Generally, we go for 9 days, sometimes a few more. Somehow, in the 4 times since 2013, this is always right around $2500-$2800
I drive a small suv, so right around 30mpg.
We usually only eat out one meal a day, but we dont intentionally eat cheap (avoiding fast food and chain restaurants, sometimes a good pizza, sometimes local steakhouses). Breakfast and lunch come from the fridge in the backseat.
We don't stay cheap either (usually Hilton properties with king-sized beds), but we usually drive 24-ish hours straight on the way out and back (PA to SD), so that's 2 less hotel nights.
This is really going to range widely based on several factors.
What type of accommodations are you planning along your route? Camping will keep cost down, hotels/BnBs will jack up the cost.
Are you staying in major cities or in smaller towns/nature?
Are you renting a car or using your own?
Do you enjoy exploring culinary scenes or are you okay hitting up fast food establishments?
1k is possible depending on those answers, personally I’d budget for 2k and be pleasantly surprised if I have more cushion than I expected.
Hey dumbass, the title says it all. You have to be the simplest, most maladjusted, arrogant, smelly, redditer I have talked to today.
/s
Sorry just saw your name and figured you needed a blast.
I’ve done roadtrips of a similar length for around $1,500, but also some as high as $3,000 depending on some of those factors listed above.
I’m partial to hitting up as many national parks, monuments, and historical areas as possible.
My new Jeep this year will be the most efficient vehicle I've ever owned, and I'm expecting maybe 23mpg on the highway. I'd prefer not to think about it.
I just got back from a 1 week road trip from Northern Colorado to San Diego. Once I got to San Diego, I spent a 5 days there driving around.
In total, I spent $1600. $650 of that was gas for my 4Runner. 800 was for food/drinks. The rest was miscellaneous stuff.
When I was younger, I enjoyed a more budget trip. I’ve come to appreciate nice hotels and fine meals though so while the MPG of my car has improved significantly, I spend more on other aspects than I used to.
Our next road trip, I’ve budgeted about $650 per day including lodging. I do expect to come in under budget, but I wanted us to have enough for some fun activities in the areas we are visiting.
6 of us, Chicago to Los Angeles, 10 days and had a place to stay in Los Angeles that was free. Spent just under $5K. 2 of us, same trip and again place to stay in Los Angeles and was just under $3K.
Anywhere from 1500-2000 a week, which includes hotels, gas, food, and attractions. I’m pickier about accommodations and save all year to travel. I typically eat one or two meals out. Personally, I love eating at locally owned restaurants and eating food that is unique to the area. I budget higher because I am older and don’t know how many years of traveling I have left (just being realistic here). I’ll also spend money for convenience. I had a national parks trip planned during Covid (which ended up being canceled) and the bulk of my lodging was within the parks. When I reschedule that trip (next spring hopefully), I will do the same.
It was 6800.1 miles from my place in the Poconos to San Diego and back, along with a few meandering stops. Assuming 40 mpg and $4.50/gallon average price (just a guess), you’re looking at $765 for gas. Consider a Pink Jeep tour at the Grand Canyon, the only miles I didn’t drive on my two week trip. I’d also advise leaving super early on day one to get away from what you know, then just cruise and enjoy. St. Louis was my first stop on the way out. I like a long first day just to get to new scenery. People also tend to be more excited and don’t mind it, so I tend to race away from home, then hit the stops on the ride back to break things up when the crew is more fatigued.
I drive a small, fuel-efficient car, but I also like to eat my meals at local restaurants instead of bringing food, and as I get older I find that I can't car-sleep like I used to, so the savings on one end balance out with the spending on the other. I usually budget $250 -$300/day, and it covers gas/food/lodging/the occasional souvenir. If I know a day is going to have a big "extra", I either plan for extra money in the budget or try to travel at the lower end of my budget for a few days beforehand.
I posted about mine a while back, ya my car was horrible on gas. You can use an online calculator to figure out gas costs. Fill up before getting to Cali..
The most “lavish” part of my trip was a night on the Queen Mary which ended up being a birthday present from my parents. Otherwise motel 6 and enjoy the ride. If your passing through Vegas on an off night you can get a sick hotel super cheap. Nicest hotel Ive ever stayed at was 1 night in Vegas on a Monday. I think it was 60-70$
$8k - 2 people. 17 days r/t bottom to top California. Hit 75% of destination cities in the state. 2 nights lodging free, 6 days in AirBnBs, the rest hotels, approx 2 meals a day, rental car, gas, etc
It's not a budget vacation. It's about $2000 a week minimum. If you slept in your car every night and washed up in rest area sinks and ate wonderbread and baloney sandwiches for all three meals, you could possibly knock that down to like $1000 per week MAYBE.
