[jase85]

Hi there,

I have decided that I want to travel around the USA for three months, travelling down the East & West Coasts.
I want to go as I soon as I have enough money saved, but how much should be enough?
Im not bothered about living in luxury (obviously), but I wouldn't want to go really cheap.
To cut costs I may well travel to different cities overnight and sleep on the bus to save having to stay in hostels the whole time. Is this a good idea?

Any help, much appreciated.

[skate1968]

Welcome aboard Jase!

There is a general rule of thumb: 'Add up all of your estimated costs and made up a daily budget. Then take twice as much money and half the luggage.'

It's hard to estimate exactly how much money you'll need. Generally i find the States are more difficult to travel than Europe. Things are very spread out. And I believe that that there fewer hostels.

I would consider camping before I'd consider sleeping on a bus. But others would know better.

How will you get from onc coast to the other? Bus, plane or 'driveaway?' I once did a driveaway. And it was a cheap way to see the country. (especially if you meet someone along the way who's willing to come along and pitch in for gas!)

What country are you coming from?

Some hostels make deals where they provide some room and board for someone in exchange for your labor. Have never done this myself but you might consider looking in to it.

[jase85]

I am coming from the UK (England to be precise). I wasn't planning on a driveaway as I have only recently passed my test and am not usre if I would be allowed (aren't there certain rules about driving abroad?). Thanks for the advice though, it is useful.

Cheers

[musicdisciple]

Have a look at http://www.discoverypass.com/index.asp?referrerid=1 for bus passes. Can you actually sleep on a bus? Some people can but a lot can't.

Plan out what cities you want to see and check the bus times to see which have overnight busses between them, and which have hostels that look like good deals.

[ksbrandon]

I am a little late in responding, but I would be glad to answer any questions you have about travel in the US. I would agree with most of the previous comments... More difficult than europe due to rural areas between larger cities. There are no where near as many hostals as in other areas of the world. Camping works, but can be difficult to finda camp ground; you could sack out anywhere but I'm not sure how well that would go over with the locals. Plenty of hotels though, and the worst start out at about $30 per night. Good hotels run from $50 to $80 in most areas of the country. In the hot spots you can count on much higher costs though. Busses are going to be the cheapest way to go cross country except for hitching which isn't for everybody. I have hitched from Kansas to Oregon and had a great time; good people and made fast time for the cost of a few meals and helping with gas. This isn't a requirement, but is good manners. There are good sites devoted to sharing space for travellers; crashing on couches and such. Shoot me a message if I can answer any questions.

Later

working jobs we hate to buy stuff we don't need...
http://lifeunplugged.net

[SteveSki81]

A man after my own heart...

I've just decided that I to am going to travel the US of A....

I don't really have a limit on a budget and I don't really have a plan on where to go allbeit not wanting to hit the major cities such as NYC, Boston, Pittsbrg etc....

I've been looking at these vulture sites where they promise you a 64 day trip showing you as much as possible but haven't seen any reviews on these? Are they any good?
Other than that I don't know anyone who wants to be a travel buddy but I kind of was hoping there was a site that would get a load of like-minded people together and you travelled around in a big group? or is that pie in the sky?

Apologies for all the questions...never done anything like this before but think now is the time....

SS

[primeelite]

One misconception that many have coming from other countries is that they can travel by car across the US like it would be traveling from one end of the UK to the other. Traveling from lets say New York City to Los Angeles would be around a 30-35 hour drive without much stops. Also you need to know something about some of the cities because I can't count how many times I see foreigners traveling in Los Angeles by car and end up in the bad neighborhoods. I would suggest getting with some kind of travel company as they can help prepare something reasonable that you could pay for almost all at once to avoid getting stuck in the middle of nowhere here with no money. So my advice for you since I think you mentioned you were young is to just get something set up where you tour one area to start with then maybe come back and look at another area. The United States as a whole is too large to view in total and enjoy unless you are here for at least a month.