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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Been dying to go to the US since forever, but thinking will have to save up AU $10,000, which might take quite awhile. Will be mostly self-guided, seeing the West, South, Northeast and parts of the Midwest. I'll try to stay in the cheapest accommodation possible; probably will go in late 2009 or early 2010.
What's the absolute minimum for a month long trip iyo?
Probably the cheapest way after you get a vehicle is to plan a natinal park camp ground stay ;camping. Most have showers etc. but it would take some planning and making advanced arrangements.Always have a sufficent reserve. Had a friend who toured the country after retiring and he was going to take a year;ended up taking 18 months.
I think you'd be better off to visit one portion of the USA during a month's trip ... rather than trying to see the whole country in only a month's time. In a month's tour, you'd be spending most of your time on the highway at speed to see the whole country. Which means you won't see or get to know much of it.
Better to focus on an area and upon your interests ... for example, if you're coming out during the winter months, focus on a ski region ... perhaps the Colorado/Utah areas, or New England's ski areas. This, obviously, would not be an inexpensive trip ... but could be a lot of fun.
If you're coming out during fall or spring weather, again ... focus upon your interests for activities, history, sight seeing, etc. Pick a region and head on out.
A least expensive trip would be to do a hiking tour through a region, such as the Appalachian trail, or through the New England area, or through the Pacific Northwest. Or to simply do a tour through some of the national park areas, like Yellowstone. All depends upon what you're coming to the USA to see .... culture, food, history, current events, musuems, educational faciliites, scenery?
Tent camping would be the least expensive lodging to have, especially with all the national and state parks available to you. Least expensive transportation would be to rent a car for the month, preferably a small car ... and I'd try to obtain that from a car dealership directly instead of the major car rental agencies. In my experience, there's a lot of used car lots that have less the "front lot" merchandise available (either high miles, less than good cosmetics, etc) that they'd just love to get some financial benefit from; renting it out for a month would give some cash flow and your interest is only reasonable & reliable transportation ... unless you're coming here to impress somebody with a flashy car) ... or the car may be an older model that doesn't get the "best" fuel economy compared to today's latest. With a low cost to rent it, you may still be many dollars ahead given today's fuel costs under $2.00/gal.
Perhaps if you posted your prime interests in the USA trip, it would be easier for posters to respond about the "least expensive" way to make that trip happen ....
how many people will be on this trip with you?
check out hostels (they have family and single rooms)
check out couch surfing also (free)
I would say rent a car from a car rental place, if it breaks down, you can get another one from them
food, if you eat out, make it lunch time (cheaper) or shop at grocery stores and now alot of them have food / salad bars
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,029,399 times
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Thanks for the long response sunsprit,
I actually have a pretty specific idea about where I want to go...I had a look at Tour America etc tours, anyone been on them? If I went on one I wouldn't have to organise stuff and they could take me to all the places, but then again I do like freedom and independence so I'm thinking I could go on a fortnight tour and do the rest on my own.
Anyway, I have to see California, the Northeast and the South. The rest isn't AS important, but if I was pressed I would narrow it down to those three regions.
You reckon car renting is cheapest? Surprisingly, actually, but it would give me more freedom...Those car rental places like Hertz are a real rip-off, so I might check out car dealerships. It's actually my dream to drive across the US so that might be a possibility. I want to see alot of the country as I travel around it, not just fly from point to point.
Camping would be fun too, I'd like to balance seeing the wilderness with the major cities.
Oh yeah, I'll be going alone, but will be catching up/possibly staying with a few friends along the way.
Been dying to go to the US since forever, but thinking will have to save up AU $10,000, which might take quite awhile. Will be mostly self-guided, seeing the West, South, Northeast and parts of the Midwest. I'll try to stay in the cheapest accommodation possible; probably will go in late 2009 or early 2010.
What's the absolute minimum for a month long trip iyo?
I think the absolute minimum for anyone wishing to visit the USA would be to avoid making comments like "Stupid Americans". Seriously.
Depends on a lot of factors. I agree with the above that one month is not nearly enough time to tour the US. If you only have a month to use and only have enough cash for a month worth of time, then you should narrow your focus. Anyhow, if you do it right, you can travel pretty cheaply. Depends on what you are willing to do. Once you get here, i assume you plan on renting a car. You may be able to get a pretty decent rate if you rent for an entire month. After that, i definately think camping is a good idea too. Its the most inexpensive way to stay and some people even like it. Same thing with food and meals, price can range from low to high depending on how you handle it. If i was going to take a month long trip through multiple sites, i might budget $6000 or so but like i said it really depends on a lot of unknowns.
I'd like to second the recommendation for couchsurfing. If you couchsurf in every city you go to and camp in the more rural areas, you could save a good deal of money.
Three friends and myself are planning a cross-country, 3-week, roughly 9,000 mile road trip this summer. We plan to spend about $350 each ($1400 in total) on gas and acommodation (combination of camping, couchsurfing, and motels). With good gas mileage, you could visit the US for much less than AU $10,000.
And if I may make a shameless regional plug, don't forget to visit New England. Boston, the coast of Maine, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Vermont are must-sees.
Your Rand McNally road atlas will show a little evergreen tree in greenish areas. These are campgrounds in national forests. The charge per night is typically 6 or 8 dollars, a few are free. It is primitive camping---a picnic table and a fire ring at each car pull-in, and the communal toilets are chemical. There is usually running water available, but no showers.
You can buy a tent for $50, a propane stove for less than that, and dishes and cookware at a thrift shop for about $10, total. So for $100 you can be fully outfitted for camping at less than $10 a night and cook your own food.
Practice sleeping on the floor at home so you can sleep in a tent without a lot of soft gear. Most cars have reclining front seats, and I can sleep perfectly in the passenger seat, reclined, but some people can't. If you can, you will not need a tent. If your vehicle is a mini-van, you can sleep easily on a pad in the back over the folded down seats. In most places in the western half of the country, you will be bothered very little by flying insects, so you can leave your windows open. Unlike Australia, you do not need to worry about venomous snakes or spiders. They do exist, but it is extremely unlikely you will encounter any at places frequented by humans.
If you can sleep in your car, there are millions of places you can sleep where you cannot put a tent. Highway rest areas are legal in some states. Truck stops are safe---there are dozens of truck drivers sleeping in their truck every night at each of them. I like to use fishing access points, which are signposted on the road, but they can be buggy. Hospital parking lots can be good if youre stuck in a heavily populated area. WalMart stores allow campers to overnight free in their rigs in their parking lots. If you buy your RMcN road atlas at WalMart, there will be a directory in there of every store.
$3,000-$4,000 (USD) living very cheaply, $100 to $150 a day. - combination of campgrounds and highway hotels of the Motel 6 variety. Eating cheap, including self-made meals, and a little site seeing, and a few splurges and souvenirs. Includes a rental car and gas which will be a major (but almost a necessary) expense on this budget (probably a quarter of this expense).
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Boston, the coast of Maine, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Vermont are must-sees.
