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Budgeting for a road trip can be difficult. Food, gas, parking, groceries, restaurants, much-needed coffee stops, all adds up. Especially if you’re planning to take on a route as large as the entire United States. But traveling in a van is the perfect way to do a budget USA road trip.
We traveled the United States for three months in our converted camper van Phoebe. She’s nothing fancy–Just a 1994 Dodge Ram Van that we laboriously dismantled and converted one summer. She has a massive bed, kitchenette, and a table with a u-shaped bench. We set out to explore America’s National Parks and also to sample all the best (& underrated) American food.
& we spent more than we had originally planned.
I recorded every single transaction. From the $0.44 water refills to the $75 gas tank fill-ups so that you can have an educated guess on your own cross-country road trip expenses.
& so that you can understand exactly what van life costs before you make the leap and begin converting your own vehicle. Because there are tons of benefits to van life but it may not be as cheap as you think.
The Ultimate Budget USA Road Trip
Let’s talk logistics.
Where are you headed? Whether your planning to live in your van full time & just want a look at the average expenses of van life or you’re planning an epic cross-country road trip & want to know how much to have in the bank before you go…this post will shed some light on the subject.
But be aware that traveling in cities tends to be more expensive than exploring the more rural areas of the USA. We did a bit of both on this trip.
Best Way to Travel America on a Budget? Van life.
Okay. I might be biased. But van life has changed the road trip game. It’s made it cheaper. More comfortable. & helped me to travel more off-the-beaten-path. But van life isn’t always as glamorous as it’s made out to be. & if you’re on the fence you should test out van/RV travel before you invest in your own rig.
My favorite RV rental company is RVShare. They have rentals all over the U.S. & are a very affordable option (Van rentals can be so overpriced). Another perk…they are locally owned RVs which means they are cozier than a generic rental and you’re supporting small businesses.
3-Month USA Road Trip
This specific road trip budget breakdown is from our 3-month USA road trip where we visited every single National Park in the U.S.
If you’re looking for route specifics be sure to check out my blog post on our Great American Foodie Road Trip where I talk about every single place we ate on the road or our Ultimate USA National Park Road Trip Route outlining how we hit every single national park in the United States.
If you want access to our massive master Google Map with 400+ destinations–food stops, roadside attractions, state parks, etc. you can sign up for my email list below & I’ll send you a copy. You won’t even need to plan for your next cross-country road trip.
Our USA Road Trip Budget
We’ve been full-time traveling on a budget for quite some time now. I actually wrote a blog post all about how we traveled the world on a budget of $50 a day. But the U.S. is an expensive place to travel. & we wanted to get the full American Foodie Road Trip experience which meant we would be eating many meals in restaurants.
Our goal for the cross country road was to spend around $50 a day for the both of us.
Spoiler: We missed our mark a little bit. It was a lofty goal. Considering we drove over 18,000 in a vehicle that only got 13ish miles to the gallon.
But honestly, we were pretty damn close. & considering all the amazing food we got to try along the way…100% worth it.
What We Actually Spent on Our Cross Country Road Trip
Let’s break it down item by item. This is where our money went on our 3-month USA road trip.
That comes to a grand total of around $29 per person. About $720 over our total intended budget.
Food & gas were the bulk of our spending since we spent most of our free time exploring National Parks or people-watching in cities.
How We Saved Money on Our Cross Country Road Trip
First, let’s talk about the things we did well.
We NEVER stopped for coffee on the road. Which was painfully difficult sometimes. But I did the calculations and we saved around $500 simply by using our French press every morning instead of hitting the coffee stands.
We cooked the majority of our meals (despite what our restaurant costs say) inside the van. A major perk of van living. Groceries are just so much cheaper than eating out.
We used GasBuddy to find the cheapest gas available. When you’re living life on the road gas is a major expense. Especially when your “home” is a gas-guzzling 13mpg (if you’re lucky) tank. We saved on average $10 a fill-up just by choosing gas strategically.
We got a great credit card. Specifically, with gas rewards. We use the Bank of America card Cash Rewards Card and it gave us 3% cashback on gas. Which ended up being about $70 in earnings!
We got the America the Beautiful Pass. For $80 it gives you access to every single National Park and Monument in the United States. If you plan on visiting even just 3 of the major national parks it’s worth the money.
We also refused to pay for parking unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and Stealth camped all across the United States. If you’re looking for tips on Stealth Camping you’ll find them here.
& now let’s look at the ways you can spend less money on your road trip across America.
Tips For Spending Less on your Budget-Friendly USA Road Trip
We did a fairly good job at keeping our costs low. But there are a few things we could have done differently on our cross-country road trip to save us even more money!
1. Pick Grocery Stores Strategically
We just shopped wherever was convenient. We didn’t bother learning the budget chains across America & definitely spent more money at fancy organic places like Sprouts and Publix.
2. Eat Out Less Often
Obviously, our restaurant costs were huge. If you want to save more money on the road just cook more meals inside the van. It has a kitchen after all!!
I don’t regret spending the money we did on food across America because I discovered my love for Southern Food. Seriously. If you splurge anywhere…make it the south.
3. Cut out Alcohol
You don’t see it on the budget breakdown but hidden in those grocery and restaurant bills are copious amounts of local beer and cocktails. Post-hiking beers, nightcaps, and brewery stops after a long day of driving. We spent about $775 on alcohol. Pretty much the exact amount we went over-budget.
Cut out (or cut down) on alcohol consumption to save a considerable chunk of change.
Planning your budget for a USA road trip is difficult without seeing a budget-breakdown from other travelers. We spent $60 a day or $30 per person per day on our cross-country road trip.
Let me know in the comments if you managed to spend more or less on your last road trip!!
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