Can someone help me work out an approximate budget? I'm trying to work out the approximate $$ I need to be saving for my trip.
At the moment I have decided on going to NYC, Chicago, DC and San Francisco. I'm not really into partying and drinking (will only be 20 anyway), cheaper food (grabbing something on-the-run as I go along), average sightseeing, hostels or cheaper hotels. I do hope to see a little bit of country outside the cities but may take a tour (green tortoise or TrekAmerica) for that.
I want to stay for 1-1.5 months in total and the trip will start early October.

I realize that there is no definite amount anyone can give me. I'm looking for more of a guide than a magical number.
Thanks for any help, and if you need more info to answer just ask...

-K.

Wow...this is a tough one. I'm assuming you are coming from overseas. For plane tickets alone, you would need to budget $200-$300 for each leg. Getting to & from the states from Europe (if that is where you will be coming from) will vary, but probably $500-$900 round trip. For hotels, even "cheap" ones, you'll spend at least $50/night probably more unless you are staying in unpopular areas. Food, at least $30/day ($5 breakfast, $10 lunch, $15 dinner) and this is eating CHEAP (fast food, deli's, street vendors). Also, you'll need to budget for transportation while in each city. Depending on if you take the train, walk, taxi...it will vary. Probably $5-20/day.

It's pretty hard to give you a good estimate. I suggest you take time, check out flight costs and hotel rates in each city, then get out your calculator and start adding it up. You can also buy a guide book and use their price listings for different attractions and hotels.

Good luck and I hope you have a great trip!

Thanks.
I'm coming over from Australia. Mostly travelling alone too.
I'm looking for day-to-day expenses more than flights, etc.
Is $8000Aus ($5,974.46US) too optimistic? That's $177Aus ($132US) per day for 45 days.
It would have to provide accommodation, food, sightseeing, travel (pretty much everything!).

I think I would shoot for 150.00 a day... and have cushion space on a credit card just in case.
You would really need to research accomodations to make it work, splitting time between hostels and budget hotels.

I can't help with the price estimate, but will offer this: Since you would be willing to use hostels, why not email or write to hostels in some of the towns you plan on visiting, and ask for some suggestions for specific towns? Many hostels have discounted or free tickets for local attractions. There are student organizations, such as "student advantage" that seem to have substantial discounts for members too, although I cannot vouch for them.

Transportation: I think that if I were again 20 years old and traveling, I'd consider carrying one of those "Razor" scooters with me. They look like they fold up easy enough to carry with your baggage, yet provide a BIG advantage over walking, if you were using a not-too-big backpack for luggage. In-line skates would be my next choice. Also check transportation availability - here's a link: http://www.apta.com/links/state_local/

Of course, making a lunch, or purchasing a sandwich in a supermarket, and keeping to a light breakfast (bagel, cereal, juice) that can be stored & eaten away from restaurants keeps the budget down too. One relative of mine always has lunch as the biggest meal (especially buffet) as the lunch prices are often less than dinner .. she has a sandwich later, and a light breakfast.

I think what you have budgeted is probably enough. You can get by on less than $100 most days for food, lodging, and entertainment if you stay almost exclusively in hostels, and get metro passes for transportation in each city. Budget hotels will probably be too expensive in the cities, and hostels allow you to hook up with other travelers to share ideas and some expenses. You can see the countryside if you take trains or buses between destinations.

You could cut down on some expenses. Here are some suggestions:

From NYC to DC, take Amtrak, not a plane. You will not have to pay for transportation to and from airports, the train picks you up at Penn Station in NYC, and drops you right in the middle of DC. In DC, all of the museums are free. A week in NYC, a week in DC, approximately (takes into consideration your jet lag and travel days).

I would fly to Chicago and spend 5 days, and then fly out to San Francisco. 5 days there, and then take a bus down to Los Angeles (very scenic along the coast). Spend 5 days in Los Angeles and fly home from there. LA is a major hub and you will have a shorter ride home from there than you will from NY.

Have you looked into special airline offers. If you go from the US to europe youcan sometimes buy special offers in whcih you get add-on flights for very reasonable prices ($50 - $100) but these are not available on the spot. Have you checked if any of the US airlines offers this to Australians? Otherwise the cost of flights can be outrageous.

Also, on the east coast train (basic Amtrak - not ACela) would be cheaper then flying. Bus would be even less - but this is a very budget alternatave and the stations are often in bad parts of town.

