Our 3 Week USA Adventure: Exact Cost & Expense Breakdown Revealed!

If you follow us on stories, you’ll know we recently embarked on an amazing trip halfway around the world to cross some big things off our travel bucket list.

It’s been a dream for a long time to go to the US, and while we did have some nightmare weather, the trip was truly something special.

Many people have asked us what we spent all up, including all the ‘touristy’ things like visiting Disneyland, Vegas, and a bunch of national parks...

So, we’ve added it all together for you, and the grand total was…

$22,546 AUD

Our original estimate was 21k, so we stayed pretty close to the budget.

This figure includes every single cost associated with our trip, including care for our three dogs over the Christmas period!

Here's the exact breakdown:

Flights $1300 or $430 pp: 

We booked return flights for three from Melbourne to L.A via Brisbane with Qantas. Because we used points, it meant we only had to pay the taxes. If you want to know how we accumulated points so quickly, you can read the blog post specific to points hacking here!

This tip saved us $7700 alone! 

Accommodation $5000:

In Anaheim we stayed at Hotel Peppertree & Suites:  

In Las Vegas we stayed at The Flamingo:

In Utah we stayed within Zion National Park at Zion Lodge: 

In Arizona we stayed at Best Western Lake Powell and from here we visited, Horseshoe Bend  & The Antelope Canyons and enjoyed views of Lake Powell.

On Route 66 we stayed at The Rodeway Inn, and in LAX we stayed at The Hyatt, which made catching our flight a breeze. 

Travel Insurance, Visas, & International Roaming $907: 

For insurance, we went with SCTI. For mobile data, we used King Sims, but we’ve since discovered the convenience of eSIMs, and now use Airalo. Having an eSIM means you don't have to worry about swapping a physical sim card in or out of your phone which is way more convenient. 

Activities & Attractions $3600: 

Activities included: Disneyland (both the original park and California Adventure), Ice Hockey, Basketball, Anaheim 1, Santa Monica Pier, national park entrance fees and a few tours. 

Car Hire, Extra Insurance & Fuel $2700: 

We saved a lot of money by hiring a car through Turo (which is like Airbnb for cars), and we used their over and above insurance. 

Groceries & Eating out $3327: 

We spent an average of $160 per day on food and were able to keep costs low largely thanks to having a kitchen for the whole first week at Hotel Peppertree. 

Spending Money $2055: 

This amount included the shopping spree in duty-free, and Victorias Secret as well as Disney souvenirs. 

Airport Pickup at LAX & Uber/Lyfts $428: 

For 50% off 2 x Lyft rides, use my refer a friend code: Kirstin gave you 50% off 2 rides in Los Angeles: Click here.

Undercover Airport Parking at Melbourne Airport: $529

Boarding Kennels $2700:

Caring for our three dogs over the Christmas period wasn’t cheap, but we knew they were well looked after while we were away.

This trip was a huge expense for us, but we spent considerable time saving and planning for it.

Was it worth it?

Absolutely.

We made some incredible memories.

Got Q’s for us? We’d love to hear from you! Feel free to drop us a DM.

Kindest,

Kirstin & Tom.

P.S if you haven't already done so, read our blog post on how we got return flights to the US for $430 pp during the school holidays. 

This tip alone saved us $7700, and meant we got to go to Disneyland way earlier than we thought we'd be able too!