Find Vacation Fuel Costs before Hitting the Road

ORLANDO, Fla.--July 25, 2005--Travelers planning late summer vacations can find out how much they will need to budget for fuel before they even back out of the driveway with a handy online tool.

"This functionality is intended to help travelers budget for fuel costs even when they are not aware of what the price of fuel is across the country or in other areas of their home state," said Sandra Hughes, vice president, AAA Travel.

To find the calculator, CLICK HERE. Once there, select an origin and a destination from a list of more than 120 cities across the United States. Then select the make, year and model of the vehicle that will be driven, and click on "calculate."

Results will include the number of miles to be driven, the gallons of gasoline it will take and the cost of that gasoline for both a one-way and round-trip drive. Fuel prices are based on AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, http://www.fuelgaugereport.com), which calculates average prices at more than 60,000 gas retailers throughout the country.

"The Fuel Cost Calculator also allows travelers to determine quickly and easily which vehicle is most cost-effective for a driving vacation whether they are using their own vehicle, renting or trying to decide whether to buy a new one," said Hughes.

AAA has been a leader in providing fuel price information since 1973. Initially, AAA provided information on gasoline prices and availability during the Arab oil embargo. In 1978, AAA instituted a monthly fuel gauge report that became a daily update of fuel pricing in 2000.

AAA has a wide variety of Internet-based travel planning tools including online mapping, and cruise, hotel and airline booking engines at http://www.aaa.com.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 48 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.