For normal cars 30 feet is enough. For large pickups add a bit more to accommodate the larger turning radius.

Bigger would be better. Are you doing concrete?

Ours side entry pad is 25' which works fine for my minivan. But another 5-10' would be much easier and better accommodate longer trucks.

One thing you may not have thought about. Do you have an area people can turn around in? With that long of a driveway, UPS, FedEx and maybe visitors won't like backing down it. In our case they end up trying to turn around. End up going into the grass and breaking our sprinklers sometimes.

Curious is that custom or a plan? If so do you mind sharing?

If you are able to access the garage with your vehicles I would be doing test maneuvers to see how much room you will actually need. Try reversing in and out of your garage. You should get a more accurate ideas of where to place your driveway instead of just guessing widths.

What sort of vehicle and size will you be driving and parking? Have you checked with your local jurisdiction to see if there's a requirement for fire and emergency vehicle access? Will you be moving in or out using a large moving van?

Here's minimum standards for a standard size auto (Hint: minimum standards):

Make a circular driveway, you’d have a lot of room for parking.

This is the minimum rule of thumb I use. I have no idea where it comes from other than it is just stuck in my head from over the years.

Do you have kids? Do they play basketball? Bigger is always better for that. Ours is extra big and we were able to have a three point arc painted...really nice for pick up games

It is better to be a little too big rather than a little too small.

Several thoughts:

- Are you doing concrete all the way to the road? Around here, people who aren't in neighborhoods /aren't building short driveways tend to have gravel for the majority of the driveway ... then it become concrete maybe 15-20' from the garage opening. The house I grew up in, for example, sat about six acres off the road -- no way anyone would pour concrete /maintain concrete (because dirt will wash out under a drive /the drive will crack) for that length. The house I'm building will sit even farther off the road ... so we certainly will use gravel (the good gravel) for the majority of the driveway.

- Have you thought this through from a guest point of view? Side garages are tough in this regard. Imagine you're a guest approaching the house -- you pull up to the end of the drive /next to the garage. Where should you enter? Through the garage probably isn't a choice, but you can't see the front door from where you are. I don't think people tend to put enough thought into the drive /guest arrival. Lots of good choices exist, but you have to think it thought for your own plan.

It is better to be a little too big rather than a little too small.

Except for the budget, and the OP's said that's a concern.

I've got a 3-car detached garage on acreage at the end of a long drive. Not only do you need room for UPS to turn around, you need room for guest cars to be parked and you get out of the garage simultaneously.

I might suggest spending your money on installing a good bed of gravel for the drive and driving on it for a while to pack it down. Use the bulk of your budget for building an expansive parking/garage entry pad. You can always do the rest of the drive later.

I think we may be building the same house plan! Would love to swap advise/experience with you because you are a little ahead of us. Yours looks beautiful so far!

Yes, budget is a concern for most of us. It is better to create the space that is needed, now. Do you want to cut it short and spend the next 30 years doing a 3 point turn to get in and out of your garage?

As someone else pointed out, paving can be done in stages. The area directly in front of the garage doors should be paved right away ( it keeps the dirt/debris out if the garage). Then as the budget allows you can continue the paving out to the street.

DH and I are residential lot developers. You would be amazed at some of the crazy driveways that the home-builders put in. They create such difficult situations for themselves.

Very good points made about turn-around capability. A friend used to live in this house, with a long narrow drive. Hard to tell with the trees, but the driveway goes up to a pad that's between the brownish roof (gym) and lower grey roof (garage), and has a circle for turning around or guest parking. It worked out well.

OK, I'll ask again. Will you be moving into the house using a large moving van? Will the local fire service be able to get a truck close to your house when the Big One comes? Are there other large vehicles which may be coming to your house, like FedEx and UPS?

Hint: Design the access road and turn around areas for the largest vehicles you anticipate...

Design your driveway as if your daughter just passed her driver's exam (after failing it twelve times).

^^^ And will be coming home with the livestock trailer that she hasn't yet learned how to back up, but will try anyway?

We are building the same house plan!! Post pictures when you figure this out. I’m worried about how people get to the front porch.