Need help budgeting for road trip | GTAMotorcycle.com

Need help budgeting for road trip

azia

azia

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The other half and I are going down to Key West this summer. We'll be gone for about 24-25 days. We're bringing camping equipment but plan on spending a few nights in B&Bs and another handful in cheap motels if it gets too hot/rainy. One key thing is....this trip is not just to experience the twisties - we'll be using this as an opportunity to experience each state (ie be tourists) as well.

We've never gone for this long/far (last year was 2wks out east but stayed with family 4-5 days) so I'm having a hard time estimating the costs.

I roughly came up with:

$1200 Accommodations (24 x $50/night avg)
$1000 Food (25 x $40/day avg)
$800 Fuel (approx. 7000km at 5l/100km at $1.15/l avg)
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$3000

This does not include entrance fees for attractions, a few souvenirs, maintenance, etc. - I think closer to the trip, I'll have a better idea exactly which tourist spots we want to take in.

I'd love to keep at $4000 for the whole trip (not taking into account the gear we'll need to get beforehand!).

Am I totally off? Any tips for how to save for a big trip? What have I forgot to or should consider into my budget?

Any input is welcome!
 
do some stealth camping. camp in parks, behind churches, conservation lands and what not.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I did find this link: http://freecampsites.net which has some locations that look really promising. The site's pretty easy to use and very detailed.

We do plan to keep most of our camping in serviced areas though, so we can plug in our "technology". I've thought about charging during food stops but those are usually brief. Plus, when the weather feels like 40+ celsuis, I think we'll need frequent showers for everyone's sake. :)
 
what condition is your bike in? will it need maintenance throughout the trip or will you prep everything before?
also, if you don't have it CAA/AAA or some kind of roadside service wouldn't hurt in case of blown tires, no gas, etc etc.

charging things: you can install adapters on your bike to at least charge gps/phone.
 
I did a 7 day trip down to Deals Gap a couple of weeks ago and here's how the financial breakdown went.

Accommodations - $775.49 for 7 nights. We stayed at Hampton or Fairfield Inns with breakfast included. Both my buddy and I each had our own room. There are definitely cheaper places to stay but I like this level of hotel.

Fuel - $180.40 and we rode just under 5000 KM. I was on a Bandit 1250 and the pace was spirited.

Food, beer, souvenirs, chain lube, bike wash etc. - $422.01 We ate and drank well with out concern about the cost. Domestic beer is really cheap if you hit happy hour but we prefer local micro brews which are a bit more expensive. Bought a t-shirt and stickers at The Gap.

The grand total was $1377.90 which is a little less than I would budget for a 7 day all inclusive at a tropical destination. Give me the dragon and BRP any day over weak drinks and mariachi bands.
 
The Keys are fantastic...(so jealous). Post pics...

If you are planning to take the coast... it is awesome from Wilmington N.C. right down to Key West, with notable stops at Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Savanah, St. Augustine....
If you get a chance check out Flamingo in the Everglades. (awesome sun rises).

I doubt if you will find any $50.00 motels in Key West. Boyds Campground on Stock Island. One minute drive to Key West starts at $55.00 per night. Not too bad - I stayed there when it was $5.00 per night. (1980).

http://www.boydscampground.com/rates.htm

The overseas highway and 7 mile bridge are one of the most scenic drives in Southern Florida. FYI..."True Lies" was filmed on the old 7 mile bridge.

Places of interest in Key West... Sloppy Joes, Captain Tony's, The Miss Key West (glass bottom tour boat) and don't forget Mallory Square for sunset.

I couldn't resist...my first motorcyle trip (1982) from Kitchener to Key West (I only had two weeks riding experience).

d9dd6c27-3-1.jpg

Alantic Beach Key West Florida
 
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You can save time and money on accomodation (hotels) if you have access to internet on the road (iPhone, tablet, Wi-Fi, Mi-Fi) and use Hotwire.com or other means. Camping at the State Parks is cheaper than at private campgrounds (~$20/night). As mentioned before, accomodation at Key West is very expensive, I heard good things about Bahia Honda State Park, 37 miles before Key West. The sunset at the restaurant at Mile Marker 88 was great. Gas in the states is ~$1/liter. Getting an AT&T prepaid phone can save you $$$ if you have to / plan to use the phone more often.
 
Double your budget.....then you can actually have FUN..
 
I think you'll spend closer to $5000. My wife and I generally net out at $200/day when we're touring. You can do it for less, but you'll start to crave some comfort after a week or so on the road.
 
I think you're light on the hotel costs and it sounds like you really aren't big on camping when it gets muggy. Others may have different opinions but I've found B & Bs expensive. You get interesting accomodation but you pay for the quaint breakfast.

I try to use a chain that offers a free night every once in a while. The free breakfast is good for me as I tend to eat light but the only time I got bacon and eggs was at a higher end hotel at over $100 per night.

Even with a free breakfast you are left with $20 per person for food. McDs will cost you that. Buying groceries and making your own sandwiches will save you a lot but the trade off is lost time setting up camp and hauling gear. In a cage it's easy to throw in a 24 of bottled water but on a bike you end up buying the conveniece sized packs.

Camping or tenting?

I define camping as going to a campground and pitching a tent to stay for as long as I takes for me to enjoy the experience, views, activities. It is enjoyable.

Tenting is travelling on the cheap. Drive all day. Put up the tent and cook. Get up in the AM and cook and clean again. Pack the tent and hit the road. No time to see or do. It is not enjoyable IMO. Also I make better time without the tent stuff thereby shortening the number of nights I have to stay at a motel. Fewer days but I see just as much.

