Save More On Your U.S. RoadTrip: Top Tips for Budget Travel Success

There's something magical about hitting the open road. Roadtrips are my absolute favorite way to travel in the U.S. Whether it's the thrill of late-night city driving or the serenity of cruising through our stunning National Parks with the windows down and the wind in your hair, roadtrips offer an unparalleled sense of freedom and adventure. The flexibility of a road trip also comes with the challenge of meticulous planning and budgeting. With my tried-and-true tips and advice, you'll be able to plan an amazing road trip without breaking the bank.

Creating Your Roadtrip Budget

The first step in your roadtrip planning process should be setting a budget and timeline. Knowing how much you're willing to spend helps you manage your finances and ensures a realistic and enjoyable adventure!

Not sure how much you should budget? Here are some helpful tips on knowing your costs:

• Accommodation costs: To get an idea of accomodation costs, a quick Google search of hotels, Airbnbs and camping sites in the area can give you a rough estimate of nightly costs. Many booking websites offer median price features for easy budgeting!

• Food: Food Costs can be different for everyone and when it comes to budgeting for food, be realistic on how much you will be eating out and how likely you will be to pack food and cook along the way!

• Gas: Plan your route with Google Maps, adding up the miles between each destination and rounding up for some wiggle room. I use apps like GasBuddy to estimate fuel costs based on my vehicle's miles per gallon.

• Activites: Similar to food, this can depend on the type of trip you are planning and what you are interested in! In both city and hiking trips, there are plenty of ways to save on costs and do cheaper options.

• Emergencies: Always account for any emergencies that may occur along the way, by adding a little extra padding to your budget!
  

Overall Tips for Minimizing Costs in the Planning Process

Be Open to Exploring Other Locations:

While you are in the planning stages of your trip I would highly recommend being open to lesser-known destinations. If you are flexible on your destination, write down some things you like to do while on vacation/your bucket list items and do a quick Google search to see what comes up! ChatGPT or other AI tools can be a great resource for this as well to give you ideas of lesser known destinations that won't break the bank!

Travel During the Off-Seasons:

Traveling during off-seasons is the best time to travel. There are less crowds and almost everything is cheaper! Once you narrow down your destination, learn more about that locations popular travel times and plan your trip slightly outside of those peak times so you likely will still get great weather and conditions, but without the crowds and most of all, without the cost!

Traveling with Friends? Split the costs easily with a Tracking App:

Many people take roadtrips with their friends and family members and let's face it - I can very easily become skewed and hard to keep track of who paid for what. An easy solution is using a tracking app that everyone can be added to! There are several options available, but my favorite has been Tricount.

Use Apps to Get Additional Money Back:

There are many apps that will give you cash back on travel but my two favorites are Fetch Rewards (Use My Link to get a Starting Bonus!) and CoinOut. They both are very easy to use, you can use the apps to snap a picture of your receipts or upload your online receipts and you receive points that you can redeem for gift cards. I use these gift cards often for restaurants to quickly grab food along the way on my roadtrips!

Saving on Accommodations

Consider staying with friends or family along the way!

This is not an option for everyone, but roadtrips are a great opportunity to stop in with friends and family for a night and even better - it's free!

Think outside the box on accommodation options:

There are many different accomodation options to consider including camping, finding affordable hotles, or renting through sites like Airbnb or VRBO! If you are into the outdoors, consider going camping for a cheap accomodation option.

When I plan a trip, I like to compare Airbnb and hotel options for pricepoints. A great option for Airbnb if you're trying to save on cost is to rent out a room instead of the entire place. I do this often when traveling with a friend to get a much better price in more expensive areas!

Saving on Food

Pack Food for the Road

Packing meals to eat along the way can help you to significantly cut down on costs! I will either pack quick and easy meals and snacks beforehand or I'll utilize Walmart+ delivery or Instacart delivery to have groceries arrive after we get to our stop to save time on grocery shopping!

Take advantage of budget-friendly food options like food trucks and diners

Exploring local cuisine doesn't need to be expensive! Before your trip make sure to look through Yelp, TripAdvisor, and blogs to find high-quality, affordable food options!

Saving on Activities

Find Free Activities and Events

Many cities have free community events that you can find by doing a Google search before you visit! Take advantage of outdoor nature activities and parks that are often free. Many cities also have free museum days during the week.

Student, Senior, and Military Discounts

This won't apply to everyone but take advantage of discounts where you can! I've used my Student ID long past the age of it being acceptable to snag extra discounts and everything adds up!

Using City Passes and Attraction Bundles

If you have are passing through a city that has many attractions you would like to visit, city passes can be a great option to save money and see more!

Airbnb Experiences

Some of the best experiences/activities I've had while traveling were through Airbnb Experiences! These are local ran experiences and are normally more affordable and offer a more personal, local feel to the place you're visiting!

Free Tours By Foot

Free Tours By Foot is one of my favorite website for both U.S. and travel in Europe. I've always had a great experience and best of all, the tours are free! I always bring some extra cash to tip the guides as it runs off of a tips only system.

These are some of my best tips and tricks for saving on your next roadtrip! What do you do to save on your roadtrips? Comment your tips below!