I already put together a rough itinerary (half of the stops were automatically added by the app). Thanks so much! Hope this gives you a good indication of how much to budget if you’re thinking of a similar trip! Souvenirs and Christmas presents: £279.22 (whoops) It’s interesting to add it all up – sometimes can be a bit of a shock but we managed pretty well this time! We just spent the last two weeks on the road with 4 kids, covering 2,890.8 miles. Can anyone tell me what is a realistic budget for a road trip across America? In Summary: How Much Does it Cost to Travel in the USA? Best Road Trips in the USA. 1 Week Grand Circle Road Trip Budgeting. My reason in publishing my costs is to give you a rough idea of how much such a trip would cost. Doesn’t seem expensive to me and you did have everything you needed. A ballpark estimate for an East Coast road trip budget would be around $175-$225. This is very informative and helpful, me and two friends are trying to plan a roadtrip for spring break. Myself and my husband are planning on doing something similar in April 2018 for our 1st Anniversary I was wondering did you book everything yourself or did you book with a travel agent? I love reading people’s travel budgets. Here is our cost: CAR RENTAL – $950 (we did not reach monthly discount) GAS – $750; CAMPING – $350 ; FOOD – $550 (we cooked a lot) FEES (parking & entrances) – $200; OTHER (camping gear, car gear, etc.) 20+ countries over 3 continents so far – and countless cups of teas sampled all over the world. Why We Shouldn’t Subscribe To The ‘Places To Travel To Before You’re…’ Mentality, The 10 Best Places In Europe To Take Afternoon Tea. I'm Lucy – a travel blogger 'On the Luce', helping you maximise your travel time and money, sharing tips for travel adventures with a touch of affordable luxury. I’m glad you were able to make it here for a visit! It was not as expensive as I’d envisaged…. Painted Desert, Arizona + Route 66 and Flagstaff, … Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. We probably spent around £347.08 ($500) on food altogether) Generally speaking, the average daily budget for a road trip on the West Coast will be between $175-$250 – this includes gas, a rental car, lodging, food, drink, and activities.. Gas is very expensive on the West Coast and will lead you to an early bankruptcy if you’re not careful. It was frustrating but understandable. Really good job. I’ve never traveled through the southwest even though I spent most of my life within road trip distance in Texas. So you wonder, how much would it cost to travel across America? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Learn how your comment data is processed. Let’s start with a few practical tips for a west coast road trip in the … 5 nights at Hotel Zephyr, San Francisco: £760.10/2 = £380.05 per person, Britney Spears live: £98.69 My wife and I are planning San Francisco, LA, San Diego and then Vegas. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Ticket up the Stratosphere Observation Tower: £13.88 I was definitely going for character over budget on the accommodation this time – though up to a point, there were a few amazing places that had to get knocked off the list when I looked at the prices! Thank you! Book now and save with TourRadar.com! This article contains affiliate links, where I get a small commission at no extra cost to you – thanks. Budget: $50 – $80; Mid-range: $100 – $150; High-end: $200 – $300 (and up!) Note: these costs are based on my travel style – mid range with a touch of affordable luxury – so I keep the costs down where I can to can splash out on special experiences that are worth the extra. — Bethany. We also got takeaways on two nights and got a free meal the day we volunteered at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. True about the car hire costs too, if you can tweak your route to end up where you start then you can definitely save money. A one week trip is what you would plan if you were moving and just wanted to get from a to b in the quickest time possible with no stops. I don’t know how much money this is in your country or not (compared to wages etc.) Transfer from hotel to San Francisco airport: £12, 2 nights at The Luxor hotel, Vegas: £176/2 = £88 per person Alcatraz night tour: £26.38 We drove about 2500 miles in total and filled the car up five times en route, costing a total of $254 (that’s with us trying to get the tank down as empty as possible before we dropped it off). but it seems like a pretty decent way for a nice long trip. 2 Week Road Trip USA – Total Cost – $2,382 ($149/day) Our road trip across America cost us $2,382, or an average of $149/day between both of us for a 16-day road trip across the US. So this is how my costs broke down for a two-week trip around Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Your email address will not be published. Here are ten scenic drives that are well worth the gas. We did a one-way rental too which added to the cost. Our experience here in Australia has usually been that it is cheaper to fill the tank yourself before returning the vehicle as the rental companies charge more for refilling it. This is certainly helpful. The southwest’s main attractions are outdoors, so our biggest activity cost was $80 for the America the Beautiful pass. I think you actually did really well! It does look a bit scary when you add all the costs up! So the overall cost for a two-week trip was $3322 or $1661/£1072 per person. It might seem like a lot but I’ve never regretted a single penny I’ve spent on travelling. And also because I’m scared my mum will read this. Roadside attractions await! It’s more than the $125/day that we planned on for our USA road trip budget, but we’re not kicking ourselves for it. Disclaimer: All