A Summary

One month ago I set out on a road trip across the United States of America without much of an agenda other than to see a few specific sights scattered around the West Coast & Southwest.  I had no itinerary, no schedule, no hotel reservations.  My only mission would be to see as much as I could while spending as little money as possible.  Here are the results of my journey as well as some tips to keep in mind if you decide to take a road trip of your own.

Total Miles: 8,346.7

Duration of Trip: 4 Weeks

Money Spent:

Camping: $122.00

Hotels: $837.00

Gas: $564.76*

Food: $832.68*

Total: $2,356.44

States/Provinces Traveled Through: Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Alberta, British Columbia

National Parks Visited: Theodore Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Glacier, Olympic, Mount Rainier, Crater Lake, Redwoods, San Francisco Maritime, Golden Gate, Yosemite, Death Valley, Saguaro, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns 

There are 2 main areas where our costs depended heavily on the decisions we made on a daily basis; lodging & food.  I will detail each with the choices we made as well as some ideas how to save some money.  Some of our choices were not the most frugal and we learned many lessons through trial and error.  Save yourself the trouble of repeating our mistakes.

Lodging

We struck out on our journey with the intent of doing as much camping (in a tent, not an RV) as possible since we knew that hotels would be a costly option.  While we were in the northern portion of the country we managed to camp frequently, only opting for hotels in the event that a shower was required.  Our cheapest campsite cost us nothing & our most expensive was $20.00.

A lesson I wish I would have learned earlier is that camping within the boundary of a National Park is not always your best option.  Generally National Parks are surrounded by National Forests, which also provide campgrounds with essentially the same luxuries; a tent pad, fire ring & picnic table.  What might have cost us $28 to camp at Crater Lake ended up costing us $6.00 at a nearby National Forest which was less crowded & just as nice.  I highly recommend looking into this as a possibility if you will be visiting any National Park with the intent to camp.  Some National Parks are incredibly reasonable in their prices (Theodore Roosevelt, $10 a night) while others, like Crater Lake, offer prices to match demand.

When we did chose to stay overnight in a hotel it became our mission to look for the lowest cost while maintaining a level of safety & cleanliness which we were comfortable with.  What we found in our quest for hotels is that local establishments tend to be more reasonably priced than national brands.  Our cheapest hotel cost $38 and our most expensive hotel (a national brand) cost twice as much ($72.00).

We tried using online booking for some of the hotels we stayed at but the savings were negligible, only about $5.  Still, if you can save yourself any amount of money it is worth the time, especially when you can “borrow” the Wi-Fi signal from the hotel parking lot & walk in with a reservation.  Keep in mind that many of the locally owned establishments will not show up in the search results of the online booking websites & you will undoubtedly find a better deal by doing a little leg work of your own.

Food

A month on the road can get expensive fast if you find yourself eating at restaurants multiple times a day.  A solution to this problem is to do as much of your own cooking as you can.  A propane stove and some basic cooking utensils are all that are required.  I found cooking bacon & eggs in the morning sun to be a great way to start the day.  The only problem with cooking on the road is that what should be a simple meal can sometimes turn into more hassle than what it is worth.

I enjoy eating a “real” breakfast and for the first week of our trip we had bacon & eggs daily.  The biggest obstacle we ran into was having to buy ice every day in order to keep our groceries from spoiling.  It didn’t seem wise to be buying ice for a couple of items that only cost a few bucks so we stopped buying perishable foods.  Soon after we found ourselves seeking out at local diners to fill our belly each morning.

It didn’t take long for us to realize that unlike the locally owned hotels, local diners & restaurants were not the inexpensive option for food.  I was quite surprised by this though it does make sense if you consider how little business the local places get in comparison to the larger restaurants.  They need to charge more in order to survive.  I love supporting local business but for the budget traveller they are not the cheapest option available, unfortunately.

Regardless of where you are dining, a fast way to an expensive meal is to order drinks.  We have been socialized into the idea that when we are dining out we must order a drink other than water.  It is as if it is improper not to order a Pepsi or cup of coffee.  As a result, we found ourselves ordering milk or a soda out of habit without giving any consideration to the cost. 

When we began to question why our bills seemed so high we realized that we were paying $2.00 for each beverage, far too expensive for what we received.  From then on we ordered water unless we absolutely wanted something else.  There were times when it seemed as though our server couldn’t believe we wouldn’t be ordering a drink but we didn’t mind.  Not only is water the cheap alternative, it is the healthy choice too.  Two good reasons to stick with water with your meal.

