We have returned from our cross-country road trip. First of all, it was absolutely amazing. I finally got outside the 8 hour radius in which I've lived since my birthplace. We got to see so much of the country, so much breathtaking beauty. The St. Louis Gateway to the West, Oklahoma cattle ranches, beautiful New Mexico and Arizona desserts, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater, the Grand Canyon, 108 degrees in Gila Bend, AZ, San Diego, playing in the Pacific Ocean while watching dolphins, the Mojave Desert and the Joshua trees, the breathtaking beauty of Utah, the Colorado Rockies, the Great Plains, a tornado in Kansas, the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Museum where I got to see the Apollo 13 command module, the Liberty Bell 7 and other awesome artifacts, Kansas City barbecue and the endless construction on I-70 in Illinois. Best of all, we spent some great time with friends in San Diego.
So, here's the breakdown. We stayed in hotels on the way out and the way back, usually outside of larger cities in places like Fruita, CO or Hutchinson, KS. That saved money there. We stayed with friends in San Diego, so that was free.
We rented a 2014 Toyota Camry for $330 which saved us a huge amount of money on travel costs compared to driving my own and having to pay the mileage. My wife and I hypermiled to the best of our ability and averaged 37.5 mpg (rated at 25 city/28 combined/35 highway). We also paid for everything with the Chase Freedom cards, including fuel, which just happens to be their 5% cash back category. So that saved even more.
We used the cooler and packed it with water, fruit, veggies, deli meats and cheeses and some home made fruit and nut bars. This served us as our lunches and snacks and even a couple dinners. We did dine out several times, but that was part of the experience. Mexican in Arizona, Kansas City Barbecue, Pizza Port Brewpub in San Diego and a few others. We also cooked for our hosts in San Diego and it was a lot of fun and great food, if I do say so myself. Saved on coffee by bringing our own. Most of our breakfasts were just what the hotel served.
We did splurge on some luxuries too. Of course the tourism stops like Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon, Cosmosphere, etc. Then some good craft beer and wine at a few places and a few souvenirs.
We put the whole vacation on the Chase Freedom cards so we could track expenses and take advantage of the rewards. We'll get $200 back each plus the 5% spent at gas stations (and we made sure to stock up on new snacks and water at gas stations) and 1% on everything else.
All said and done it came out to be about $1400, including all the luxuries. Not bad for a 10 day trip across the US. That's $140 per day. Not too bad.