We’re two people, will mostly be camping/tenting and going to an occasional hotel every now and then. Focus will be on nature/national parks, but also cities, towns, and cabins every so often. Will mostly be cooking our food but go to restaurants every now and then.
Cost includes everything except car payment. Hoping to do $40-50 a day for two people!
Do you think this is doable?
Do you already have a car you’d be living out of?
Your biggest obstacle is getting a 4 month visa to be honest. Standard tourist visa is 90 days.
You’ll have to couchsurf the entire time.
It would be nearly impossible unless you really limited yourself to dispersed camping (so no paying for camping spots at NPs) and were really frugal when it came to restaurant outings and fun activities. Gas alone is such a huge factor and depending on your route and any detours you may take, you could easily blow your entire budget in just 2.5 months.
If you stay primarily on the west coast you can stretch that budget pretty far by staying in national forests. You can drive in and set up a tent anywhere for free for up to 3days before changing your camp site. You will pretty much have to buy food in bulk (think rice/beans/pasta) and some hard cheeses that won’t need to be refrigerated… some soy sources of protein like TVP… Get a camp stove to cook on. Where you can’t sleep in a forest you will have to stay in highway rest stops and the like. It’s a pretty rough way to travel but it is fun if you don’t mind getting grubby and being looked at funny.
Cities, hotels, etc… anything not camping will really cut into your budget. Not sure if you will really get 4 months out of that kind of money though. Shit happens and you are going to want a reprieve every once in a while.
Write CA, HI, NY off your list altogether and add AL, NC, SC, WY, KS.
Oh! And i hope you are white/ American/ straight to stick to that route lol.
In other words, no you can’t.
One can easily travel through CA & NY states on a budget, especially camping. There’s a lot of state parks and camping.
It depends on where you go, how much space you want, and how much privacy you need. Cities like NYC, LA, SF & MIA will probably cost a minimum of $2000 for a studio, if you book several months in advance. But you might also want to try sites like Kindred, if you have a place to swap.
I’d probably prepare to set the following montly budget:
- accommodation: $2500 (1)
- groceries: $250/week (4)
- bus, metro, cabs: $250 per person (2)
- flights/rail: $250 per person (2)
- dinners: $100 per person (2)
- activities: $75 per person (2)
$6000/month is probably the minimal viable budget.
AHAHA airbnb and hotels starts at 200 per night EVERYWHERE. no way
I have done super cheap travel in many countries including the US. That’s probably possible, but would be fairly miserable. You could go through $50 in gas a day easily.
There are good deals to be found, but no good wifi in parks to find them.
No
I did this internationally a couple years ago. It was an amazing trip and taught me a lot about life and my direction. However I went about 3x over budget lol. It got tough.
Just plan in incidental costs. Things like having to book another hotel, doing fun things, you meet a friend who shows you a super nice restaurant, etc. Things pop up especially when traveling for that long. I figure only half my travel budget is going to go for flights and accomodations…the rest are day to day expenses and the surprise ones.
Two months if you’re being extra frugal, which is not going to be super fun.
Sleep in your car; prepare by having a second battery, a microwave, a fridge, shopping at Costco, and filling up on gas.
Campgrounds at typically $30 a day, if you want a bathroom. I see no way to do $40-$50 a day unless you sleep under a bridge and eat only rice
No