highschool graduates cross country

[ashley]

hey everyone! i would really really appreciate some help on this ----me and my friends--three boys and three girls total--are planning a road trip for next july --after we graduate highschool (well, one will be a soph in college)--we are planning to go from cleveland ohio up to maine, down to florida, over through texas to california, up and back to cleveland----i estimated that we'll need about 5000-7000 dollars---we definitely don't have that kind of money right now--and since our parents are gonna be spending a lot on college we don't want them to pay for most of it--so we need ways to raise money and lots of us don't have so much time for jobs----:(-----umm--also do you think it would be better to find a van and drive it or just use two cars since there are six of us? also do you think we should go up to washington and dakota areas or just straight from vegast thru salt lake up to minnesota?---please give me any more information you think we will need --we started planning this early so that we could have everything because this will be a life-changing experience----feel free to email me as well--thank you

[PNW Judy]

I'm not sure how to answer your questions. Budget will depend on how long your trip is and what you plan on doing on your trip. Without that info, it's hard to advise. Are you doing a whirlwind 1 week tour? Or 1 month? Or 3 months?

I've done a lot of trips caravanning with other cars. We communicate with each other through cheap FRS radios. It's fun. And this way people can go from car-to-car so boredom with the same people all the time doesn't set in. It's a lot of fun this way. Of course, being in the same vehicle would be fun, too. I guess this would depend on whether or not you have the money to buy a van or not.

The Washington and Dakota areas are lovely and would be worth seeing. Whether on this trip or another in the future would depend on your time and budget.

I'd be glad to help more if I could figure out better what info you want. Maybe you should read through lots of previous threads...many cover budgeting, routes, things to do along the way, etc....and then re-post some more specific questions. Then I'm sure you'll get more responses.

[ashley]

thank you for your help very much----we are planning to go on the trip for about 3-4 weeks----do you think hostels are better than camping---when should we stay in hotels--when we're in las vegas or no?

[PNW Judy]

Hostels are very cool. I've stayed in a few. But you will find that camping is normally cheaper. Hostels charge a per person fee. You might pay $20 each while you can usually get a campsite for $20. Depending on the campground, you might have to pay a bit extra for extra people but it will almost always be cheaper than a hostel. Hostels could be a nice alternative some nights though.

I would definitely plan for a hotel in Vegas. It is way too dang hot for camping there unless you have an RV with A/C. And hotels are fairly cheap there as well.

Depending on how many miles you burn, you might have time to do Washington and the Dakotas, etc. on this trip with 3-4 weeks. It just depends on how much time you spend in other places.

[imported_Rob]

Do not do hostels! I repeat, do not do hostels! Hostels are only economical if you're traveling alone. They usually charge $20/person. There's six of you traveling together - that's $120. Imagine the kind of hotel room you could get for $120. Your best bet is to get a room at the Motel 6 for $40. Only have one of you go to the front desk and register for the room and sneak the rest of you into the room later. That'll only be about $7/person. You'll save a ton of money. Who cares if you get caught. All they can do is kick you out. Big deal. And as long as you're not loud and obnoxious, you won't get kicked out. Just behave yourselves and you'll be alright. I suggest you have two cars. Even if you get a van, six people in a van is still crowded. You'll get sick of each other real quick. Definitely get walkie-talkies so you can communicate with the other car. It's a blast. Also, don't blow your money on restaurants. That's a really quick way to go through a lot of money. Bring food with you or hit supermarkets along the way and make dinner in your hotel room. If you do eat out, hit the 99 cent menu at Wendy's. There's no way you guys need $5,000 - $7,000. By my calculations, you should be able to do this trip for under $3,000. Don't be high-maintanence. Even low-balling the budget, you'll have a blast. Why? Because you're only 18 and you'll away from your parents. And if I remember correctly, anything I did when I was away from parents when I was 18 was fun! I took a cross country roadtrip to Calif after I graduated high school and we did it for less than $800. Granted we slept outside and snuck into college dorms to take showers, but we did it dirt cheap. Email me if you want help on doing this roadtrip cheap. I live in Ohio, too.

[Robert Schaller]

"Who cares if you get caught. All they can do is kick you out."

Getting kicked out would be the minimum. What you are suggesting is called "defrauding an innkeeper" and it is illegal as hell most places. I would be willing to bet that you could end up in jail for it in some cases and explaining your actions in front of a judge (perhaps after a few days). Don't do something stupid. Even if you split (and pay for) a motel room among the maximum occupancy number allowed by the hotel/motel (four or six people), it'd still be dirt cheap for each person's share. It isn't worth it to cheat, and as far as I'm concerned, doing the right thing is important just on it's own. Just my opinion. Bob