Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,054,732 times
Reputation: 11862
Advertisements
Can anyone give me a fairly detailed cost-estimate of a month long self-drive trip across the US of A? Had a look at a few car rental places and $1500-2000 a month seems to be the going rate. So my rough 'estimate' is:
Car rental $1750
Food $12 x 30 = $360
Fuel = no idea
Accommodation = $40 x 30
Attractions = $1000
Don't plan on buying souvenirs etc, so that comes to $3810. Plan on starting in LA, exploring SoCal, driving up to SF, then to Yosemite, Tahoe, Grand Canyon, New Mexico/Carlsbad Canyons, back up to Utah, Colorado, Yellowstone in Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Chicago, all the way to NYC, seeing most of the attractions that are included in most tours. I'll be 25yo when I go in June next year and I have an Australian driver's license.
We plan on staying in cheap hostels/lodges/camping, so maybe $50 x 30 is more realistic. How much is fuel/gas and how much km would you expect we'd cover? 10,000 km? Guess I'd have to convert that into miles.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,712 posts, read 58,042,598 times
Reputation: 46182
~5,000 - 6,000 miles if you zig zag as planned
Can you get by in an economy car? I have been getting Toyota Yaris for $12 / day (priceline) and they get 38-40 mpg. If you are going to drop the car in NYC that might add significantly to cost. I would also check Baltimore, Boston as I have had better rates there.
You should be able to cut lodging significantly by using private guest homes or couchsurfing. ~ $10 - $25 / night
Food is probably reasonable, @$12 / day. I eat via grocery stores and $.99 Wendy's and spend about $3 - $5 / day on the road, with an occasional treat out.
Thus
Car rental $600 - $1200
Fuel = $500 (150 Gal at $3.00) This is 6000 miles at 38 mpg If you get a gas hog this could be 2 to 3X this rate
Lodging = 30 x $25 = $750
(tho I would buy a $35 VW Rabbit (Golf I) that burns free used fryer grease (WVO) and gets 50 mpg), and sleep in car / tent / barns, shower in rivers. Work for food to meet new folks and get free lodging / showers.
Thus a true econo- trip would run me ~ $35 + some potential repairs / tires ($500). I get tires at the junk yard for $5 each. So maybe $800 really on the cheap.
Hint... if you have the dough, the rental car is really 'trouble' free and cheap. If you can get a bargain you might consider renting a minivan and using it to 'camp' in. (We always did this for our 'month long' educational trips homeschooling the kids).
Fuel cost will be double your econo car (minvans get ~ 20 mpg)
Another option is to buy a decent camper van (~ $5000) and selling it on east coast (East coast folks are HAPPY to get 'rust-free' CA cars.) Campervans can really eat gas. I did see a 93 VW Westphalia (5cyl) for $5000 in Portland, OR Craigslist today. It would get 18 mpg and ez sell on east coast for $5000. The Westy is very nice (I like the outdoor shower!!). BUT having your own car can mean repair costs. Thus I drive $35 cars and if they break (seldom). I just abandon them. They will get towed off and sold for scrap. (~$150).
To mitigate repair risk. you buy a travel insurance plan ($100) that provides a rental car if your van breaks. If it is major, you can continue your trip in rental car.
buy a GPS in LA, but only use it for general directions, don't follow too close or you will miss lots of scenic and adventurous places. You need to stop and talk (a Lot) with local folks and National Park Staff. Be flexible and you will have a much richer experience.
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 12-22-2010 at 10:59 PM..
1 week to see a tiny portion of the United States?
Took us almost 3 days to drive from Alabama to Albuquerque NM. You won't have time to stop and see much of anything.
I think you are going far too cheap in your estimates and if you dont come with more money you will be in for a rude awakening. You can barely stay in a motel 6 for $40/night. $12 a day in food? If you want to see a country you have to eat, I don't think youll get the best experience if your whole food budget is spent on McDonalds double cheeseburgers. A single meal at a low-mid class restaruant will be $10 in a cheaper city.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,018,776 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by burgler09
I think you are going far too cheap in your estimates and if you dont come with more money you will be in for a rude awakening. You can barely stay in a motel 6 for $40/night. $12 a day in food? If you want to see a country you have to eat, I don't think youll get the best experience if your whole food budget is spent on McDonalds double cheeseburgers. A single meal at a low-mid class restaruant will be $10 in a cheaper city.
Exactly! As someone who lives in Southern California (LA area) and who has visited San Francisco, I can attest to the fact that $12 per day is an extremely low estimate of food costs. Good luck in getting hotels for $40 a night in California!
