Food expenses USA

Later this year I'm backpacking for the first time. I am going to the US, and right now I am trying to plan the financial part of the trip. My question is - as a beginner - how much should I expect to spend on food and drinks? I won't go to any fancy restaurants and so - I'll keep it cheap.

If you are talking about eating out at fast food places, cafes, home style places, etc you can expect to drop about $7-15 a meal plus a tip of $1-2 (tipping is considered mandatory here unless you are at a fast food joint).
There are of course cheaper places to be had, one just has to ask the locals <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sarbar is correct for eating out at restaurants, though the prices can be less in rural areas and the South.

If you are talking about shopping in grocery stores and preparing your own food, you can save a lot of money (just like home.)

For backpacking (hiking on a trail, not city-to-city in hostels), I can eat pretty well from a grocery store on about $10 per person per day. Less if I don't mind eating the same thing every day.

For car-camping, where I have more cookware, larger stove, and can spend more time preparing meals, I can cut that by a few dollars per person per day.

If you are talking about "backpacking" in the European traveler sense, then you'll probably be eating more in restaurants, but you can still go to a grocery store on occasion and save some money.

Does this help?

It helps a lot <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Thank you.

Now we're talking expenses.. What about motels/hostels/camp sites.. On a part of the trip I will travel with a friend, which of course will make some things less expensive like if we share a double room or something like that..
We plan both to camp (tent) and sleep in hostels and so.. What are the prices at camp sites and standard hostels?

Most places, you're on your own. You can go to any grocery store and buy supplies or you can scout for a restaurant. You'll find it's significantly cheaper buying groceries than eating in restaurants. You will find that most places refer to hostels as a "bed and breakfast," they often include a breakfast. Although the definition of breakfast will vary from a donut + coffee to eggs, pancakes, bacon, juice, ...

The cost of a B&B varies a lot with location. Also depends on what kind of amenities you require. Same with camping. Also depends on when you camp. Don't even think about getting a site around July 4 without a reservation!

About tipping- a good rule of thumb is that you should tip about 15% of the total bill for any meal that is brought to you by a server, 20% if you want to reward the server for excellent service. 10% is considered undertipping. I normally round to the nearest dollar.

Never tip at a fast food joint (if you're inclined to eat at one).

Don't forget right now the Euro is about $1.60 US, so traveling here will be a bargain.

I suggest picking up a Lonely Planet or Insight Guide before you travel; those two should have some fairly current info on places to stay.

The US does not have the same well-developed infrastructure as Europe for train travel and other public transportation. It is pretty hit and miss, depending on where you are.

If you are camping, there are passes you can buy for the national parks that will get you into all of them. Even for a short trip, it may be worth it if you visit a number of them, especially if you hire a car.

Individual states have their own park systems apart from the national parks.

Since this board is for American style "backpacking," which to you is wilderness trekking, it's probably not the best source for information, although most of us have done both types of "backpacking." You might have better luck with a travel board like Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree. It has gone a bit downhill since the BBC took it over, but you can still get good answers to most questions. Their FAQ for the US (although horrendously long) is excellent and worth wading through. You are more apt to get help there if you search the site first, read a guidebook and then ask specific questions rather than the general ones you posted here. Questioners who haven't done their research tend to get flamed on that board.

A couple of things to keep in mind: Most US National Parks cannot be visited via public transport (Yosemite and the Grand Canyon are exceptions), so getting there requires either a tour or a rental car. Probably 99% of campgrounds in the US cannot be accessed without a car. It's a lot different from Europe where campgrounds are located close to or even in cities. Here they are generally far out in the countryside.

As TomD suggests, a guidebook is a good idea. Note, though, that food and (because of the soaring price of oil) transportation costs have inflated considerably this year.

Ouh, missed the "backcountry" sorry about that guys <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

No big deal, we're not going to take away your birthday or anything.

Ask all the questions you want in the Off Topic area.

Jonathan,

Well, in case you come back here and check, some additional info:

1. Camping. There are campsites in most National Parks and State Parks. Most of these are well outside cities and require a car. Rates are around $15-20 per night, and the campgrounds are usually developed (running water, showers, bathrooms.) There are many campgrounds in National Forests, mostly less developed (pit toilets), ranging from free to $8-15 per night. Commercial campground cater to people with large Recreational Vehicles (camping trailers), and can run from $25-75 per night. If you find a campground near a city or tourist destination, this is the type.

2. Motels. Get the AAA guidebook. Single-diamond motels are serviceable, but barely. Two and three-diamond motels are decent places to stay. You can expect to pay anywhere from $40 to $125 per night outside of large cities. (Prices in big cities are $200 and up, way up.)

3. Hostels. Though most Americans don't know it, there are plenty of real hostels here, mostly catering to foreign tourists. You'll find them in every large city and plenty of smaller ones, too. If you belong to a hostel organization in Europe, check their web site, otherwise just Google "hostels in USA.) Again, public transit is the only issue. You can get around within a city pretty well, but cheap public transit between cities isn't all that good. (Buses have a well-deserved poor reputation, and train travel is slowly fading away.)

I would strongly second the recommendation to buy the Lonely Planet USA guide. We've had a lot of fun with it traveling around our own country.

If you come back with specific places you want to visit, we can be more helpful.

Cheers,

--Ken

For transportation:

Lots of rural and of course urban US counties subsidize bus transportation. For example, as of a few years ago, it was possible to take county buses all the way around the Olympic Penninsula via several county bus systems, for less than $10. Some of the legs were free. The catch is or was, that many of the legs operated only once per day and it required a minimum of 24 hours to travel about 300 miles.

There are counties in rural michigan where apparently, you can simply phone for a ride at a flat rate of a few dollars, though this is certainly not typical.

Probably the way to discover these bus lines, is to google XX County and Transportation.

Just bring cases of good food (cheese) and drink (beer) with you and you'll be able to trade your way around the States <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> We Americans relish Foriegn food <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Wouldn't you like a taste of the cheese that sits in my fridge at the moment (not for long...)?
Half dry cow cheese (can be goat or ewe too) that has been left in "marc", (what's left when grapes have been pressed for wine) for some weeks. Ugly to look at, with all these black globs stuck on it, moderately smelly, and very potent (in taste, and I'm afraid, alcohol fumes)
Unfortunately, this one is not allowed to emigrate...