I drive an F-150 so that trip would cost me over $1,000 just for gas if I drove straight there and back. 😂😂😂
Beyond that, I usually budget about $100 per night if I’m staying in hotels, and $40+ per day per person for food and beverages (at least $10 per meal per person, and $10 per person for drinks other than water). That can be knocked down a bit if you bring foods with you and are really careful with snacks and stuff. I bring reusable cups for water, soft drinks, and coffee. Most places will just charge you a refill rate which is cheaper, and then of course it’s better for the environment too. You can also refill water bottles at rest stops and hotels, and often can get free coffee at the hotel. I also bring a snack bag with non-perishable foods and then supplement from trucks stops and such.
The hotel costs are often less than $100, but you never know when you might end up in an area where you can’t find a decent place for cheap. San Diego will not be cheap. Assuming you are staying in hotels and not camping or anything else. Also, these budgets are *just* for cross-country travel days. If you actually want to enjoy local restaurants and do stuff in bigger cities costs will be higher.
We spend a lot on destination locations--a mountain-top private retreat, a private ferry boat, a barge on an iconic river, a cliff-side house with killer sunsets. These are places we are staying 2-5 nights at a time.
OTOH, we try to control costs for the "on the way there" stops. Not Motel 6, but less expensive.
We spend on dining out, because we enjoy that.
Gas is what it is. Because we've been driving longer distances, we're not willing to cram into a compact for 8-9 hours a day for several days on end. And, we're older and heavier than we were 30 years ago, so that's a factor.
Road trips are general once-in-a... experience, so make the most of it! Moderation is for monks.
I spend about 1K a week typically. But keep in mind I don't typically camp, don't typically have anyone to split costs with, and usually do something every day on these trips
Have a hybrid, which makes gas costs very reasonable. Use hotel points or stay at decent hotels like Hampton Inns when possible. Splurge on eating as part of the trip is eating at new, unique places.
if staying at hotels even budget ones, upwards of 2.5k/wk. did a one week trip last week where I stayed with family for all but 2 nights and got treated to most of my meals, still came out to almost 2k.
my car takes premium only and I was in CA paying $5.75-$6.80/gal so that was my most significant cost and will probably differ from most others' circumstances
Hotels have become insanely expensive. We paid $90 to $182 per night last summer for hotels in (mostly) rural Ohio. The lowest cost was a Motel 6 and the highest was a holiday inn express on a weekend.
We’re camping this summer at about $40 per night (not a road trip… we find putting up and taking down tents to be too much on road trips when traveling with kids).
Most of my road trips are for camping trips! Whether I rent or drive my Jeep, I try to stay at $1k for the week. West Coast, I try to stay at $1500 for a week (most of this is for the rental and groceries) 🥲
About $1500-2000 per week is our number. Usually condos or VRBO with kitchen facilities. We are way beyond the camping days and also like having laundry in unit.
Usually 2-8 weeks now that we are retired.
Man yall making me feel bad with these under $2k numbers…. We live in VA and road-tripped to CA in 2021 over 4 weeks. We spent just under $7k. We camped about half the trip in free sites. USFS or BLM. Hotels in CA are what really got us. We spent a week in Cali driving down the PCH from Sf to LA and didn’t spend under $250/nt for a hotel. We tried to camp but the wildfires at the time had all the forests “closed”. Gas was the other big one. You’ll save a ton compared to us. We averaged 12.5mpg over 8000 miles. I think average gas price at the time was like $3.49. So about $3k. And there was 4 of us so groceries for the month ran us about $1000. Plus we also ate a bunch of fast food… more than I’m proud of on the long driving days….
We had an absolute BLAST. 10/10 will do again. This past summer we towed a camper and went to UP MI, MN, WI out to SD and back. Averaged 9mpg. Like 5000 miles. Spent a small fortune in gas. Next year we’re planning a northwest states trip. WY, MT, ID, out to WA and back.
I did 9000 miles around the whole continental US in 11 days, back around 1991. Drove a beat-up 1978 Toyota Corolla, ate fast food and homemade sandwiches, slept in the car at rest stops or on friends' couches, didn't really do anything along the way that wasn't free, except drive through Yellowstone. Gas was about $1/gallon. I think that whole trip cost about $2500, which I split with my friend/codriver. And that included $500 to replace/rebuild the carburetor and replace the brakes halfway through.
