Your biggest obstacle is getting a 4 month visa to be honest. Standard tourist visa is 90 days.
this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023
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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.
I think 2 months is the max they can do. Not to mention how tiring will camping trip this long be.
Per month, yes
If you planned out places to camp for free, and budgeted your food I think you can do it. In-season produce in the southern half of the us is not expensive.
No. That’s per month. We did it.
If you had a camper or something and were going to be staying at truck stops and walmarts, then you would be fine.
But if you want to pitch tents at camp sites, it's a lot harder.
And gas really adds up.
If I were you, I'd build a DIY camper you could pull behind your car. Or try to get a truck you can outfit for sleeping and prep to do the trip in a year or two. But you're probably going to need a bit more of a budget for it. Especially if you haven't factored in your vehicle yet to costs....
Not for 4 months no this country is expensive
I'm gonna say probably not?
There's a lot of variables not specified here - what region(s), total mileage, how often is "every now and then" for hotels, restaurants, cities, and towns. I think you absolutely could do a 4 month trip on that budget, but it would involve a lot of planning and limit your options - some combination of a lot of free/primitive camping, low total mileage, relying mostly on annual park pass and free activities for entertainment, sticking to cheap areas of the country, etc. (For some perspective, in many areas just getting a campsite could be half or all of your daily budget). So I have a sense your budget could get you a nomadic experience of some kind, but not everything you're looking for.
Wife and I traveled for about a month, driving from CT to AZ by way of the south (furthest south we hit was Destin, FL). We were able to stay with some relatives, for free nights.
Camping ranges between 0-35 a night. At 0, you don't get running water toilets usually. Most of the time, state parks were 20ish a night with bathrooms and showers.
Gas was the killer for us. My old Ford ranger only gets 23ish mpg on a good day. We were spending easily 50/day on gas when we were moving.
We occasionally slept in hotels, when the price was right and we just needed a recharge. They were 40-60/night. Or if we wanted to go to a city. If we did free camping, we'd hotel the next night usually to get a shower, for instance. Although showers are available in truck stops, too, I think it was like 7/shower so it's almost cheaper to just spend money on a camp site with a shower. Occasionally you'll find a free Campground with running water, but never shower unfortunately. Like there's a great one near the Navajo national Monument.
Food.. We would usually skip at least one meal to keep costs low, usually breakfast. Or we'd just make oatmeal with morning coffee or something. Lunch varied in prices. Cheapest was Texas, where we found sausage sandwiches at a BBQ place on the side of the road for a whopping 2.50. We would generally spend 10/person per meal though for dinner or lunch if eating out, and that's including going to the grocery store for things like a rotisserie chicken plus sides. Tipping adds up, too.
If we cooked ourselves, we did better, but that was mostly beans and rice and lentils with few fresh meals.
Our grand total ended up being about 110/day. We didn't do hardly any attractions, and we lived pretty minimally, but we could've gone more minimal. Camping wasn't great until we hit new Mexico. It was too hot in the south (August) and too expensive in the north (30+/night).
4 months for 4-5k is possible I think, but you won't end up really doing much imho. Definitely pickup America the beautiful Pass though, at least you'll see the parks. Beyond that, you won't have budget for like, Disneyland, or universal studios, and you'll need to be quite minimalist if you want to go to cities.
New Orleans, for example, destroyed our budget for a while, and we did free walking tours, free Sazerac tour, etc. But having to eat out so frequently was expensive and staying in a hotel. We couldn't afford to go to any music shows and we could only afford to get one traditional new Orleans meal, at mother's. Besides that we ate tacos and street food mostly, po boys in little bodegas, and our hotel provided free water and coffee.
i agree it is possible if you spend most of your time in nature. i did 6 weeks solo off 1.5k driving up and down the east coast this past summer. i did some cities and enjoyed free museums (washington dc), skateboarding, and catching concerts. if there are any big events (music festivals, conferences, etc.) that you want to attend, then hit them up a month or two in advance to see if you can volunteer in exchange for attendance. everyone could use help collecting trash lol.
I don't think so. Not for 4 months.
I've spent extensive time hiking across the US, 14,000 miles over the course of years. That's about as cheap as you can get, sleeping mostly in the woods, eating ramen most nights.
And even then a hiker budget is 1k-1.5k/month, for one person.
Considering you'll have the added expense of vehicle, gas, paying $20-30/night camping fees, and then hotels ontop of that. Just food alone in the US it's hard to get under $20/day per person anymore, and that's with minimal restaurant meals.
I think this budget would be doable for 2 months, but 4 is really pushing it.
food alone in the US it's hard to get under $20/day
This is crazy to me because I’m routinely under that, even accounting for $6 a day in energy drinks.
A microwavable bag of broccoli ($1.20), a can of beans ($1), a pound of chicken/beef ($3), and a cup of rice (<$0.50) should cover anyone’s caloric needs while being quite healthy. Maybe add in a few eggs if needed and a multivitamin to be safe, but we’re still well under $10.
Even without access to a kitchen, $20 is still a lot. I’m a 6’2” man and $8 on the Taco Bell value menu is overkill for me.
But what about the therapy sessions a normal person would need after only eating that day after day?
If eating a simple but nutritionally complete meal sends you to therapy, you're incredibly weak-willed or have never heard of spices.
agreed
Where did you spend the 1- 1.5k on? Since accommodation and travel was basically free
That's awesome, mind saying a little bit more about your experience? Appalachian trail/PCW? What was your favorite area?
Sounds about right. I did that solo in a sedan when gas was around $3.00 over 13k miles for maybe a little bit less. No hotels or cabins or frills for me though. Stayed with friends and family when I’d hit a city.
I’d probably triple that. Or live out a van/cheap RV. It’s somehow more expensive usually to travel this country then to live in it, which is already too expensive.
Somehow? I think it's always more expensive to travel a country than to live in the same country.
Everything doable … but have to have super discipline on staying on budget …
No. the has alone will kill a significant portion of your budget
Yes, easily, there are many states that wont prosecute you if you steal under $1000 USD. So if you check which states they are, you can steal to save money. It's becoming more and more popular to do and there's a lot of social support for this online.
Messed up morals. Check yourself man. We’re here to make a better world not ruin it.
Possible but it would be really shit. You would have to cover extremely small distances, eat no decent food, never pay for anything fun.
Yes but expect to sleep in your car or camp on BLM land or park in truck stops. Also always cook your own food bought in grocery stores. Leaves your only expenses gas and food. Travel slowly. It would be tight but certainly doable.
Nope
Definitely not. As someone who camps a ton and spends most time outside it is still expensive
I’d guess no. If you assume you camp every night at $25/day that only leaves $15-25/day for everything else. This means you’d have to chose whether you spend money on gas or food for the day.
Can you drive for Uber while traveling to pick up a little extra spending money?
As others have said…it would be tough, especially if you had an emergency.
But to make your dollars go further, buy a national parks pass for $80. It’s waves entrance fees into national parks, which add up quickly. Yosemite and Yellowstone are both $40, for example, so after two parks it pays for itself.
Also, I’ve traveled across the U.S. half a dozen times and always try to camp in free spots. This website is a user entered database where you can find free camp spots near you (ranging from gas stations to beautiful hidden oases - so read the reviews!). The US isn’t like some countries where you have the “right to roam”. We can really only camp in certain areas, and this site will help you find spots.
Per month, yes. If this is your total for the whole 4months, probably no
Doable but extremely unlikely coz you won’t survive.
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
Do you already have a car you'd be living out of?