My suggestion would be to pick one half of the US to see and you won't have to stay in flea bag motels or eat junk food. It would be a much more relaxing trip and no where near as rushed.
My suggestion would be to pick one half of the US to see and you won't have to stay in flea bag motels or eat junk food. It would be a much more relaxing trip and no where near as rushed.
Good advice why not do the west on this trip and save the east for another time..
All your estimates are on the low side
Hostels would be your only option for $40 a night.Spose you could sleep in the car some nights.
$12 a day for food?i suppose if you do your own cooking and stick to rice and lentils.
Car rentals can be rife with extra charges when it comes to dropping it off.
especially if you've put any damage on the car, and make sure there is no mileage charge associated with this rental as 25 to 50 cents a mile for going over a set mileage can really add up to big bucks...
Depending on the car and assuming this is a one way trip across the country 10,000kms/6000 miles is in the ball park and gas will be around $3.00 a gallon and assume the car will get 25 miles per gallon or around 7L/100kms
If you are driving the car back to LA most of your trip will be spent driving almost every day and your memories of the trip will be not much more than a blur of places you cant remember the names of....
Can anyone give me a fairly detailed cost-estimate of a month long self-drive trip across the US of A? Had a look at a few car rental places and $1500-2000 a month seems to be the going rate. So my rough 'estimate' is:
Car rental $1750
Food $12 x 30 = $360
Fuel = no idea
Accommodation = $40 x 30
Attractions = $1000
Don't plan on buying souvenirs etc, so that comes to $3810. Plan on starting in LA, exploring SoCal, driving up to SF, then to Yosemite, Tahoe, Grand Canyon, New Mexico/Carlsbad Canyons, back up to Utah, Colorado, Yellowstone in Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Chicago, all the way to NYC, seeing most of the attractions that are included in most tours. I'll be 25yo when I go in June next year and I have an Australian driver's license.
We plan on staying in cheap hostels/lodges/camping, so maybe $50 x 30 is more realistic. How much is fuel/gas and how much km would you expect we'd cover? 10,000 km? Guess I'd have to convert that into miles.
Any help etc would be great, cheers! John
I think $75 x 30 is more realistic for lodging, because in a lot of urban areas even hostels or shared bathroom accomodations will run you $100 a night. Also keep in mind that campgrounds have fees that range from $5 to $50 per night, even for tent camping.
The car rental will also be more than you are thinking, often you are restricted to certain geographic areas when renting. I rented a car at the Philadelphia airport last week, I was restricted from driving it outside of the PA/MD/DE/NY area without a further charge. Also you'll pay a steep drop off fee to leave the car in NY if you rented in LA. Could be as much as $2000--it's based on "zones." You'll also be required to purchase various insurances. And those small economy sub-compacts are not going to cut it going up and down some of the mountain areas you are talking about visiting.
Expect to cover 5000 miles on that trip, 8000 if you'll then drive back to LA to return the car. At 20 mpg and fuel in the $3.50/gallon range you're looking at $875 for fuel, $1400 if you'll be returning the car to LA. You'll also have to add in parking fees in most urban areas, which will run you $10-50 per day.
There's no way you're eating on $12 a day unless you plan on nothing but Pop-Tarts in the morning, peanut butter and jelly for lunch, and a ham sandwich for dinner every day. The cheapest food you can order in a restaurant is off the $1 menu in fast food places, but it's not nutritious or all that filling, and I wouldn't suggest counting on that. I'd plan on $20 a day for food.
I don't think anyone else caught the "we" in your post. $12 a day for food is very low for ONE person. If there are two of you (or more) then you are WAY underestimating your food budget. Besides, having a good meal will really make the trip more enjoyable. Don't underbudget for food. It's important.
Also, I think it is unrealistic to try and see all of America in one trip. We're kind of a big country. Leave off Chicago and NYC this time. Concentrate on the western states. You can come back and do the Northeast or the South on another trip. We aren't going anywhere.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,712 posts, read 58,042,598 times
Reputation: 46182
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
Can anyone give me a fairly detailed cost-estimate of a month long self-drive trip across the US of A? ...
We plan on staying in cheap hostels/lodges/camping, ...
Please explain the WE ^^^
2 independent travelers or a 'couple' (this can vastly change your lodging and food costs)
Any help etc would be great, cheers! John
I think you should post this as a "shoestring" cost to travel the USA, (or go to the 'shoestring' thread in retirement and ask there, they are very helpful and creative. Also check under "Frugal" in finance.