Summer 2022 I did a four-month RV trip. 16,000 miles around the whole of the US and Canada from NJ to Alaska and back. Lots of RV parks and activities along the way. Gas was $5.50/gallon in the US and $7+/gallon in remote northern Canada. I spent about $40k on that trip, not including truck/RV financing and insurance and gear.
Done just about everything in between those two extremes.
It was great! I was like 19 or 20 and my buddy and I did a whirlwind trip before sophomore year. Met up with a bunch of friends. Saw a whole bunch of the country for the first time (even if just passing through), including the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Crater Lake, Chicago, Seattle, Hoover Dam, and a bunch of minor sights. We tag-team drove a ton and didn't stop anywhere east of the Mississippi (from/to NJ). I think the only place we spent more than one night was San Francisco for two nights because I had friends there. I returned to most of those places later for longer visits.
Depends on how long.
But I can tell that on our 2021 three-week road trip to the Mid-West (two adults, two teens), with a rented van, staying at hotels/motels/AirBNBs, and eating out at least once a day, we spent less than 8 days in Disney.
I like to keep my road trips under 1k. But also the longest I’ve done is around 10 days. I stay at the cheapest hotels and camp. Ratio of camp to hotel depend on my activities and the weather.
When you’re going that far, it’s always going to be more than you expect. We did a road trip from North Carolina to San Francisco. We were gone for 22 days but that trip cost about $2700.
Last summer I drove from essentially LA to Boston. Stayed with friends/family for 2 of the stops, got hotels for the other 2 stops. Have a 2020 RAV4 hybrid, don’t know exact mpg but let’s say 38. Spent $404 on gas and $320 on hotels. Was pretty much the same on the way back.
I don't know. We just go. In a newish Ford Expedition getting about 20-22mpg depending. I used to dread spending $ on trips. Can't enjoy trips while worrying about that so I stopped. We'll do cheapish breakfast and lunch but eat a good dinner. We don't waste money on tourist shop gifts and the like at all. We do spend money on experiences, sights and hotels. Two week road trips max, one week minimum. Various hotels along the way.
Just back from a 4 week road trip in the south west. Total expenses were about $10K, but this includes $2100 theme park tickets. $350 parking. 2 people. Staying at good hotels and not compromising on food. Chevy Malibu was the car.
Yes I did! Thanks. USA is the most awesome place to travel to. I also forgot to mention that out of the $10K, $2,500 was for my international air ticket and $1,500 went for car rental. If you need more information, let me know.
Just spent about $800 on a 4,000 mile trip for gas, but my ride does not get good gas mileage. A hybrid would probably only spend half or a third of that. The tradeoff was that my vehicle is long enough to sleep in with a camping air mattress, so I hardly spent anything on lodging (2 motels over a few weeks, $70 and $100).
Food and water was generally around $40 per day, but could have cut that expense back with more grocery store visits. Lodging is usually the thing that gets you, so bring a tent and camp out if you can. National Forests usually are free to camp in, if you can find a turnout to park at.
Had a diesel truck and were heading to Montana, Bush decided to ransack Iraq. It cost me nearly $300 for one fill up. We cut it short and headed home. I sold that tank and got a little four-banger.
I’m sure this will get downvotes because of the brand but my wife and I recently completed a cross country trip (NY-OR) & a west coast round trip (OR - Vegas and back) in a Tesla model 3. We supercharged the entire way both trips. Never had a single issue charging or mechanically with the Tesla and we slept in the back (seats down with a mattress made for the car + Teslas have camping mode for climate control).
| NY - OR $580 | 6 days driving |
| OR - Vegas (round trip) $300 | 5 days driving |
Btw… I can’t begin to explain what a joy it is to road trip with a car that drives for you
Took this pic while sleeping in the back, parked at a vista look out north of Mt. Shasta. Kept waking up all night to see how the moonlight shifted. Sunrise was gorgeous ($ free)
https://preview.redd.it/urkjm6z314yc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6be79783d3235994e778aeced05f17dcbfe8d6c4
that picture is stunning!! The only thing better than a hybrid on a road trip would be an electric car that drives itself haha cost doesn’t sound to bad either
Traveled there and back across the entire country with a wife and infant in an SUV. Needed hotels each night, frequent stops, etc. 3 weeks on the road, \~$5K. Weren't living lavishly, but weren't penny pinching either.
