The diversity of America’s landscape is just epic. There’s mountains, tundra, rainforest, swamps, deserts and thousands of miles of coastline.
Within these vast habitats are bears, moose, bison, wolves, caribou, cougars, coyotes, gators, eagles, ospreys, manatees, whales, roadrunners, armadillos, javalinas, … the list goes on!
As well as all this incredible nature, the US of A is home to some of the most well-known cities in the world. Whether it’s New Orleans, New York, Vegas, Chicago or San Francisco, each city has it’s own unique vibe and culture that is just begging to be explored!
Cost
CURRENCY: American Dollar
1 GBP = 1.27 USD
*As of May ‘2024
The cost of living can vary pretty dramatically from state to state across America. Cities also tend to have inflated prices compared to the more rural areas within the same state.
A good example to highlight this is fuel. The lowest we saw fuel on our 2019/20 trip was $1.99 (per gallon) in Texas. Here it didn’t often pass the $2.60 mark. In nearby(ish) California however, fuel ranged across the state from ~$3.30 to over $5 per gallon! Madness!
We also found campgrounds to vary quite dramatically across America, however we did pretty well to find free spots the majority of the time (thank you iOverlander!). City-camping we found to be costly no matter what the state, especially near New York.
Like Canada, and indeed most places globally, National and State Parks in America tend to carry quite hefty daily fees. We would recommend planning ahead and seeing if an Annual Park Pass might be the more cost-effective option.
We were surprised to discover how much the cost of alcohol could vary too between states. The Carolinas, we found, were a good spot to stock up for those special coffees round the fire.
When it comes to eating out, you’re looking at spending an average of $12-$18 for an entree. Increase by at least $10 for upscale dinners. We kept costs down by sharing meals. Plus it was also a great way to try more food!
Food
Many of us have this preconceived notion about food in the States. It’s big, it’s hearty, it’s usually deep-fried and usually unhealthy. From our experience, this isn’t totally wrong but it’s definitely not the whole truth.
Visit a ‘classic’ American diner and yes, you will find the expected ‘classic‘ style dishes. Think giant burgers, mac n’ cheese, biscuits & gravy, chicken & waffles, etc.
But along the coasts we discovered a plethora of fresh seafood! Clams, crab, crawfish, lobster, scallops and mussels were among some of our favourite discoveries.
We also, of course, can’t neglect to mention America’s famous ‘Texas barbecue’, which we (not surprisingly) also found delicious!!
The Journey
We spent several months driving across America in our self-converted campervan, as far north as Alaska and all the way down to Florida Keys in the south.
We did our best to experience as many National Parks as we could, as well as making time for some of the country’s most well-known cities.
I think it’s obvious we ate some good food but it was also the people we met in America that helped make our experience so special. We genuinely met some of the nicest people ever!
We very much hope to make our way back State-side in the future as there is so much more we want to explore!! Until then though, we will share what we do know, and include some travel tips we learned along the way.
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