Hidden Costs of a USA Family Road Trip
There are so many hidden costs I was not expecting on this road trip. The major one was the rental car but there were many other small ones that added up. So here we go!
Rental Cars
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| Our Rental Car - GMC Terrain - Kanab, Utah |
Hiring a rental car is a big chunk of your budget, right up there with accommodation. But the freedom of having your own car is well worth the cost. Unless you are basing yourself in a large city where public transport is readily available, you will need one in the USA. I did look into trains but there is not much available yet.
For our 14 day car rental, the initial cost was NZ$1,420.40 (US$823.83 / €767.02). I wrongly thought that this included all the extras, as I had selected the option which included insurance and road side assistance including a replacement car if something went wrong with this one. We booked this through a travel agent who also booked our flights since we had a more complicated plan. It looked to be cheaper but in the end I don't think it was. The booking had the wrong person down as the driver. This meant we had to pay an additional NZ$704.91 (US$408.85 / €380.65) for an additional driver and other extra fees. Bringing the total to NZ$2,125.31 (US$1,232.68 / €1,147.67).
Also, just note that you may not get the car model you booked. Our booking was for a Chevrolet Equinox but we were given a GMC Terrain. It was a great car, so no complaints there, and I'm sure the booking probably said 'or similar' somewhere.
Next time I would book it directly myself and read the fine print!
Main Points
- Book directly - do not use third party sites
- Read the fine print
- Make sure the car is booked under the name of the driver and that they have a credit card in the same name
- Crossing States - Make sure that your policy allows you to drive in all the states you plan to visit
- Make sure to return the car full of fuel to avoid expensive refueling rates
- Check license requirements - You may need an international driving permit (we did not in the USA but did in Europe)
Gasoline
Keep an eye on the gasoline (petrol) prices as you travel, and if looking for a gas station, check google maps as it will display the prices directly on the map. The prices also vary hugely by state. Arizona was a lot cheaper than California. So it pays to have a quick look before crossing a state border to see if you should fill up before crossing into the next state.
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| GMC Terrain Rental Car - Kanab, Utah |
We enjoyed skipping the central city gas stations for the smaller stops along the interstate or even a back road. Not always the most cost efficient but we met lovely locals along the way. We spent a total of NZ$$596.99 (US$346.25 / €322.37) on petrol for our two week trip. Sadly I did not record the odometer before the start of our trip to see how many miles we travelled. I will remember that next time!
Parking
Parking costs varied a lot. Some hotels even charged you extra to park your car at the hotel you were staying at...I'm looking at you Los Angeles! US$30 for one night parking, at an already very expensive hotel, was a little excessive I thought. But I guess that is what you pay for proximity to LAX. So just be mindful when booking accommodation or visiting attractions that you may need to pay for parking separately. We found a few activities that included a 'free' shuttle service from your hotel, they were a good way to get around and not worry about parking but don't forget you will need to tip.
Food
Eating out is not really a hidden cost, you already knew that it was going to cost a lot. I was under the misconception that eating out would be a lot more affordable in the USA compared to New Zealand, but it is not. Between the exchange rates, tax and tips it is a lot more expensive than I expected. Thank fully there are a few exceptions.
- Lunch specials - Many restaurants offer lunch deals which are great value and give that giant meal time to settle before bed
- Split portions - Restaurants were more than happy to split portions or give us an extra plate to be able to share.
- Take home boxes - Are the absolute norm, everyone takes their leftovers home with them
- Drink water - water was free everywhere we ate. You'll just need to work on your American English pronunciation of water, servers struggled to understand the way we say water in New Zealand.
Fast food
I have written a post about all the food we ate and how to save money on food so, I won't re-write that all here. The teenagers in particular are very keen on fast food, having seen all the different varieties on social media, they wanted to try it all. We gave it a fair go!
Entry Tickets
We bought an America the Beautiful Pass at our first national park entrance at the Grand Canyon. This cost NZ$137.93 (US$80.00 / €74.48) and was for the whole family. This pass covers the card holder and up to three adults, or the pass holder and all the people in the same vehicle (non commercial), depending on the park you visit. The entry for Grand Canyon alone was US$35 for one visit, this meant the pass was very worth while. We visited three national parks, The Grand Canyon South Rim and East Entry, Zion National Park and Bryce National Park. I had also planned to visit Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs (read about our trip to Palm Springs) but we ran out of time.
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| Grand Canyon South Rim, Arizona |
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| Zion National Park, Utah - Panoramic |
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| Bryce National Park, Utah - Early Winter Morning |
So many beautiful photos, the National Parks are amazing in the USA! I can't wait to explore more of them in the future!
Tipping
Lastly a bit of a controversial topic, tipping. For those of us who are not accustomed to tipping but don't want to get it wrong and offend people, it is rather stressful. So here are a few points I learned along the way. It varies greatly who you listen to and everyone appears to have a different opinion. The bare minimum to tip is 15%, the norm for good service of 20% and 25%+ for excellent service.
Tip: Often you will be prompted to tip on the payment terminal, often with high percentages or whole dollar amounts. If you want to chose your own amount you need to select 'custom' and put in the amount. You can also put a zero if you do not wish to give a tip. Many locals told us that you do not need to tip at fast food or well know coffee chains, as baristas are paid a proper wage and do not rely on tips like servers do.
We had many hotel breakfasts that were included with the price. I loved these! Nothing like a convenient breakfast at the hotel, heading away bellies full for our day of adventuring. Many had waffle makers, pancakes, pastries, bacon, eggs and all had the basic cereal, fruit, juice and coffee. I am not a fussy eater so was way more excited than the rest of my family. The teens would rather find the nearest fast food place and eaten some more fried chicken for breakfast. The photo below was in Kanab, Utah and I took it to send to the teens to try and get them out of bed! We only tipped at one hotel breakfast where we had a server seat us and bring us drinks as part of our buffet breakfast.
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| Motel Breakfast in Kanab, Utah - Obviously only a starter. |
I found that most of our servers were great and deserved the 20% tip or a little more. They constantly keep you drinks topped up and are very attentive. My teens have never had so much soda, everywhere seems to provide free refills. To keep the maths simple, I calculated 10% in my head, doubled it and rounded it up or down to the nearest whole (nice) number and went with that.
I'm sure I didn't get it right every time, but there were no sneers, side eye or nasty comments. So it must have been ok!