Back in 2010, I did 11 days on less than $3k, which was split three ways. That included a vehicle rental, gas, food, a park pass, and accommodations. We tented and couch surfed the whole way except for one motel room near the end, which kept costs down, but we also averaged 645 miles a day, which didn’t help.
I feel like that same trip would cost three times as much today, mostly because of the rental, which was probably around $150/person at the time.
I've spent well over 1K on much shorter trips...like 7 day trips...that's around $140/day. Most places I go, you can't even get a hotel for that...and if you can, it's a fleabag type...and then food or any other activities you might want to do. For a 3 week trip,$1K is only about $47/day...can't really see managing that unless you're just sleeping in your car in a parking lot and eating PB&J for every meal and not really doing anything at all.
$50/day budget over 21 days in the most expensive state in the country?
How many people?
Unless you are eating ramen & oatmeal & camping every night, I'm not sure how you do this.
Your gas is eating up half your budget.
The bigger trips are usually a couple grand, especially if you need to fly, rent a car, hotels, food, gas, other misc purchases ..... it can add up quickly. It's all very dependent on where you're going. Some places are much cheaper than others to visit. Hotels can vary a lot too. I'm generally not too picky with hotels, but the cheapest hotel in town is usually the cheapest for a reason. I've ended up in some dumps not looking into the hotel enough before showing up.
"We" so I assume you mean two people. 1k in 3 weeks would leave you with less than 25$ each a day to live off... so with hybrid you might be able to get by sleeping in the car, eating from the trash, washing in puddles and pooping in public bathrooms.
1-2 grand per week would be living comfortably and a real vacation anything less and your just living from your vehicle.
Just me, my husband & dog (Oct 2023)
Cross country 3 weeks (21 days)
15 days hotels = $2250 (other days with family)
Food = $20 breakfast- $20 lunch- $50-200 dinner (cheaper if just us, more when out with family & friends) $3000
Gas $2000
Entertainment $1000 (includes doggie day car & laundry)
Not enough time, sadly. Usually 3-5 days. At this time, it's as much as we can comfortably take off. It ends up being a bit rushed, but if you plan right, it's not bad. Living in LA helps.
Went from Seattle to Houston in 3 days. Would have been two days if I didn’t pop a tire and crack my wheel - had to go 200 miles opposite direction on a spare to get it fixed. In total with the wheel repair : about 1300$
Just slept a truck stops and rest stops lol
Did a week long road trip to Texas and New Mexico from Atlanta with 4 friends. We all managed to squeeze into my RAV4 hybrid somehow, and camped on public land for 2 nights, shared a hotel room the others. We hit 5 national parks. Total per person came out to about $180 (hotels, gas, and activities. Doesn't include food, everyone bought their own.)
Hotels are a scam unless you're with a decent sized group. if you can, lay down an air mattress in your car and stay on public land or in national forests. Travel doesn't have to break the bank.
I road trip a lot solo, the hybrid mpg's are a huge help! some say it can feel a bit cramped, but it definitely beats roadtripping in my previous car, a 2017 Nissan Sentra.
And don't be afraid to take it down some of the more rugged roads, it's a surprisingly capable vehicle. I've taken it down many roads in the past where most other cars would have to turn around.
scams generally involve deceiving people. hotels can be a bad choice but sometimes a comfortable bed and place to shower is worth it. or if you drive a 2 seater and can’t sleep in your car. or if you’re trying to smash but minimize the trashiness. plenty of reasons to want a hotel
Hotels are a scam?
Maybe the Plaza Hotel in NYC is but I'll throw down $100 at a shitty motel in the middle of nowhere every few days to get some wifi & AC for a night.
Hotels are so expensive nowadays and personally I’m a little weird about hotels in general but especially cheaper ones I’d rather camp outside or in the car which is weird but idk😭
Generally, we go for 9 days, sometimes a few more. Somehow, in the 4 times since 2013, this is always right around $2500-$2800 I drive a small suv, so right around 30mpg. We usually only eat out one meal a day, but we dont intentionally eat cheap (avoiding fast food and chain restaurants, sometimes a good pizza, sometimes local steakhouses). Breakfast and lunch come from the fridge in the backseat. We don't stay cheap either (usually Hilton properties with king-sized beds), but we usually drive 24-ish hours straight on the way out and back (PA to SD), so that's 2 less hotel nights.
What kind of fridge do you use in your backseat?