Our Mistakes & Some Ideas for Improvement

Plan for Weather & Temperature: The route our trip took was essentially opposite of how it should have ran given the range of climates we found ourselves in.  We started our trip in early June & while the weather was typically pleasant, we found ourselves camping next to snow in the mountains and by the time we reached the southwest, temperatures had soared to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit on a daily basis.  While we didn’t mind sleeping in the cold the thought of pitching a tent in the desert heat seemed ridiculous.  As a result we spent the entire second portion of our trip in hotel rooms.  Even though we did our best to seek out the least expensive accommodations, the trip became expensive very quickly.

If we had decided to start our trip by heading south instead of north the temperature wouldn’t have been as unbearable & camping may have been a more reasonable option.  By the time we reached the northern states it would have been warmer & at least a couple of the nights would have been more comfortable.  I never gave this any consideration before hitting the road, but now I know to seriously consider the impact that weather & temperature can have on even the best of intentions.

Buying Perishable Food: As I mentioned before, the cost of buying ice for grocery items such as meat & eggs can add up fast.  Instead of buying things that require refrigeration try sticking to non-perishable goods such as oatmeal or canned foods.  If the idea of eating this sort of food is out of the question, be prepared to spend a bit of money.  A weekend getaway may not be bad, but a month on the road can eat away at a bank account in a hurry.

We found that Ramen Noodles were inexpensive, easy to cook & last a long time.  Of course no one wants to eat Ramen everyday so be creative in your choices.  One of my favorite meals was spaghetti cooked over our campfire.  There are many options for food, just try to stay away from those which need to be kept cold.

When buying food try to find a grocery store instead of convenience stores.  Finding a store may require you to do a little searching around town, but it will be worth the effort.  Stores next to highways & interstates are overpriced for a reason; because people are willing to pay for convenience.

Choose a Destination: It used to be that the cost of gas was a minor expense but with gas prices hovering near $3.00 a gallon ($4.00 in California) that is no longer the case.  Driving around the country adds up quick.  To cut down on this cost, choose one or two places you really want to go and explore them thoroughly.  While I enjoyed each place I visited, I could have spent far more time exploring these places in greater detail.  I don’t regret the amount of time I spent enjoying the places I visited, though I will be revisiting a couple of them again in the future.

Tips for a Successful Trip

Talk to the Locals: Local people are a wealth of information & in my experience are very friendly, helpful & accommodating.  Take the time to socialize.  You may learn about some great places away from the crowds of tourists.  They know the best places to eat, where to go & what to see.  Talk to them & you will know too.

Be Flexible: Not everything goes as planned.  I wanted to take a detour into Los Angeles to see the Hollywood sign, but we didn’t have the time & we decided against visiting the city.  Instead of getting upset about what we weren’t able to do we understood that tomorrow is another day & there will be more opportunity in the future to visit these places.

In addition to being flexible, a good sense of humor is helpful.  We were disappointed when we found ourselves in a situation where we would have to drive many hours through the night in order to get to our campsite.  Instead of becoming upset we decided to sleep in our car in a parking lot.  A situation like this would upset many people, but we just took it as part of the journey & something not worth being upset over.  Chances are there will be many small situations where it is easy to become upset.  Instead, accept them and move on.  It doesn’t change anything to get mad or frustrated.

Be Willing to Sacrifice Everyday Luxuries: While camping there were times when we went 5 days without a shower.  We didn’t always have clean clothes to wear & rarely did we have cell phone coverage, let alone Internet access.  We take all of these things for granted on a daily basis, but when travelling these things sometimes may need to be sacrificed.  I don’t recommend poor hygiene, but you should be willing to go a day or two without a shower.

Don’t Leave With Regrets:If there is something you want to do, do it.  Make it happen.  Don’t go somewhere with the hopes of doing something and then not doing it.  When I visited Crater Lake I wanted to swim in it.  On the way down I heard people talking about how they chickened out & “would have done it” if only such & such.  When I reached the bottom I stood at the top of the rock looking at the deep blue water below knowing how cold it would be.  I knew if I left without taking the plunge that I would regret it for a long time.  I launched myself off of the rock and into the water 20 feet below.  It was every bit as cold as I had imagined it would be, but was worth it.  By leaping in I inspired 3 others to make the jump and I know they were each just as thrilled for having done it as I was.

A month on the road has taught me many lessons in how to travel inexpensively.  I have no doubt that my next journey will cost considerably less as a result of the many financial mistakes I made while on this trip.  I am thankful for having had the opportunity to pursue my travel ambitions and look forward to my next trip, wherever it may be.  I hope that my suggestions will help save you money on your own journey.

Safe travels!

*Price of gas/food reflects only those transactions made via debit card.  Does not include cash purchases.  After a week of travelling we decided to track our major expenses with our online account instead of using cash for purchases.