I would agree that hostels are the way to go. Most places decent budget hotels would blow your budget - even on priceline.

Also - have you sorted out your financial logistics? The US is becoming more and more a cashless society - and you definitely don;t want to carry much. So organize your credit cards and ATM/debit account set up far in advance - and make sure your ATM card works on all the major US networks.

Katierina:

A different consideration:

The weather!!!!

In California we have "summer" until Halloween night then poof! we have winter with some days of sunshine dispersed more often than not.

The temps drop so, if you are more out than in this could be a factor for you to be aware of.

I have to say that although I love home(California) New York is simply the place to be during the holidays which start with our Thanksgiving "week" of November 22 forward.

I would probably take advantage of California's "late" summer and then head east. You may even take the Amtrack Train from here to Chicago, DC and on into NYC... if you have a little time.
Contact them for the schedule and the price.

Hope this gives you more options to ponder...which is the beauty of travel.

Oh, for lodging, if you are a part of an Alunmi group contact them for Alumns in the areas where you plan to visit. Many will help you out with lodging and showing your their city.

Your trip sounds great.
Oaktown Traveler

This ould be a great place to start researching your accomodations: www.hostels.com.
I think your budget is very much doable. And don't worry about the "cashless society" advice. US is actually light years behind most western countries in that respect, although I will agree that carrying that kind of cash would be asking for trouble. Here in the US we have pre-paid charge cards for just such occasions. Maybe you could do some research and see if Australian banks offer such service. Basically you deposit a certain amount of cash into the account and the banks give you a VISA or MC that works just like a credit card, but it's only good for the amount deposited. I'm just assuming that you don't have a CC yet. This allows you to get one without any credit history.
Also look into www.amtrak.com. You do have some time, and the train would allow you to treavel on the cheap, but more importantly, you could see a great deal more. I do believe they offer special fares for foreigners and especially students. A straigh through trip across the continent will take 3 or 4 days, but if you get a pass, you could get on and off as you please. Plus it could save some money on accomodations as some of the trips (LA-Chicago) would involve 2 nights.
Food - America is the KING of fast food. If you're ok with most places you could have great meals for about $30-40 per day. Burgers, pizza, chicken, seafood, chinese, vegeterian, etc., all available for under $10.

The hostels will be your best source for transportation needs in any particular city. Most large cities do have sufficient and fairly cheap transportation available. I would think the hostels would have some special deals with the local transportation provider just for vistors like you. The ONLY thing you have to worry a little bit is not getting off in the wrong neighborhoods. Like any large city, each of the major ones you mentioned do have some undesirable areas. Again, check with the hostels people before you venture out the first time. I can't tell you about any other city, but Chicago has one of the special few days passes that you could use on buses and trains. Look here for details http://www.transitchicago.com/

Do a search for all the other major cities and I'm sure they offer someting similar.

Have a wonderful trip. USA is a beautiful country as you will discover, but I think you will agree at the end of the trip that our country and our people are very much like yours.

On some college campuses they will have information on ride sharing. People driving from place x to place y and looking for someone to share expenses. Most of these are legit and worthwhile, but there could be someone with bad intentions putting up ride notices. This is a super cheap way to get between cities, but is dependend on what notices are posted.

For cheap meal head to grocery stores for deli sandwiches or make-your-own salad bar. Or find a Chinese buffet at lunch and pig out.

Wow, sounds like a great adventure. For hotels and food and incidental expenses such as tours or cab fares I would budget about $200 US per day. With 1-1.5 months I would not limit yourself to just the cities you listed. In the east i would also add in Philadelphis, which is between NYC and DC. The Amtrak train goes between NYC, Philadelphia, and DC, so Philly is a logical stop between NYC and DC. NYC and Chicago are by far the biggest of the cities you have on your list, so you will want to spend more of your time there (probably 1 week in each city). Both of these cities have lots to offer. DC and San Francisco are relatively small cities in comparison. In DC I'd plan on about 3 days to see the monuments and the museums. San Francisco can easily be done in 2 days, 3 days maximum. In Philadelphia I would plan for about 4 days to see the highlights such as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the spectacular Philadelphia Museum of Art.