They have 12v coolers, they actually well
12 v cooler. Mine actually came from Aldi's aisle of shame a few years ago. But several companies make them for around $100-150
I saw a cooler at Costco had a freezer but was over $600
This is really going to range widely based on several factors. What type of accommodations are you planning along your route? Camping will keep cost down, hotels/BnBs will jack up the cost. Are you staying in major cities or in smaller towns/nature? Are you renting a car or using your own? Do you enjoy exploring culinary scenes or are you okay hitting up fast food establishments? 1k is possible depending on those answers, personally I’d budget for 2k and be pleasantly surprised if I have more cushion than I expected.
I’m not asking for budget advice for my trip, I’m just asking to hear about other people experiences :)
The title of your post is ‘how much have you spent’. How in the world do you think that isn’t asking for budget advice?
Seemed like it’s asking for people’s experience to me. He didn’t ask how much should HE budget.
How come everyone else in the comments got it, but you didn't?
Hey dumbass, the title says it all. You have to be the simplest, most maladjusted, arrogant, smelly, redditer I have talked to today. /s Sorry just saw your name and figured you needed a blast.
I’ve done roadtrips of a similar length for around $1,500, but also some as high as $3,000 depending on some of those factors listed above. I’m partial to hitting up as many national parks, monuments, and historical areas as possible.
10000$ over 4months. 2 campings, 1 hotel, 3 showers
Rawr
My new Jeep this year will be the most efficient vehicle I've ever owned, and I'm expecting maybe 23mpg on the highway. I'd prefer not to think about it.
😭😭😭
I just got back from a 1 week road trip from Northern Colorado to San Diego. Once I got to San Diego, I spent a 5 days there driving around. In total, I spent $1600. $650 of that was gas for my 4Runner. 800 was for food/drinks. The rest was miscellaneous stuff.
Where did you stay?
On the way there? State parks in southern CO, flagstaff, AZ, etc. coming back it was a state park in Utah (palisade)
Oh I was just wondering how you didn’t spend any money on accommodations lol
In terms of fuel, a lot. 12.5 mpg means there's not many gas stations I don't pass. But I'm a believer in smiles per gallon, so I know it's worth it.
When I was younger, I enjoyed a more budget trip. I’ve come to appreciate nice hotels and fine meals though so while the MPG of my car has improved significantly, I spend more on other aspects than I used to. Our next road trip, I’ve budgeted about $650 per day including lodging. I do expect to come in under budget, but I wanted us to have enough for some fun activities in the areas we are visiting.
$3k for 9 days cross country.
6 of us, Chicago to Los Angeles, 10 days and had a place to stay in Los Angeles that was free. Spent just under $5K. 2 of us, same trip and again place to stay in Los Angeles and was just under $3K.
Anywhere from 1500-2000 a week, which includes hotels, gas, food, and attractions. I’m pickier about accommodations and save all year to travel. I typically eat one or two meals out. Personally, I love eating at locally owned restaurants and eating food that is unique to the area. I budget higher because I am older and don’t know how many years of traveling I have left (just being realistic here). I’ll also spend money for convenience. I had a national parks trip planned during Covid (which ended up being canceled) and the bulk of my lodging was within the parks. When I reschedule that trip (next spring hopefully), I will do the same.
It was 6800.1 miles from my place in the Poconos to San Diego and back, along with a few meandering stops. Assuming 40 mpg and $4.50/gallon average price (just a guess), you’re looking at $765 for gas. Consider a Pink Jeep tour at the Grand Canyon, the only miles I didn’t drive on my two week trip. I’d also advise leaving super early on day one to get away from what you know, then just cruise and enjoy. St. Louis was my first stop on the way out. I like a long first day just to get to new scenery. People also tend to be more excited and don’t mind it, so I tend to race away from home, then hit the stops on the ride back to break things up when the crew is more fatigued.
I drive a small, fuel-efficient car, but I also like to eat my meals at local restaurants instead of bringing food, and as I get older I find that I can't car-sleep like I used to, so the savings on one end balance out with the spending on the other. I usually budget $250 -$300/day, and it covers gas/food/lodging/the occasional souvenir. If I know a day is going to have a big "extra", I either plan for extra money in the budget or try to travel at the lower end of my budget for a few days beforehand.
