Oh my gosh I am almost too scared to write this post. Mainly because I am too scared to admit to myself just how much I paid during my two weeks travelling around Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. And also because I’m scared my mum will read this. Hey, it’s better than spending it all on drinks and drugs, isn’t it, mum? Mum?
During my two-week tour of the West Coast of America last November, I was there with just one intention: I don’t want to go home having missed out on the chance to see something. This was, for me at least, the trip of a lifetime, so I made sure that my friend and I managed to squeeze in every last activity we could possibly find.
My reason in publishing my costs is to give you a rough idea of how much such a trip would cost. It’ll also give you an idea of where you could save costs, or what you could leave out in order to save a bit of money.
Disclaimer: All of the below costs were paid for out of my own pocket; I accepted no travel perks throughout the two weeks! How did I afford it? I saved and saved and saved every last penny between March and November 2015 – approximately 8 months’ wages! Not to mention my return flights were purchased in April using savings I already had, which helped MASSIVELY.
Hope this gives you a good indication of how much to budget if you’re thinking of a similar trip!
TRAVEL
Return flights to America (into Vegas and out of San Francisco) with Virgin Atlantic: £674 per person
Las Vegas Monorail day pass: £8.33
Luxury Coach transport from Vegas to Los Angeles: £57.52 per person
Single LA Metro ticket: £1.21
Train from Los Angeles to San Francisco: £84.69 per person
Transfer from hotel to San Francisco airport: £12
TOTAL: £837.75
HOTELS
2 nights at The Luxor hotel, Vegas: £176/2 = £88 per person
3 nights at the Venetian Hotel, Vegas: £542/2 = £271 per person
1 night at USA Hollywood Hostel: £182.01/2 = £91 per person
(NOTE: We got charged for a second night at the Hostel because we decided to move to another hotel)
3 nights at DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown: £431.10/2 = £215.55 per person
5 nights at Hotel Zephyr, San Francisco: £760.10/2 = £380.05 per person
TOTAL: £1,045.60
ACTIVITIES (all prices per person)
Britney Spears live: £98.69
Ticket up the Stratosphere Observation Tower: £13.88
Neon Museum tour: £12.49
Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam Day Trip with Skywalk: £98.22
Valley of Fire day trip: £98.18
The High Roller at The LINQ: £15.53
Titanic Exhibition: £22.21
LA day tour: £49.45
Universal Studios VIP Entry: £97.56
Alcatraz night tour: £26.38
Yosemite day trip with lunch: £107.13
Bike hire to cycle across the Golden Gate bridge: £22.21
Sausalito/Muir Woods, Giant Redwoods half-day trip: £35.32
Coit Tower entry: £5.55
KitTea Cat Cafe entry: £13.88
Entry to Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat: £15.27
TOTAL: £731.95
EXTRAS
Grand Canyon Skywalk Pictures: £67.78/2 = £33.89 per person
Souvenirs and Christmas presents: £279.22 (whoops)
Vegas Starbucks: £3.53
LA Starbucks: £3.61
TOTAL: £320.25
OVERALL TOTAL OF MY TWO WEEK TOUR OF THE WEST COAST USA (For just me): £2,935.55
(Exclusions: Taxi fares, tips, and food. We probably spent around £347.08 ($500) on food altogether)
While this sounds like a lot of money, you did an insane amount of things for that money! I think you actually did really well! Good to know when I eventually get to San Francisco!
This looks around the same sort of price that we’ve spent/will be spending on our 2 week trip although seeing as we’re a couple (and obviously the trip was my present to Alex) it seems a whole lot more when you put all the costs together! It might seem like a lot but I’ve never regretted a single penny I’ve spent on travelling. You have to do and see as much as you can and want to when you’re out there and I always think that it’s totally worth it 🙂
Love this! It’s been 5 years since I last went to NYC alone and we are heading back to the US in September. I’ll also be sharing a similair post as it really doesn’t have to cost heaps to travel does it. It sounds like you covered a lot and plenty of experiences mixed in there too. Hope you had an amazing time. At the moment it’s weighing in quite a lot less then the numbers you shared but I’m gonna compare once we get back and take a look! Also we are going Boston > NYC > New Orleans so a bit of a different route.
Hi Emily,
Firstly thank you for sharing all this info. My wife and I are planning San Francisco, LA, San Diego and then Vegas.
Was the total spent between 2 of you? Ie you spent nearly £3000 but was that £1500 each.
Sorry to ask and I hope I’m not being too dim!!
Amazing! I wish we had time to squeeze in San Diego when we were there, but it just means we’ll have to go back. The £3,000 was for one person (I’ve edited the post to hopefully make that a little clearer). It sounds extortionate when I think about it now, but when you consider that covered return flights, accommodation, tours, travel between cities and souvenirs, it was worth every penny!
Hi there…your trip sounded amazing! Myself and my husband are planning on doing something similar in April 2018 for our 1st Anniversary 🙂 I was wondering did you book everything yourself or did you book with a travel agent? Did you book all your day trips/tours before you went and if you could tell me who you booked with for the Grand Canyon and Universal Studio tours that would be great 🙂 Also how did you find the bus journey from Vegas to LA? Thanks so much!
Hi does this include food and drink (and booze)?
Hiya! Nope, it doesn’t. At the end I’ve put: ‘(Exclusions: Taxi fares, tips, and food. We probably spent around £347.08 ($500) on food altogether)’. We didn’t drink booze while out there actually, so couldn’t comment on how much that is!