Driving across the United States is one of the most affordable adventures you can have if you plan wisely. But how much does a road trip cost, really? Estimating the cost of a road trip starts with calculating the biggest expenses: gas, tolls, food, lodging, and recreation.
Gas & Toll Prices on a Road Trip
The first question on your mind is probably, how much will it cost in gas for my trip? A few variables go into figuring out your gas budget. The big one is gas prices, which are always prone to change. The next biggest consideration is the gas mileage of your vehicle.
Once you know those two things, it's easy to calculate how much gas money you need based on miles traveled. Simply divide the length of your trip in miles by the miles-per-gallon your vehicle gets, and then multiply that number by the current price of gas.
Simple as that sounds, you should add some wiggle room to your budget. Loading your car with luggage (and people) reduces its fuel efficiency, and any detour you take can add mileage to your route. And of course, gas prices might go up between now and your departure date.
Here's another tip: If you want to save money on gas, plan your road trip in the South. The cheapest gas prices in America tend to be in the Gulf Coast states of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, along with neighboring states including Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
Don't forget to factor tolls into your budget as well. Depending on your route, this could be little more than pocket change, or it could be a significant expense. You can drive from Milwaukee to Seattle without paying a single toll, or you can drop $10 or more to drive through a single tunnel into New York City.
Road Trip Food Costs
You have a lot of leeway when it comes to planning the food budget for your road trip. You'll definitely save money if you can pack as much food as you can, which allows you to spend less on eating out and buying snacks at gas stations. Fresh groceries are cheaper, and usually healthier too.
That said, if you want to enjoy your road trip, then don't deny yourself the experience of dining out from time to time. One of the joys of driving across America is getting to experience new restaurants and local specials.
Food prices might range from $5 per person at a fast-food joint to $25 or more for a sit-down meal at a decent restaurant. One way to come up with a ballpark budget is to assume $10 per meal, per person. That's $30 per day to feed yourself on the road, though you might want to add a few extra bucks into your calculations for snacks and an extra cup of coffee.
Lodging Prices on a Road Trip
You have an incredibly wide range of accommodations to choose from, so you can essentially decide on your budget and find lodging to match.
Lodging tends to be more affordable when you're traveling in a group. Overall, a hotel room that sleeps four is cheaper, per person, than a room that sleeps one.
For the sake of creating a simple road trip budget, let's assume for now that you're traveling solo, and have $75 per day to spend on lodging. That's more than enough to get a comfortable room at any number of roadside hotels across the country.
Road Trip Activities & Experiences
A road trip isn't much fun if you only leave your car to eat, sleep and fill the gas tank. When you calculate road trip costs, be sure to include extra money for experiences each day. How much and for what experiences are entirely up to you.
Recreation expenses could be just a few bucks each day for entry into state and national parks, or it could be hundreds of dollars for big-ticket attractions.Let's just assume that you're planning mostly affordable activities centered around outdoor recreation, and set aside a daily budget of $25.
How Much Does It Cost to Drive Across the Country?
The shortest route across the country is about 2,500 miles. Let's assume you're driving a vehicle with average gas mileage (about 25 miles per gallon) and that gas prices are $4.30 per gallon, which is about the U.S. average at the time of publication. That's $430 in gas.
Tolls are a bit of a wild card, but Interstate toll roads cost 6 cents per mile on average. Over the course of a typical 2,500-mile trip, that means that the cost to drive across the country is $150 in tolls.
Assuming you're willing to put in 8 hours a day behind the wheel, it takes 4 to 6 days to drive across America. Let's say 5 hours, on average. At a rock-bottom $30 per day on food, that's a total food cost of $150 per person.
As you may recall, $75 per night is a fair average amount to budget for lodging. Over the course of a 5-day cross-country road trip, that adds up to $375 for accommodations.
Let's not forget activities. At $25 per day, you should expect to dedicate $125 for recreation throughout a 5-day jaunt across America.
Taking all of the above into account, a benchmark budget for an affordable road trip across America is around $1,230
Keep in mind that this is a fairly conservative estimated trip cost based on spending as little as possible. Your ultimate road trip cost will depend largely on your own needs and preferences. If you have the option of budgeting extra money—if only for wiggle-room and your own peace of mind—then by all means do.
Book Your Road Trip Today
One of the best ways to save money on a road trip is to find affordable lodging. And the best way to do that is by booking your stay at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Try the Wyndham app today to access faster booking, mobile check-in and checkout, and seamless Wyndham Rewards account access.