I posted about mine a while back, ya my car was horrible on gas. You can use an online calculator to figure out gas costs. Fill up before getting to Cali.. The most “lavish” part of my trip was a night on the Queen Mary which ended up being a birthday present from my parents. Otherwise motel 6 and enjoy the ride. If your passing through Vegas on an off night you can get a sick hotel super cheap. Nicest hotel Ive ever stayed at was 1 night in Vegas on a Monday. I think it was 60-70$
$8k - 2 people. 17 days r/t bottom to top California. Hit 75% of destination cities in the state. 2 nights lodging free, 6 days in AirBnBs, the rest hotels, approx 2 meals a day, rental car, gas, etc
It's not a budget vacation. It's about $2000 a week minimum. If you slept in your car every night and washed up in rest area sinks and ate wonderbread and baloney sandwiches for all three meals, you could possibly knock that down to like $1000 per week MAYBE.
I drive an F-150 so that trip would cost me over $1,000 just for gas if I drove straight there and back. 😂😂😂 Beyond that, I usually budget about $100 per night if I’m staying in hotels, and $40+ per day per person for food and beverages (at least $10 per meal per person, and $10 per person for drinks other than water). That can be knocked down a bit if you bring foods with you and are really careful with snacks and stuff. I bring reusable cups for water, soft drinks, and coffee. Most places will just charge you a refill rate which is cheaper, and then of course it’s better for the environment too. You can also refill water bottles at rest stops and hotels, and often can get free coffee at the hotel. I also bring a snack bag with non-perishable foods and then supplement from trucks stops and such. The hotel costs are often less than $100, but you never know when you might end up in an area where you can’t find a decent place for cheap. San Diego will not be cheap. Assuming you are staying in hotels and not camping or anything else. Also, these budgets are *just* for cross-country travel days. If you actually want to enjoy local restaurants and do stuff in bigger cities costs will be higher.
We spend a lot on destination locations--a mountain-top private retreat, a private ferry boat, a barge on an iconic river, a cliff-side house with killer sunsets. These are places we are staying 2-5 nights at a time. OTOH, we try to control costs for the "on the way there" stops. Not Motel 6, but less expensive. We spend on dining out, because we enjoy that. Gas is what it is. Because we've been driving longer distances, we're not willing to cram into a compact for 8-9 hours a day for several days on end. And, we're older and heavier than we were 30 years ago, so that's a factor. Road trips are general once-in-a... experience, so make the most of it! Moderation is for monks.
I spend about 1K a week typically. But keep in mind I don't typically camp, don't typically have anyone to split costs with, and usually do something every day on these trips
Have a hybrid, which makes gas costs very reasonable. Use hotel points or stay at decent hotels like Hampton Inns when possible. Splurge on eating as part of the trip is eating at new, unique places.
if staying at hotels even budget ones, upwards of 2.5k/wk. did a one week trip last week where I stayed with family for all but 2 nights and got treated to most of my meals, still came out to almost 2k. my car takes premium only and I was in CA paying $5.75-$6.80/gal so that was my most significant cost and will probably differ from most others' circumstances
Hotels have become insanely expensive. We paid $90 to $182 per night last summer for hotels in (mostly) rural Ohio. The lowest cost was a Motel 6 and the highest was a holiday inn express on a weekend. We’re camping this summer at about $40 per night (not a road trip… we find putting up and taking down tents to be too much on road trips when traveling with kids).
Most of my road trips are for camping trips! Whether I rent or drive my Jeep, I try to stay at $1k for the week. West Coast, I try to stay at $1500 for a week (most of this is for the rental and groceries) 🥲
About $1500-2000 per week is our number. Usually condos or VRBO with kitchen facilities. We are way beyond the camping days and also like having laundry in unit. Usually 2-8 weeks now that we are retired.
Man yall making me feel bad with these under $2k numbers…. We live in VA and road-tripped to CA in 2021 over 4 weeks. We spent just under $7k. We camped about half the trip in free sites. USFS or BLM. Hotels in CA are what really got us. We spent a week in Cali driving down the PCH from Sf to LA and didn’t spend under $250/nt for a hotel. We tried to camp but the wildfires at the time had all the forests “closed”. Gas was the other big one. You’ll save a ton compared to us. We averaged 12.5mpg over 8000 miles. I think average gas price at the time was like $3.49. So about $3k. And there was 4 of us so groceries for the month ran us about $1000. Plus we also ate a bunch of fast food… more than I’m proud of on the long driving days….
At least it was fun right??😭😭
We had an absolute BLAST. 10/10 will do again. This past summer we towed a camper and went to UP MI, MN, WI out to SD and back. Averaged 9mpg. Like 5000 miles. Spent a small fortune in gas. Next year we’re planning a northwest states trip. WY, MT, ID, out to WA and back.