of the below costs were paid for out of my own pocket; I accepted no travel perks throughout the two weeks! Good to see you managed to keep a good balance between budget and enjoyment. So, a trip to the United States of America for two people costs around $3,140 for one week. I just tried Air BnB for the first time- it was awesome! First … Hiya! Required fields are marked *. Lower budget? This covers entry to all the National Parks and some state parks, so the only places we had to pay additional entry costs were Monument Valley ($5 each) and Dead Horse State Park ($10). Titanic Exhibition: £22.21 3 nights at the Venetian Hotel, Vegas: £542/2 = £271 per person This works out as $119 or £76 per person per day. Cost Of Our 2 Week Road Trip Vacation Aug 12 2018. More... Isle of Skye itinerary: the best of the island in 3 days, Bridges and baths: Things to do in Ronda, Spain, Five fantastic walking holidays in the UK. The cheapest way to find accommodation if you’re doing a road trip is to just pitch up and find a the nearest budget motel. TOTAL: £731.95, Grand Canyon Skywalk Pictures: £67.78/2 = £33.89 per person Our accommodation costs worked out as: Total accommodation cost: $1448 ($724/£467 per person) – an average of $103 a night for a room for two. document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a3989af4a730942fa3e5c9669065e6a8" );document.getElementById("h59718ff7c").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Notify me of follow-up comments by email. We probably spent around £347.08 ($500) on food altogether)’. Glad to see it’s doable on a budget! I would’ve used it more but because some places we were visiting were quite small there wasn’t a lot available. This covers food, lodging, a rental car, gas, and entertainment. Thanks, yes it was about right for me – on a long-term trip I am much more budget conscious but for a shorter trip like this I’m happy to pay a bit more for convenience and memorable experiences. We ended up with a mixture of hotels, motels and cabins as well as a couple of studios and apartments so we could self-cater some of the time. Our last call before the airport is usually to a discount petrol station. We did laundry in Moab ($6), bought a cool bag for groceries ($5) and a couple of souvenirs – a calendar ($13) and t-shirt ($12). I wish we had time to squeeze in San Diego when we were there, but it just means we’ll have to go back. Lucy is an award-winning blogger based in Cheltenham, UK. Pacific Coast Highway. Driving across the United States doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg. Choose from 144 tours with 129 real tour reviews. I definitely want to try booking a place through Air BnB. But I wanted to find individual, locally owned places that were a bit different, so did lots of research and booked all our accommodation in advance. ● End: San Diego, California. Total transport cost: $974 ($487/£314 per person) – an average of $35 a day each. Gosh, even when you plan accordingly the cost still adds up quickly doesn’t it, Lucy! I’d never published my own until now, but after readers asked about the cost of my trip around the southwest US road trip I thought I’d share what I spent. We’ve tried a few times for one wknd night in Chicago and gotten declined- I think everyone is trying to get a multi-night guest, for the weekend of the marathon. This was, for me at least, the trip of a lifetime, so I made sure that my friend and I managed to squeeze in every last activity we could possibly find. A Stroll Through The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, 10 Things To Do In Vegas (That Doesn’t Involve Gambling or Partying). Yosemite day trip with lunch: £107.13 There's nothing like a classic road trip. Our main focus is to see the national parks on the West Coast (and go hiking) but thought we could perhaps start in Boston and end up in LA. I was pleased with our AirBnB stay and would definitely use them again – though it does seem like there’s more availability in bigger places and as you say some places prefer multiple night stays. Definitely helps that so much of the things to see are covered in the National Parks Pass. Preparing a west coast road trip. Thanks, hopefully people will find it useful if they’re planning a similar trip. Sorry to ask and I hope I’m not being too dim!! That is a very informative post to list your costs. A lot of places had extras thrown in, like wifi, a $1 guest laundry, a free glass of wine or free international phone calls. Get the 25th Anniversary Edition of Road Trip USA for the glovebox or as a gift for your favorite armchair adventurer. While this road trip can be done in around 2 weeks, we recommend you allow yourself as much time as possible to explore these spectacular parks. . If your travel style is more at the luxury end of the spectrum, there are some amazing hotels and resorts, some right in the National Parks, as well as some great restaurants and spas. Mum? But that doesn't mean you have to stick with the Pacific Coast Highway and Route 66. This one is fairly simple. For two people travelling in the US, I’d estimate a cost per person per day as follows. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! It sounds extortionate when I think about it now, but when you consider that covered return flights, accommodation, tours, travel between cities and souvenirs, it was worth every penny! If you want to stick to the Mid-Atlantic coast, this road trip will … We had a couple of extra costs that don’t fall into any of the other categories. The next day won’t be too stressful. The free shuttle around Zion National Park. Vegas Starbucks: £3.53 We also made our own picnic lunches most days, buying groceries from supermarkets and delis. 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