In California I also would in addition to San Francisco also visit San Jose, Monterey, and Los Angeles, and San Diego if you have the time. LA is the biggest and most spread out city in California so you could easily fill 1 weeks worth of time there. San Jose is the biggest city in northern Califonia and would warrant 2 or 3 days there as well. To get to San Jose from SF you can take the Caltrain (1.5 hr. ride). From San Jose to Monterey there is public transportation via Amtrak train to Salinas then a bus to Monterey. If you are going to rent a car, that would be the easiest way to get to Monterey from San Jose. From San Jose to LA you can take the Amtrak Coast Starlight train which as the name suggests, travels along the coastline, or fly if you want to get to LA quicker. Southwest Airlines has reasonable fares to LA from San Jose. From LA to San Diego is a bout a 2 hr. train ride on Amtrak. I would recommend 2 days in Monterey and 4 days in San Diego.

October is a beautiful time of the year on the east coast (NYC, Philadelphia, and DC) I would fly into NYC and take a train to Philadelephia and DC. Fly from DC to Chicago and then fly from Chicago to either San Jose or San Francisco, then fly down to LA from San Jose and return to Australia from LA.

One thing to remember is that October is a busy time for conventions in NYC, so it would be wise to book your hotel for NYC as soon as possible.

Have a fun trip.

Thanks for the replies. They are helping more than you know. I'm still busy wading through all the info here and trying to decide...
I'm sure I'll be asking more Q's as time goes by... but feel free to add anything else that you may think of.

Thanks again. K.

Check out the Hostel in the south loop of Chicago - http://www.hichicago.org/index.html. I have never been in there, but I did meet their marketing person, who claims it's a nice facility. It is in a good location, accessible to trains to get around the city, and close to the museum campus.

What is it with this board and San Jose? IMO, San Jose would be a total waste of your limited time. Frankly, I would also skip LA entirely-- I think there just isn't that much there for tourists and it's hard to get around (In Calif. I wouldn't go further south than Big Sur, and that only if the transportation logistics make sense).

Two places I'd suggest you consider, again if transportation logistics work out, are some of the national parks in Utah (Bryce, Zion, etc.), and small town New England, especially because October is foliage season in Northern New England.

You said you want to see some of the country, and those are two very special places in this country that aren't like many places anywhere else. I would definitely investigate some of the cheap group tours for access to the national parks in the west.

Doh: I'm with you on San José-- in fact, just about everyone on the board agrees with you. If I want to see ugly suburban sprawl with practically nothing of cultural or entertainment interest to do, heck, I'll drive up to Torrance (DISCLOSURE: I used to live there, so I talk from experience). katierina can safely skip SJ and do the prettier, more interesting parts of the Bay Area. Read: Anywhere else in the Bay Area. Notice that Fodor's own San José guide suggests that the "best" of SJ can be seen in six or seven hours. Doesn't sound like a major tourist stop to me.

However, Doh, I'm going to half-disagree with you on LA. There are THOUSANDS of interesting things for tourists-- but it's REALLY hard to get around to see them without a car. Given the nature of this trip, I agree with you that she could skip southern CA this time. My guess is she'll be back to see more of the US, and LA would be a good starting point for that next trip.

The UT parks idea is a good one, and might fit in if the OP can work her way west from Chicago, then continue on to SF. Makes perfect sense.

Katierina:

Stick with what you have. You obviously gave it lots of thought.

If we all had our way you would never go home...

$200.00 per day is "high". IMO.

ANY San Jose recommendations that you get beyond a half day, simply HAVE to be ignored-COMPLETELY.

Fodors is aware of the issue but they can only do so much.

I do not dis-like San Jose in the least bit but what is presented to you is near criminal and will mess up your trip.

I have to add that my hubby and I are doing the Utah/Brice/Zion and more this year. That is a trip for another time...trust me on that.

Again, you have a GREAT outline. Stick to it!

Happy Planning,
Oaktown Traveler

Katierina, are you a student? If yes, bring your STUDENT ID for admission discounts.

And don't listen to those who advise you to visit San Jose, it's a dump. (hello Treck )

Thanks so much!
You guys are going to keep me sitting at the computer right up until the minute before my flight researching all of this, and I'm loving every second of it!!

-K.

The original poster is traveling on a backpacker budget, from what I can see.

I would say expect to spend $20-30 USD per day for your hostel bed, and then you can work out from there how much you want to spend on food, attractions, tours, and transport.

Your hostel might include a simple breakfast, and then you could either rely on grocery stores or cheap cafes for the rest of the day's food. I think $50 USD is more than a lot of budget travelers spend for shelter and food, but I don't think you should count on spending any less.

In some places, Priceline can give you a room that's not much more than a hostel bed.