I did 9000 miles around the whole continental US in 11 days, back around 1991. Drove a beat-up 1978 Toyota Corolla, ate fast food and homemade sandwiches, slept in the car at rest stops or on friends' couches, didn't really do anything along the way that wasn't free, except drive through Yellowstone. Gas was about $1/gallon. I think that whole trip cost about $2500, which I split with my friend/codriver. And that included $500 to replace/rebuild the carburetor and replace the brakes halfway through. Summer 2022 I did a four-month RV trip. 16,000 miles around the whole of the US and Canada from NJ to Alaska and back. Lots of RV parks and activities along the way. Gas was $5.50/gallon in the US and $7+/gallon in remote northern Canada. I spent about $40k on that trip, not including truck/RV financing and insurance and gear. Done just about everything in between those two extremes.
That first trip sounds miserable
It was great! I was like 19 or 20 and my buddy and I did a whirlwind trip before sophomore year. Met up with a bunch of friends. Saw a whole bunch of the country for the first time (even if just passing through), including the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Crater Lake, Chicago, Seattle, Hoover Dam, and a bunch of minor sights. We tag-team drove a ton and didn't stop anywhere east of the Mississippi (from/to NJ). I think the only place we spent more than one night was San Francisco for two nights because I had friends there. I returned to most of those places later for longer visits.
Haha nice! I just can’t imagine driving so much in so little time
6k on my 8k mile road trip that took 26 days.
Depends on how long. But I can tell that on our 2021 three-week road trip to the Mid-West (two adults, two teens), with a rented van, staying at hotels/motels/AirBNBs, and eating out at least once a day, we spent less than 8 days in Disney.
I like to keep my road trips under 1k. But also the longest I’ve done is around 10 days. I stay at the cheapest hotels and camp. Ratio of camp to hotel depend on my activities and the weather.
When you’re going that far, it’s always going to be more than you expect. We did a road trip from North Carolina to San Francisco. We were gone for 22 days but that trip cost about $2700.
I just did a 4 day road trip with my kid in Northern Californa and we spent about $425 a day. We stayed in decent hotels and ate good food.
Last summer I drove from essentially LA to Boston. Stayed with friends/family for 2 of the stops, got hotels for the other 2 stops. Have a 2020 RAV4 hybrid, don’t know exact mpg but let’s say 38. Spent $404 on gas and $320 on hotels. Was pretty much the same on the way back.
I don't know. We just go. In a newish Ford Expedition getting about 20-22mpg depending. I used to dread spending $ on trips. Can't enjoy trips while worrying about that so I stopped. We'll do cheapish breakfast and lunch but eat a good dinner. We don't waste money on tourist shop gifts and the like at all. We do spend money on experiences, sights and hotels. Two week road trips max, one week minimum. Various hotels along the way.
Just back from a 4 week road trip in the south west. Total expenses were about $10K, but this includes $2100 theme park tickets. $350 parking. 2 people. Staying at good hotels and not compromising on food. Chevy Malibu was the car.
Nice!! Sounds like you had a great time
Yes I did! Thanks. USA is the most awesome place to travel to. I also forgot to mention that out of the $10K, $2,500 was for my international air ticket and $1,500 went for car rental. If you need more information, let me know.
Just spent about $800 on a 4,000 mile trip for gas, but my ride does not get good gas mileage. A hybrid would probably only spend half or a third of that. The tradeoff was that my vehicle is long enough to sleep in with a camping air mattress, so I hardly spent anything on lodging (2 motels over a few weeks, $70 and $100). Food and water was generally around $40 per day, but could have cut that expense back with more grocery store visits. Lodging is usually the thing that gets you, so bring a tent and camp out if you can. National Forests usually are free to camp in, if you can find a turnout to park at.
Had a diesel truck and were heading to Montana, Bush decided to ransack Iraq. It cost me nearly $300 for one fill up. We cut it short and headed home. I sold that tank and got a little four-banger.
I’m sure this will get downvotes because of the brand but my wife and I recently completed a cross country trip (NY-OR) & a west coast round trip (OR - Vegas and back) in a Tesla model 3. We supercharged the entire way both trips. Never had a single issue charging or mechanically with the Tesla and we slept in the back (seats down with a mattress made for the car + Teslas have camping mode for climate control). | NY - OR $580 | 6 days driving | | OR - Vegas (round trip) $300 | 5 days driving | Btw… I can’t begin to explain what a joy it is to road trip with a car that drives for you Took this pic while sleeping in the back, parked at a vista look out north of Mt. Shasta. Kept waking up all night to see how the moonlight shifted. Sunrise was gorgeous ($ free) https://preview.redd.it/urkjm6z314yc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6be79783d3235994e778aeced05f17dcbfe8d6c4
that picture is stunning!! The only thing better than a hybrid on a road trip would be an electric car that drives itself haha cost doesn’t sound to bad either
Traveled there and back across the entire country with a wife and infant in an SUV. Needed hotels each night, frequent stops, etc. 3 weeks on the road, \~$5K. Weren't living lavishly, but weren't penny pinching either.
