USATourist Community

Hi, my girlfriend and I are hoping to travel around as much of america as we can, starting march 2010 and ending september 2010.

 The problem we have is that we are going to be doing this on a VERY tight budget (at best, £3000 each).

We are intending on camping almost all the time and living off very cheap food, the main problem I foresee is getting around.

We are both under 21 but have driver's licences (we're from the UK) and my girlfriend has family on Vancouver Island, Canada.

For the 6 or so months that we will be out there what will be the cheapest way of getting from A to B?

It seems that my hope of buying a dirt cheap car has been dashed by what i have seen posted here, but has anyone under 21 actually had experience of completing such a harrowing task and if so, how much did it cost?

I don't think we mind exactly where we go, so would last minute/advance domestic flights or trains be worth it?

Thanks a lot in advance for any help given :)

Bryn

Hi,

Sorry to dash your hopes of buying that dirt cheap car.  But we do stand by what we say.  The fact that you are both under 21 would contribute to making your insurance rate high.  In the U.S. that is still considered young and high risk.

At today's rate you are looking at having about $27 USD per day per person for your 6 month trip.  The most expensive part of traveling can be the lodging.  So by camping you will greatly reduce your expenses.  You can also stay in a youth hostel.  Hostels aren't as common here as in Europe.  But they can certainly be a great budget saver.  For example, a private room in New York City will cost you under $50.  That's super cheap for NYC, one of the most expensive cities in the  US.  You can look online for hostels around the country here.  http://reservations.bookhostels.com/usatourist.com/  Rates (and amenities) will of course vary by location.

As far as transportation, your budget options are train or bus.  Our national train line is run by Amtrak.  And our bus is Greyhound.  www.amtrak.com and www.greyhound.com.   Unfortunately the train service in the US is not as handy as in the UK.  We could stand to learn a bit from you all!  You can search for routes and rates on both sites.  You should look into getting a Pass.  On the Amtrak site go to Hot Deals then Rail Passes and Programs.  They offer passes for various lengths.  Be sure to read all of the details (restrictions) before purchasing a pass.

Greyhound has Road Rewards.  They'll give you various rewards depending upon the amount that you travel.  A link to the program can be found on their home page.

The two downsides of traveling by bus/train are time and convenience.  It can take a good bit longer to get from A to B than if you were to drive.  But since you will be in the U.S. for such a long time, this should not be a big issue.  The bigger inconvenience is that you will be limited to where you can go.  For example if you want to visit the national parks, you will likely have to find the nearest station and then find local transportation from there. 

For traveling greater distances, I recommend looking at Southwest Airlines.  You can get cheap one way tickets to destinations across the U.S.  If you book at least a couple of weeks in advance you'll get cheaper rates.  Look at various dates.  Having a flexible schedule can certainly help save money. 

Be sure to spend the time to do price comparison shopping.  I did a search for travel between LA and Las Vegas for later this month (10/20).  By train it was $39 per person.  But Southwest had a rate that was $48 (web only).  The shortest time the bus would take between the two destinations was about 5 hours.  The flight is 1 hour.  Even with extra time at the airport for security screening it is a better deal.  The train was about $50 and was about a 6 hour trip.  Register for Southwest Rapid Rewards for the possiblity of more savings. 

Since you are camping, going to the grocery store and cooking your own meals will also be a budget saver.  If you need a break, the grocery stores will also have ready made foods (hot and cold) that you can choose from.  Depending upon the store, you may even find sushi and pot roast dinners!  Of course more expensive than cooking something yourself, but less expensive than a restaurant!

Have a great trip!

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Thanks a lot for all the info Michelle!

i think we've given up on the car idea and will go for all the last minute/advance budget travel fares.

We might buy bicycles while we are there to get from the bus stops to the national parks/campsites, is this a good idea or are the distances just too far?

another budget option we are looking at (as $27 a day each is very little :P) is couchsurfing in the cities, does anybody have any experiences of this, as i'm still dubious as to the safety of it all...

thanks again!

Buying bikes:  whether this is an option will depend upon the parks.  For example, if you want to visit Yosemite, the roads into the park traverse a steep, wind-y mountain pass.  It certainly can be done, but it won't be easy.  The west entrance into Death Valley is also a mountain pass.  But even more important, Death Valley is a desert.  And you would need to carry a lot of extra water for such a ride in those conditions. 

Other parks of course should be very nice to ride into.  For example, I always thought that Yellowstone would be great to explore on a bike.  It still wouldn't be a ride for a beginner.  But the roads (within the park) are not so difficult that you'd be exhausted or diverted from enjoying the scenery.  Being on a tight budget, I would guess that you would be looking for cheaper bikes.  If you don't have the money to invest in a good bike, a ride on these roads (or just any long road) can be less than pleasant.

Another thing to consider with bikes is transporting them when you aren't using them.  I know that the city that I live in has some buses with racks for bikes.  Not all of the buses have these.  And the ones that do only hold 3 bikes.  So if the rack is full or there's not space for both your bikes, you have to wait for the next one.  And this is in a very bike-friendly city.  The locals buses that you would need to take to get in the vicinity of the parks are probably not equipt with such racks - there's just not enough people who would use them on a daily basis.  Then of course there is the question of transporting them when you take those last minute flights. 

Couchsurfing - I have never done it.  However I did take a trip for a regatta this past spring where one of my crew mates did couchsurf.  The rest of us were a little dubious.  We teased her a bit about it and made sure we all had her cellphone number and knew the name of the guy she was staying with.  Of course the fact that she was a petite woman staying with an unknown man is the main reason that we were on our toes.  In the end he ended up being very nice.  He loaned her a bike for getting around and showed her some of the sights. 

I think that in 99% of the cases couchsurfing is likely very safe. Most people offer their couches because they want to have a free place to crash when they travel.  And I would think that this makes people treat their guests as they would want to be treated.  It appears that CS does have a couple of security features set up.  http://www.couchsurfing.org/safety.html  The fact that you are traveling as a group of 2 makes you a bit safer.  The key thing is to make sure that folks at home always know where you are.  This whether you are couchsurfing or staying in a posh hotel.  Give them the name, address and phone number of the place that you are staying whether in a hotel or with an individual.  If staying with a stranger subtlely let them know that there are people out there who know exactly where you are. 

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(¸. Michelle¸.·
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