I know a couple who ride 2 up with full camping gear on an ST-1300 but it's loaded like a pack mule. They've been coast to coast and north to Alaska so whatever toots your horn.
 
I have been down that way the last couple years going to Daytona Bike week.
Here is a list of a few things that may help.
First….you didn’t say when you are going but I will assume you still have a few weeks.
Use this time to do lots of research online for accommodation prices.

B&B….my experience with these is that they are very expensive so I would avoid them.
When doing your research check the reviews on motels….some of the mom and pop places are cheap and reliable.

Key West….great place….fantastic really but very expensive to stay there.
3 of use shared a suite in Key West for 3 nights.
It was more expensive to do that than rent a 3 bedroom condo in Palm Coast Florida…..for a week!!!!
3 cheapest places to stay in Key West would be Days Inn, The Travelodge and The Marriot (that’s where we stayed)
Average is about 200 a night
You can find much cheaper places to stay in Marathon or between Big Pine and Cudjoe.
Even in Homestead you can find a Super 8 for around $70

Food….i guess this is where I’m a little *** backwards lol.
Im not big on breakfast…all I want is my coffee so I don’t eat till 1 or 2pm.
Then I head for the closest Subway….not gonna get much cheaper than that.
Now I’m good till 7 or 8pm this is when I head to Dennys and have there all day breakfast.
Don’t get me wrong…I mean I don’t do this everyday but it sure does nice to change things up.

Camping….me I don’t camp but if you want to then I say go nuts.

That’s about all I can think of for now
Some of the ideas listed above are great ones.

Research is the key here.
When I do my trip I spend hours online checking out motels and restaurants and maps.
Take a camera and lots of picks.
Have a safe trip.
 
nfq - Bikes will be road ready before trip and i have CAA+. Will have to check to make sure we have sufficient state-side insurance coverage. Good call on the adaptor - we'll get two - one for GPS, the other bike for charging.

Gary64 - Awesome, thanks for the detailed breakdown! That helps a lot. We're on a BMW F650GS and Kawi ZR-7S. Based on a 7K trip, we're a little overbudget on fuel, which is a pleasant surprise.

SeaBreez - Nice pic. That's pretty awesome...you should go back for a 30yr anniversary! ;) We're planning to do our B&B nights in Savannah and Charleston which is quite expensive but looks like we can save $50-100 if we plan for a weeknight instead. I'll do some searching on Wilmington and St. Augustine I hadn't heard much about those. Thanks for the suggestion on Boyd's....we're planning to stay at Bahia Honda - there are some sites looking out to the water - but hadn't pegged anything for Key West yet. Looks like they take CAA too. Woo! And thanks for the points of interest. Really helps!

tiborgh - Good idea on the US-based phone. I saw something on redflagdeals about 3rd party service that lets you use US-based plans or something like that. Will have to check into it. We're definitely going to stay at Bahia - we looked up images from the actual campsites and it looks like there are some spectacular tent sites lookin' out to the water.

gjones4487 - Thanks for the link. someone already gave me airbnb.com and we'll utilize a tent-space list on another forum but I'll check that one, too.

GSXMAER - easier said than done!

Cranky Pete - Since we've never gone this long before, I'm keeping that as the possible end figure. Hopefully we can do it for less though.

nobbie48 - I'm not sure if I am or not. I'd like to think my tolerance level is pretty high but pretty much everyone I've asked has told me it gets unbearable down there and I will be wanting a hotel some nights. The again, haven't lived with A/C for a long time... We tried two top-notch B&Bs on our east coast trip last year and camped it so we could splurge on them. They're expensive but I'll admit, this is a "couple ride" so I'm not opposed to a little "quaintness". ;) Looks like we may have overbudgeted a little for fuel though, so hopefully that evens out some with the food budget. As for sight-seeing - we didn't find camping impeded too much with that - we just lugged the stuff on the back of our bikes to each attraction - granted it was nice not to be in full gear walking around downtowns so for the bigger cities - we will stay at B&Bs or hotels within walking distance.

Thanks all for the suggestions/tips! Keep em' coming. :)
 
some pics of Key West :cool:

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Awesome Pics, kiley. Brings back lots of memories. I hoisted many a pint at Sloppy Joes, in fact the bar tenders would pour me a Miller Lite before I even sat down. LOL.

Azia, as far as a 30th anniversary trip, it sounds like a great idea.

As nobbie88 states, the humidity is brutal. Midnight dips in the ocean helps, especially if there is no sea breaze. (LOL).

As GSXMAER and others stated the budget may be on the low side. I wish I could travel for 24 days on $3000. Heck the dog sitter alone would cost me about $600, let alone the wife and 2 teenagers. (Still sooo jealous).
 
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Stock up on as much as you can from the continental breakfast, or, if you really want to be cheap, walk into any hotel that offers it and you have yourself a free meal.
 
Keys are superb and make sure one of the stops is NASA at Cape Canaveral.
http://kennedyspacecenter.com/visit-us.aspx

There should be lots of cheap places anywhere around Kissimmee then head to Canaveral.

Georgia used to have the cheapest gas and motels.

Tip - once you get off the keys and away from the coast - get the bike into a fresh water car wash and do a thorough wash to get rid of the salt.
My van electronics were never the same after a Keys run.

Watch for the green flash and have a margarita in Key West at sunset. We were lucky and saw one.

http://guide.trustedtours.com/destinations/key-west/key-west-sunsets-and-the-elusive-green-flash/

Motels were very pricey down the keys. The keys are not as hot as Florida - some central Florida residents go down to the keys for the cooler weather.
 
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