enjoys trying local restaurants. A couple that prefers cross country road trips will spend much more on fuel versus someone exploring their own region.

There isn’t one exact magic number that defines your average RV trip budget.

Here’s what real Canadian RV travel budgets look like.

The Family Weekend Escape

For Adriana and her family of four, a two-night RV getaway is all about squeezing in some quality family time around the campfire.

Even a short escape comes with a few different expenses. Here’s where their budget went:

Food: $490
Fuel: $110
Campsite: $110
Supplies: $50
Supplies: $50
Firewood: $15
Propane: $10
Ice: $5

TOTAL: $790

At just two nights, even a short weekend getaway can have several different expenses beyond the campground and fuel.

For Adriana’s family of four, food was the biggest accounting for more than half of the trip’s total cost. Keeping everyone fuelled and fed (including two energetic kids) can add up quickly. Then there are the additional little camping essentials that make a trip more comfortable, from firewood and ice to propane and everyday supplies. Individually, those smaller purchases may not seem like much, but together they can make a noticeable difference in your final budget.

When planning a short RV getaway, it’s worth looking beyond the big-ticket expenses and leaving some room for the little things. A few extra dollars here and there may add up, but they’re also part of what makes a campsite feel like home.

The Experience Collector

For a completely different kind of RV adventure, Andrée and her husband spent 13-days travelling 3,500-kilometres to the Magdalen Islands. The journey is just as much a part of the adventure as the destination, with campground stays, meals out, a ferry crossing and plenty of kilometres between stops.

Here’s what the trip cost:

Fuel: $1,304
Campgrounds: $386
Groceries: $384
Restaurants: $335
Miscellaneous/gifts: $284
Parks & activities: $180
Coffee shops: $184
Ferry: $185
Oil change: $185
Propane: $35
Tolls & parking: $20

TOTAL: $3,482

For a long distance trip, fuel is easily the largest expense. Andrée’s budget shows how quickly fuel can become the biggest expense when you’re covering thousands of kilometres.

The longer you’re on the road, the more likely you’ll also encounter costs that don’t necessarily come up on a shorter weekend trip. A ferry crossing, an oil change, parking, tolls and more frequent restaurant and coffee stops all became part of this adventure.

For long-distance RV trips, the route you choose can have a major impact on your budget. Fewer unnecessary kilometres and longer stays can mean more time exploring and less time and money spent behind the wheel.

The Cross-Country Road Trip

Marie and Max took their RV adventure even farther, travelling 5,540 kilometres over 18 nights. Nearly three weeks on the road meant plenty of time to explore, settle into campgrounds and experience different destinations along the way.

It also meant a bigger overall travel budget:

Gas: $2,042
Campgrounds: $1,790
Groceries: $1,209
Activities: $485

TOTAL: $5,526

Fuel and campgrounds were their two biggest expenses, which makes sense when you consider both the distance travelled and the number of nights spent on the road.

Instead of focusing only at the $5,526 total, it can be helpful to look at what that number represents. Across 18 nights, their expenses worked out to approximately $307 per night.That’s 18 nights of accommodation, transportation, groceries, and activities all wrapped into one long RV adventure.

A bigger trip naturally comes with a bigger total, but you also get more time and experiences for your money. When planning your own trip, looking at your budget by night can give you a better sense of the overall cost.

The Foodie Family

For Leona and her family, food is an integral part of the experience. Their RV adventures involve long-distance travel, plenty of stops, family activities and lots of opportunities to try new food. Restaurants and meals are something they intentionally make room for in their travel budget.

Fuel: $2,000–$2,500
RV sites: $1,000
Food: $1,800–$2,500
Activities: $400–$800
Extras: $150–$200

TOTAL: $5,350–$7,000

Your travel priorities have a huge influence on how much you spend. For Leona’s family, food is a major part of the experience. Meanwhile, their extras category covers things like laundry, kids’ events, coffee and pet activities.

Your travel budget should reflect the way you actually want to travel. If eating at local restaurants is one of the highlights of your trip, build it into your plan and find other areas where you can save. There’s no right amount to spend on an RV trip. The right budget is the one that makes room for the experiences that matter most to you.

The Mini-Trip Master

Jenn and her husband travel a little differently. Rather than putting all their travel into one long vacation, they spread their adventures across six separate mini trips. Together, those six getaways covered 3,079.4 kilometres. Here’s the combined breakdown:

Campground Fees: $1,511.71
Gas: $1,080.71
Groceries: $805
Extras: $330
Firewood: $70

TOTAL: $3,798.42

Campground fees were the biggest expense, followed by gas and groceries. But the most interesting part of this budget is how the family spread their travel throughout the year.

Six mini trips mean six opportunities to get away, explore somewhere new and make use of their RV without needing to coordinate one long block of vacation time. It can also make budgeting feel more manageable. Instead of setting aside a large amount for one major vacation, you can plan smaller getaways around your schedule and budget.

You don’t necessarily need to commit to a multi week road trip just to enjoy RV travel. Sometimes, several smaller adventures can add up to just as many memories and make it easier to fit travel into everyday life.

The Relaxed, Slow Traveller

Maud and Simon’s nine-day trip shows what can happen when you slow the pace down. Rather than constantly moving from one destination to another, their RV gives them a comfortable home base for exploring. They like to spend their days enjoying what the area has to offer.

Gas: $324
Campsite: $144
Groceries: $80
Treats and Beveragies: $93
Activities and Souvenirs: $62

TOTAL: $704

Fuel was their largest expense, but the rest of the budget stayed relatively low. They kept grocery spending to just $80 while still leaving room for the fun stuff (a coffee, ice cream, wine, a museum visit and souvenirs). At roughly $78 per day, their trip shows that a longer RV getaway doesn’t automatically mean a massive travel budget.

Sometimes, the easiest way to make your money go further is to simply slow down. Stay longer, drive less, cook some of your own meals and mix paid attractions with free or low-cost ways to explore. A destination-focused trip can give you more time to explore while helping keep fuel and daily expenses in check.

At the end of the day, there isn’t a one-size fits all travel budget – and that’s the freedom of RV travel. You can build a trip around your budget, travel style, and the experiences that matter most to you. With an RV, you can personalize every part of the journey to create a trip that fits your budget and the way you love to travel.

Ready to find an RV that fits your budget and start planning your next adventure? Use our RV Affordability Calculator to see what your monthly payments could look like, then explore our RV Trip Guides for routes, destinations, and inspiration to help bring your next RV getaway to life.