Apparently the posters (so far) on this thread are used to traveling more conventionally (very often you find this the case with Americans traveling abroad, especially overseas in in countries that are unfamiliar to them, but I thought more folks were shoestringers for USA travel)
I have been traveling for several decades on the cheap, and eat well and have rich experiences. My best bargain / benefit has been nearly 30 yrs of using 'Private Guest homes' @ $10 - $20 per night. Folks all over the world offer their guest qtrs, conversation, and a meal or two for that price. (I have done nearly 80 days in the USA that way this yr alone, INCLUDING San Francisco for $10 / night INCLUDING FREE PARKING, generous daily meals and a FREE ride to BART). Hosts don't do this for profit, just hospitality, often they don't ask for the $$, but I always give it, and tell them to pass it on to someone who needs it. There are several directories you can join, (more choices once you're age 50), but Couchsurfing is perfect for youth / young adults. (tho offerings seem to be a bit too 'urban centric' for me).. CouchSurfing - Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time I often drum up lodging in rural places by asking at cafe, gas station, or lumberyard. I try to stay around a do chores or a project for a farmer or older couple. The ~2 hrs is nothing to my schedule, but very meaningful to them. (sometimes I stay for days helping, if they really need it.)
For food, here is my normal fare per day = $3.00 (usually less)
Fresh fruit ~ $1.00 per day at $.30 - $.50 / lb
Yogurt ~ $.30 - $.50
Multi grain Bread $.20 (a $1.50 loaf lasts a week)
meat / tuna / peanut butter $.50/day
Fresh Veggies $.50 / # (carrots, celery, cabbage, lettuce, all under $.50 / #)
That is $3.00 and plenty for me. No coffee, no soda, no alcohol. Water is free (usually from Guest home hosts, they freeze my water bottles at night, YES, FOR FREE )
I set a $20.00 bill aside for food each week and usually have enough left over to splurge on a Sonic R-44(oz) very berry real fruit slush ($1.10 during happy hour - 2-4pm). I also go one day / week without eating. For health and to recognize those in the world who don't have food. (This hasn't killed me in the last 40 yrs I've been doing it + it frees up at least an extra couple hours that day.)
Shop bargains, don't snack, and ask for leftovers or damaged goods / 'dumpster diving' in the produce dept. Americans are very fickle about the condition of food on display in Grocery stores. If something gets dropped or has a bruise, the grocer has to throw it out!. Shop in the morning for items that are getting close to date expiry (bread, dairy). Grocers usually mark down by 50%, and you will have consumed it BEFORE expiry (today).
There are lots of ways to do this trip very cheap. I think you might be in luck doing a June trip and offering to relocate a rental car from West Coast to East Coast. Lots of Euro visitors go east to west in August. (check with several national companies... they often PAY to have cars shipped. You might also check with Craigslist for folks moving from West to East, sometimes they pay to ship cars. Of course you would have to compensate them for your extra mileage, but it is possible. Most Americans would shutter at the knowledge that many people in foreign cities 'sub-rent' their personal cars daily so they don't have to pay for parking during the day. More than once in Thailand and Malaysia I have rented a 'day-car', where you go to a place of business when a worker drives up, they hand you the keys to their car, and tell you to have it back at 6PM so they can drive it home. Often they come with 'child safety' seats strapped in, toys, and music of choice
The recommendation of having two separate trips (East Coast / West Coast) is quite a good idea. That way you can do a loop on each side of USA and return rental car to same spot (much cheaper). There is plenty to see on each end of the country to make that viable for 1 month each. I recommend East coast in Sept / Oct, as summer is sweltering there. Fall is very nice in that region (and west as well), tho services close in Sept for many western region national parks.
June CAN be chilly in the Mtn parks, do UT AZ in very early June, THEN head north and loop down the scenic west coast from BC to San Diego. It is much safer traveling southbound on the west coast, ez to pull off and take pics).
If you want to see central USA, Chicago is a cheap place to fly and many nice cities / recreation within 4 hrs of there.
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 12-23-2010 at 12:56 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
most of your trip will be spent driving almost every day and your memories of the trip will be not much more than a blur of places you cant remember the names of....
There are several directories you can join, (more choices once you're age 50), but Couchsurfing is perfect for youth / young adults. (tho offerings seem to be a bit too 'urban centric' for me).. 
. I also go one day / week without eating. For health and to recognize those in the world who don't have food. (This hasn't killed me in the last 40 yrs I've been doing it + it frees up at least an extra couple hours that day.) 
