Budget Travel in the US: Budget for a Roadtrip Through USA West
The United States are said to be one of the more expensive regions in the world for traveling. We traveled for three weeks with a rental car, visiting various national parks and major cities in the Southwest USA. In this post, we added all the costs of traveling through USA West and share our budget tips. Check out our budget for travel in the US!
General Information Budget Travel in the US
To understand the costs listed below, it’s important to know the type of trip we took through the western USA. We traveled as a couple for 20 days in January. Most of the time, we stayed in motels and rented a car for almost the entire trip.
Overview of Our Travel Budget in the US West
So, what’s our budget for traveling through the USA West? In total, we spent about $3000 (excluding flights), which comes to around $75 per person per day. Below, you can see a general breakdown of where our money went, based on 2024 prices (no discounts or special offers applied).
- Accommodation (40%)
- Food and drinks (17%)
- Transportation (33%)
- Activities (7%)
- Miscellaneous (3%)
Flight Costs
The price of flights depends on a variety of factors, so we won’t mention specific prices here. Be sure to check out Skyscanner for the best deals. We took a flight from Hawaii to L.A. as part of our world trip.
Accommodation Costs
We spent around $1200 on accommodation, which is about $60 per night for two people. We mostly stayed in motels, except in San Francisco, where a hostel was the cheapest option. The quality of the motels was fine, though there were some variations along the way. Breakfast is generally included, but don’t expect much, mostly pre-packaged bread and sugary items, typical for the USA.
Check out all the hotels and motels in the USA.
Food and Drinks
Food and drinks aren’t really cheap in the USA. To keep costs down, we mainly bought groceries. In the motels, we made sandwiches (if we could find veggies at the store). We also often grabbed take-out at various diners or fastfood companies. Our total food and drink costs came to $500.
Transportation in the USA
We highly recommend renting a car for a road trip through the USA West. We booked through Sunnycars, and the total cost for transportation (including car rental, fuel, parking fees, and public transport/taxis) was around $1000. This was one of our biggest expenses during the trip!
Activity Costs
We bought the America the Beautiful National Park Pass already in Hawaii, which cost us $80. This pass allows you to enter most national parks without additional fees, which saved us money in the long run. If you were to buy individual tickets for each park, it would add up quickly. Besides visiting national parks, we didn’t do many paid activities. Another paid activity was Alcatraz in San Francisco. Our total activity expenses were about $200.
SIM Card, Souvenirs, and Miscellaneous Expenses
As with any trip, there are always a few small expenses to consider. We bought an eSIM through Airalo and also spent some money on our ESTA. In total, these expenses came to about $100.
By following a budget-conscious approach, we were able to explore the USA West without spending a fortune. With some careful planning, you can enjoy everything from national parks to iconic cities without overspending!
