Have you had a US holiday on a tight budget....

[Pengyslittlebrother]

I guess "tight budget" is relative... I suppose I'm thinking closer to a couple of thousand (plus spending) rather than £6-7k (which I imagine is still at the modest end for a family trip.) Generally that you consider you did it cheaply and it was a success.

I've spotted flights totalling £1000 (3 of us, May) and wondering if it isn't a pipe dream after all.

Where did you go, what did you do?

We did NYC for a week on a budget a few years ago (went mid June). We stayed at the YMCA (private room, just the 2 of us). Saved a fortune that way.
We used the subway or Uber to get around rather than taxis. Walked in the mornings and evenings - couldn't between those times due to the heat!
We ate quite cheaply - it wasn't particularly healthy but it was only a week (think pizza, sandwiches, burgers. Hot dog stands were good - only a few dollars I think). If you go to a city I would imagine food can be as cheap as you want to make it.
Used the majority of our money on tickets to get into the tourist places we wanted to see.

I really enjoyed it, we did something similar but with a bigger budget so we could go for longer last year (so budget for day to day didn't actually increase, just time there). We travelled around NYC, Washington DC, Pennsylvania and a few other places. Again, hired a car cheaply, ate quite cheaply, stayed in hostels / small motels. Was lovely.

Thanks. So it can be done. I had assumed New York was out on cost reasons. I love the sound of your second trip traveling around. I wonder if I'd cope with the driving. I'm not hugely confident.

I’ve done NYC on a budget too. Lots of time in parks, visiting different neighbourhoods and people watching. If you like walking around places it is fantastic for that.

Flights can always be found to suit your budget. It’s the car hire, accommodation, and entertainment that add up. Where are the flights you found going to?

I've found driving in the US easier than the continent. The roads are so wide. (Picking up the car in the middle of a busy city / at a busy airport is horrific tho so get the train somewhere quieter then take a car from there! )

Camping is well set up and cheap in the states in the national parks.

If your family is happy to share one room ( two king double beds) then accommodation can be reasonable.

Flights were to LA. I quite literally have no idea where to go. I realise this sounds not at all thought out - because it isn't. I've just opened a savings account specifically for this and set up direct debit. As far as Ive got!

My ideal would probably be a road trip with someone else driving! Camping in the national parks would be amazing.

Never to the states so would love to do any of it really. DC1s dream holiday is New York but probably it's the only place he knows much about.

Realistically I'm one adult, 2 DC so has to be manageable. Not sure camping would be.

Well there's no point flying to LA if you want to go to NYC.

And you'll have to drive if you want to road trip as DC can't.

Not sure you've thought this through. Camping in the national parks can be expensive. Entry to the national parks can be expensive. Depends where you go and what you do.

I'd recommend trip advisor over MN for this

I haven't thought it through. Exactly my point. I'm at the very beginning of a plan? I would love to go to LA. I'm very well aware it's not NYC. Like I said, I haven't done any of the states so pretty much would consider anywhere.

Thought other peoples experiences might give me ideas

In the past I spent a long time researching trips and some things which didn't seem doable initially worked out really well.

I'm sure you can do it on a smaller budget, but it's difficult. Car hire for example can add up depending on whether you return it to the same location or not. Even eating cheaply and using subways will still cost. Trip advisor forums will help more

Thanks I'll look on TripAdvisor. Although possibly more helpful once I have an actual destination in mind.

Was more after the hopeful "inspire me" chit chat thing. But my morning coffee is finished anyway!

There are general forums on there and more specialised ones like the road trip forums. That's good if you want to do multi destination holidays.

You'll definitely want a car in California but honestly it's easy to drive there, once you're out of LA airport. Lots of good price motels, lots to see, great beaches and seaside towns further up the coast.

Agree with PP on NYC - plus transport from airport to city centre can be taxi or trains / subway.

I've done both places a few times, I think you'd have great fun!

Look at Norwegian air for cheap flights to NYC. Accommodation can be expensive but the great thing with New York is its so easy to get around you don’t have to stay really central. You could stay in Brooklyn and use subway in to city if budget doesn’t allow for accommodation in city

I'd have thought flights to the east coast should be a fair bit cheaper than the west? (have done both, but can't remember what we paid). How about flying to Boston (cheaper than NY) and driving down to NY? Easy to leave the car in Connecticut and train to NYC. I'd second the poster who said driving is easy - it really is. I hate driving in Europe, but will happily drive in USA/Canada.

If you do want to do west, it's typically a lot cheaper if you don't go direct. We transited through Minnesota en route to SF. A lot cheaper IIRC, but obviously adds time to the journey.

Knowing how much things will cost next year is difficult because of the exchange rate. I fear it will not go in our favour. It might be worth getting a Revolut card - you can put money on it now, and convert it to dollars at today's exchange rate. Then if it does get worse, you'll have bought currency at a more favourable rate.

(Look into more knowledge sources if you do consider that though- maybe the $/£ rate won't be as affected by Brexit as I'm assuming).

In States on holiday at the moment! It’s got v expensive since I was last here!
My advice is....LA itself is a sprawling city with nothing to offer apart from Hollywood/ Beverley Hills which won’t interest kids. You’d need to get out to places like Santa Monica, Santa Barbara etc . so need to be able to afford a car. However they are great places and from there you can work your way up the Pacific Coastal Highway which is amazing. There’s loads to see on the journey up and you can go as far as SAN Fransisco.
If LA is not the only place you’d consider I’d also research Boston , Washington DC ( loved it) or Seattle.

How much spending money were you planning on having? The cost of living is very high in the US.

Also Amtrak trains really good but depends on how young your DC are.You can eat cheaply from chains, diners etc. but not necessarily healthy. Soft drinks can get expensive too. But there are fab supermarkets and food markets.

Well you could do a road trip by Greyhound bus if you don't want to drive! Reasonably inexpensive and allows you to rest or at least just watch the world go by without worrying about driving. As a 20-something I travelled around very cheaply. Internal flights in the US are quite cheap, because they don't add the ruinous taxes that we in the UK have. So when we go we fly to the east coast and then get internal flights to other places (FL, for instance).

If you want to go to NYC on a budget then yes, YMCA or YH is the way to go. You can book a private room and they're basic, but clean. I've stayed in the big one on Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem and it was fine (but that was 20 years ago!). Eating out is much cheaper in the US, as are taxis in NYC vs. London. The subway too is pretty inexpensive (certainly compared to the London Underground). Entry prices for attractions are high, so look into getting some kind of pass that gets you into multiple attractions for a fixed price as that can work well if you're able to hit 3 or 4 different things in a day.

Soft drinks can get expensive too.

Well yes, but you don't have to drink them! Take your own water bottle and fill it up wherever you go. Everywhere in the US will provide you with a free jug of iced water on the table and there are drinking fountains all over the place.

But the OP has kids ...they may not be content with just drinking water the whole time...also not everyone likes water

www.hiusa.org/hostels/new-york/new-york/new-york-city

zaffHow long since you got a taxi in NYC? I just left yesterday and they are certainly just as expensive as London. Eating out is not much cheaper unless you like fast food. Although portions are huge. I think times have changed and obviously the pound is not as strong against the dollar.

One thing that a lot of visitors forget is that tax is added on to everything at the till. The price on the ticket is not what you pay. Also tips when eating out add a lot to the bill. I would stick to eating at self service places only.

I don't think that a holiday to the US can be done on a very tight budget. You also need a credit card especially if you are hiring a car.