How to Convert Miles to Kilometers and Calculate Fuel Costs for Your Road Trip

Planning a road trip across the US? Driving through Canada? Renting a car in Europe? You will almost certainly need to convert miles to kilometers — or vice versa — and estimate your fuel costs along the way. This guide gives you the conversion formulas, quick-reference tables, and fuel cost calculation methods you need to budget your trip accurately.

Use our Length Converter for instant mile-to-kilometer conversions and our Fuel Economy Calculator to estimate trip costs.

The Simple Conversion Formula

The conversion between miles and kilometers is straightforward:

Miles to kilometers: Multiply by 1.60934
Kilometers to miles: Divide by 1.60934 (or multiply by 0.62137)

For quick estimates, remember that 1 mile ≈ 1.6 km, and 1 km ≈ 0.6 miles.

Quick Reference Table: Miles to Kilometers

Miles	Kilometers	Real-World Context
1	1.61	Short walk (about 15-20 min)
5	8.05	Typical commute (one way)
10	16.09	Short city drive
50	80.5	Day trip distance
100	160.9	Long day trip
250	402.3	Los Angeles to San Diego
500	804.7	New York City to Cleveland
1,000	1,609	Los Angeles to Denver

How to Calculate Fuel Costs for a Road Trip

Once you know your trip distance in miles or kilometers, calculating fuel cost is a three-step process:

Step 1: Convert Distance

If your route is in kilometers but your car displays MPG (miles per gallon), convert: kilometers ÷ 1.609 = miles. A 300 km drive becomes 300 ÷ 1.609 = 186.4 miles.

Step 2: Calculate Gallons Needed

Distance ÷ MPG = gallons needed. For a 186-mile trip at 28 MPG: 186 ÷ 28 = 6.64 gallons.

Step 3: Multiply by Fuel Price

Gallons × price per gallon = total cost. At $3.80/gallon: 6.64 × $3.80 = $25.23.

Real-World Trip Examples

Trip	Distance	MPG	Fuel Price	Total Cost
LA → San Francisco	382 mi (615 km)	30	$4.20	$53.48
NYC → Washington DC	225 mi (362 km)	28	$3.60	$28.93
Chicago → St. Louis	297 mi (478 km)	32	$3.50	$32.48
Seattle → Portland	174 mi (280 km)	30	$4.00	$23.20

Tips for International Road Trips

Canada: Distances are in kilometers, fuel sold in liters (3.785 L = 1 gal). A car getting 30 MPG gets about 7.8 L/100 km.
Europe: Most rental cars show speed in km/h and distance in km. Fuel is sold in liters and priced per liter.
UK: Miles and miles per hour are used (same as US), but fuel is sold in liters.
Speed conversion: 60 mph ≈ 97 km/h. Common highway speeds: 65 mph ≈ 105 km/h, 70 mph ≈ 113 km/h, 75 mph ≈ 121 km/h.

For all your trip calculations — distance conversion, fuel economy, and cost estimation — use our Fuel Economy Calculator and Length Converter to do the math instantly.