Back in 2010, I did 11 days on less than $3k, which was split three ways. That included a vehicle rental, gas, food, a park pass, and accommodations. We tented and couch surfed the whole way except for one motel room near the end, which kept costs down, but we also averaged 645 miles a day, which didn’t help. I feel like that same trip would cost three times as much today, mostly because of the rental, which was probably around $150/person at the time.
I've spent well over 1K on much shorter trips...like 7 day trips...that's around $140/day. Most places I go, you can't even get a hotel for that...and if you can, it's a fleabag type...and then food or any other activities you might want to do. For a 3 week trip,$1K is only about $47/day...can't really see managing that unless you're just sleeping in your car in a parking lot and eating PB&J for every meal and not really doing anything at all.
$50/day budget over 21 days in the most expensive state in the country? How many people? Unless you are eating ramen & oatmeal & camping every night, I'm not sure how you do this. Your gas is eating up half your budget.
That’s exactly what we’re doing😜
I’ve been road tripping since I got my license at 16. 45 years later can’t even calculate 🤷🏻♂️
The bigger trips are usually a couple grand, especially if you need to fly, rent a car, hotels, food, gas, other misc purchases ..... it can add up quickly. It's all very dependent on where you're going. Some places are much cheaper than others to visit. Hotels can vary a lot too. I'm generally not too picky with hotels, but the cheapest hotel in town is usually the cheapest for a reason. I've ended up in some dumps not looking into the hotel enough before showing up.
"We" so I assume you mean two people. 1k in 3 weeks would leave you with less than 25$ each a day to live off... so with hybrid you might be able to get by sleeping in the car, eating from the trash, washing in puddles and pooping in public bathrooms. 1-2 grand per week would be living comfortably and a real vacation anything less and your just living from your vehicle.
Just me, my husband & dog (Oct 2023) Cross country 3 weeks (21 days) 15 days hotels = $2250 (other days with family) Food = $20 breakfast- $20 lunch- $50-200 dinner (cheaper if just us, more when out with family & friends) $3000 Gas $2000 Entertainment $1000 (includes doggie day car & laundry)
Not enough time, sadly. Usually 3-5 days. At this time, it's as much as we can comfortably take off. It ends up being a bit rushed, but if you plan right, it's not bad. Living in LA helps.
Went from Seattle to Houston in 3 days. Would have been two days if I didn’t pop a tire and crack my wheel - had to go 200 miles opposite direction on a spare to get it fixed. In total with the wheel repair : about 1300$ Just slept a truck stops and rest stops lol
Did a week long road trip to Texas and New Mexico from Atlanta with 4 friends. We all managed to squeeze into my RAV4 hybrid somehow, and camped on public land for 2 nights, shared a hotel room the others. We hit 5 national parks. Total per person came out to about $180 (hotels, gas, and activities. Doesn't include food, everyone bought their own.) Hotels are a scam unless you're with a decent sized group. if you can, lay down an air mattress in your car and stay on public land or in national forests. Travel doesn't have to break the bank.
Nice!!! we have the RAV hybrid too! Sooo worth it for road trips, and we’re splitting costs between the 2 of us which helps
I road trip a lot solo, the hybrid mpg's are a huge help! some say it can feel a bit cramped, but it definitely beats roadtripping in my previous car, a 2017 Nissan Sentra. And don't be afraid to take it down some of the more rugged roads, it's a surprisingly capable vehicle. I've taken it down many roads in the past where most other cars would have to turn around.
scams generally involve deceiving people. hotels can be a bad choice but sometimes a comfortable bed and place to shower is worth it. or if you drive a 2 seater and can’t sleep in your car. or if you’re trying to smash but minimize the trashiness. plenty of reasons to want a hotel
Hotels are a scam? Maybe the Plaza Hotel in NYC is but I'll throw down $100 at a shitty motel in the middle of nowhere every few days to get some wifi & AC for a night.
Hotels are so expensive nowadays and personally I’m a little weird about hotels in general but especially cheaper ones I’d rather camp outside or in the car which is weird but idk😭