A Budget Breakdown of an American Road Trip
An American road trip was always at the top of our bucket list. We set off to the Western United States to embark on a 29-day journey covering over 7,000 miles.
During our USA road trip along the West Coast, we crossed 7 states, visited 8 National Parks, 1 State Park, Recreational Park Lake Mead, and The Hoover Dam, and took two trips to Las Vegas, all in the space of 29 days.
Want to know how much we spent visiting some of the most beautiful National Parks in the world? Check out this budget breakdown summary and you will be surprised at how little it costs on an American road trip across the West.
Transport
The only transport we used on our 29-day road trip around the West Coast of America, was a car. We started our journey by collecting a hire car from Palm Springs Airport and we headed straight to Joshua National Park.
We hired the car for 18 days straight, which was plenty of time to travel to:
Joshua Tree National Park> Bishop > Wadsworth > Reno > Twin Falls > Yellowstone National Park > Bryce Canyon > Zion National Park > The Valley of Fire > Lake Mead Recreational Park > The Hoover Dam > Las Vegas.
We then spent 7 nights in Las Vegas for a ‘rest’ (and a hot shower!) then picked up our second hire car from Las Vegas Airport. We continued our adventure to the hottest place on earth, Death Valley National Park.
For the second part of our American road trip, we had the car for 11 days and we took the following route:
Death Valley National Park > Yosemite National Park > Bishop > Sequoia National Park > Barstow (Route 66) > Las Vegas.
We pre-booked our first car rental with ALAMO and the second rental using Advantage.
We got a great rate for booking online in advance and for returning our second rental to the same place.
Transport total = £1045
Car Hire 29 days = £791 (£27 per day)
Petrol 29 days = £254 (£8.75 per day)
Transport tips
- Pre-book online for a cheaper deal, it is more expensive if you pay at the car hire desk.
- You can return the car to a different location to where you collected it from but it usually costs a little extra.
- The longer you book the cheaper it is.
- Get an appropriate level of insurance with the car hire company when you book.
- Most National Parks have gas stations just outside the entrance or within the park ground, however, you can go for miles without a gas station in sight so it is always good to top up when you see one.
Accommodation
During this ultimate American road trip, our accommodation consisted of camping, motels, staying with family and sleeping in the car.
We spent 12 nights in a tent, 8 nights in motels, 6 nights staying with family and 3 nights in the car.
Accommodation total = £432.50
Camping = £131 (£10.91 per night)
Motels = £301.50 (37.60 per night)
Staying with family = FREE
Sleeping in the car = FREE
Camping
12 nights – £131
Costs of campsites within each National Park vary. It is a very cheap way of getting by on an American road trip.
The cheapest camping spot we found was in Wildrose campground in Death Valley, it was completely free and it turned out to be our favorite camp spot.
Camping Tips
- Turn up to the campground early to find a good spot
- Campsites just outside of National Parks offer cheaper rates than staying within them.
- Camping in the wilderness is not only exciting but very cheap, from FREE to around £5 per night.
Motel
8 nights
£301.50
We chose to stay in a motel when we had a long drive from one destination to another and needed a rest and a place to freshen up and shower.
Nothing was pre-booked, we just stopped at a convenient place on the way to the next National Park.
The motels we stayed at on our American road trip were:
Palm Springs – Travelodge – £30
Bishop – Americas Best Value Inn Motel – £55
Twin Falls – Motel 6 – £42
Bryce Canyon – Motel – £38
Las Vegas – Americas Best Value Inn – £25.50
Bishop – Mountain View Motel – £62
Barstow – Motel Route 66 Barstow Hotel – £21
Las Vegas – Artisan Hotel – £28
Motel Tips
- It is cheaper to find wifi and book the motel online.
- If you have a long drive ahead, a motel is a great option to break up the journey and refresh.
- Check that the motel has parking facilities.
Staying with family – FREE
We had a lovely 6 nights staying with family in Reno and Wadsworth. It was great to experience the true American culture staying with people in their own homes.During our 4 nights in Wadsworth, we visited local shopping malls, had fun in casino’s and had the privilege of attending the Sacred Visions PowWow
The 2 nights we had in Reno was super fun, we spent the majority of time in casino’s, took a day trip to Virginia City and threw our Aunty a 70th birthday celebration.
Sleeping in the Car –FREE
Sleeping in the car is a great accommodation choice for a budget traveler on an American road trip.It actually is quite comfortable too.
You may even have a few stories to tell afterward…
We slept in the car 3 times on our road trip and on one occasion we had quite a strange experience. We left the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, only a few hours before dusk in the hope of reaching Zion National Park before it got dark. We underestimated the time it would take us and before we knew it, we experienced one of the most spectacular sunsets on the open road and then we were driving in pure darkness.
We pulled up to Little Creek gas station in Hurricane, parked up next to a trailer and decided to get comfy for the night. We were both in a deep sleep until 2am when we were woken by a girl knocking on the window asking, ‘we are lost can you give us directions?’ when we told her that we were not from the area she started walking back to her ‘car’ which we realized probably didn’t exist as she just walked to a point in the distance where we could no longer see her. Neither of us could sleep at this point, with all sorts of horror stories going through our mind so decided to drive at 3 am, 30minutes down the road and settled further into the city of Hurricane in a motel car park.
Equipment
We already had some crucial items and purchased the rest from local stores prior to our trip.
Here is a list of items we took on our USA camping road trip:
Tent £15 – bought from a friend in a hotel in LA
Airbed £10 – Local store in Reno
Airbed pump £15
Sleeping bag x 2 £20
Cooking equipment – Stove, small pans, matches, and firelighter blocks £10
Additional– Headlamp, flashlight, batteries, plastic cutlery, tin opener, sharp knife, mug, plastic plate, in-car charger, extra phone battery, tin foil, firewood.
Equipment total = £70
Equipment Tips
- Pack light, you only need minimal items for an American road trip, the rest you can pick up along the way.
- Check out ‘Craig’s List’ for cheap camping equipment.
- Take a range of clothing as the temperature in some USA National Parks can change dramatically depending on the altitude.
- Don’t forget the camera!
Food
The majority of National Parks have shops and grocery stores where you can buy essential items, but these can sometimes be expensive. We stocked up on dry foods whenever we passed through major towns/ cities.
Foods we stocked up on –
Energy bars
Dry pack camping meals
Dried fruit and nuts
Tinned food (spaghetti and beans)
Marshmallows and gram crackers
Potatoes
Water
Isotonic drinksFood and drink for Camping – £184.50
Food and drink for the rest of the road trip – £114Food total = £298.50
Food Tips
- Cheap places to shop – lookout for Dollar Stores and family dollar stores.
- Don’t forget the firewood for those campfires. We found it cheaper to purchase from gas stations outside of the National Parks. Although they do sell them in stores inside most National Parks, they tend to be more expensive.
- Always carry plenty of water in your car. Especially if you plan on traveling in the summer as it can get very hot.
Entrance Fees
You can purchase the US Annual National Park pass from any National Park entrance for £55 ($80)Time of year we visited
We went in July and the temperature was on average 100F+ (37+ Celsius) for the majority of places we visited. In winter temperatures can plummet to below freezing and snow could cover the roads leading to some road closures within the National Parks due to high elevation. Be sure to check this out before planning your trip and be prepared for whatever the weather may bring.Budget Summary
29 day American road trip for 2 people = £1901
29 day American road trip for 1 person = £950.50
Transport total = £1045
Accommodation total = £432.50
Equipment total = £70
Food total = £298.50
National Park Entrance Fees = £55
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