How to Road Trip on a Budget: 10 Ways to Save Money

planning

Feb 11

Written By Kelly W

An amazing road trip doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With a little planning and creativity, you can explore some of the most incredible places in the U.S. while limiting how much you spend.

Jonathan works full-time in finance and tech, and has since we started road-tripping in 2019. In other words, he’s our spreadsheet guy. Thanks to his passion for budgeting, we’ve been able to travel for 4-6 months every year without exceeding our travel budget.

After years of fine-tuning and thousands of miles on the road, here’s how we plan, save, and stretch every dollar so we can keep exploring year after year.

mountainous road focused in a car's rear-view mirror

Table of Contents

1. Camp A Few Nights Instead of Booking Every Hotel

Camping is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce lodging costs. If you’re visiting a national or state park, check for on-site or nearby campgrounds. Even one or two camping nights can make a big difference in your total trip budget.

Some parks allow car camping, which means you can simply set up your car for an overnight stay, no tent required. This is our favorite way to save money on the road. Car camping become our go-to solution for quick overnight stops or when we need somewhere to stay for a few hours before moving to a new location.

Most national and state park campsites cost between $20-$40 per night, compared to $150+ for a hotel room. Not only does camping save you money, but it also keeps you close to the action. Trailheads, wildlife viewing areas, and sunrise viewpoints are often right outside your door!

2. Stick With One Hotel Brand for Points & Perks

If camping isn’t your thing, hotel loyalty programs can help you save big. Sign up for one major chain and stick with it. Points add up quickly, and many programs offer free nights, discounts, or member-only rates.

From 2019 through 2022, we were almost exclusively Airbnb-ers because month-long rentals offered great deals. But as fees grew and cancellation flexibility disappeared, we switched back to hotels for our 2023 Travel Season, and haven’t looked back.

We personally love Marriott Bonvoy, which lets us earn and redeem points across thousands of properties. At the time of writing, we actually just cashed in some of our points to completely cover lodging costs for our upcoming North Dakota and South Dakota Road Trip! We’ll spend 10 days exploring Badlands, Wind Cave, and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks, and we won’t spend anything on lodging while we’re there.

Here’s how we think about Airbnb/VRBO versus hotels (as people who even run our own Airbnb):

For solo or couple travel, hotels are usually cheaper than Airbnbs once you factor in cleaning and service fees. This is especially true for shorter stays. That’s because Airbnb and VRBO rentals usually charge one set cleaning fee, regardless of the length of stay. In this way, you’re paying more for shorter stays.
For group travel, the opposite is usually true. Vacation rentals through Airbnb or VRBO can be more affordable when you split the cost among several people.

3. Travel During Shoulder Season

Timing can make or break your budget. Traveling during the off-season or shoulder season (the “in-between” months between peak and low season) means cheaper lodging, fewer crowds, and more flexibility.

Think: spring or fall for national parks, or early winter and late spring for beach towns. You’ll still get great weather, just without the peak-season price tag.

A friend once asked us if “shoulder season” meant “shoulders-out weather”… and it kind of does.

4. Eat Two Meals At Home Every Day

Eating out for every meal adds up fast. A $15 breakfast + $20 lunch + $30 dinner = $65 per person per day. For a two-week trip for two, that’s over $900 just on food. Instead, we like to eat two meals “at home” (from your cooler, campsite, or kitchen) and enjoy one meal out per day.

We won’t lie: we’re big fans of PB&J sandwiches on the road. They travel well and only take seconds to make. We’ve enjoyed dozens of PB&J sandwiches from rest area parking lots, hiking summits, and scenic overlooks. It’s fast, cheap, and actually somewhat nostalgic.

Breakfasts and lunches are generally the easiest for us to make on our own, which is great because we can use our dinner budget to try local restaurants or regional specialties.

5. Go to the Grocery Store When You Arrive

This has become a must-do for us on long road trips. We stock up on groceries and snacks at the start of our trip, or shop every few days for fresh items. We always map out the nearest grocery store before we hit the road to help us do this. It’s best to stop on your way in and know where to pick up additional items as needed throughout your trip.

🎯 RTL Tip: Stop at grocery stores instead of gas stations. Buy sandwich fixings, fruit, protein bars, and refillable water jugs. Here are some of our favorite meals on the road: Best Food For Road Trips: 50+ Snack and Meal Ideas On The Go

6. Do Preventive Car Maintenance Before You Leave

It’s not glamorous, but this one matters. A little prep before your trip can save you hundreds down the road.

Before leaving:

Check your tire pressure
Change your oil and filters
Top off coolant and windshield washer fluid
Make sure your spare tire is in good shape

We also highly recommend a roadside assistance membership that covers towing, tire changes, fuel delivery, and lockouts. Many insurance companies offer roadside assistance as part of their plans, and it can save you a lot of money on the road.

For example, we called State Farm Roadside Assistance (included in our insurance) when we got a flat tire, and they sent someone out within the hour to change the tire and put on our spare. From there, we drove to Sam’s Club (where we bought our tires) and received a free repair while we did our grocery shopping. Between roadside assistance and Sam’s tire perks, it didn’t cost us a dime.

💡 RTL Tip: If you're in the market for new tires before your trip, consider Sam’s Club. We’ve used their tire benefits all over the country, and it’s been a huge bonus for roadtripping. Combine that with roadside assistance, and you’re set for just about anything.

7. Cluster Destinations to Minimize Driving

This is one of the most fun ways to save money on the road! Take a few minutes pre-trip to map out where you’re going (and in what order) so you can see multiple attractions without backtracking. Group nearby stops together and aim for scenic drives that connect major highlights.

For example, Guadalupe Mountains National Park (TX) and Carlsbad Caverns National Park (NM) are only 30 minutes apart, and you can easily visit both in one day. By grouping together activities, you can save time, gas, and money while still seeing more.

Here’s how I do this: Add all of your potential stops to Google Maps, then drag the route to cluster them geographically.

If there’s a specific destination anchoring your trip, take a few minutes to search for things to do nearby. Local tourism sites and park rangers are great resources. They often suggest scenic drives, hidden hikes, or lesser-known stops on the way.

Check out the company's website, ask locals, or call and ask the venue what else they'd recommend you do during your visit. Here’s an in-depth step-by-step of how I plan our road trips.

8. Take Advantage of Free Attractions

There are countless free things to do on a road trip, especially if you love the outdoors. Hiking, scenic drives, local parks, beaches, and local events all offer great value for zero or low cost.

For example, Kanab, Utah, is one of our favorite road-tripping destinations in the U.S., and it’s a perfect base for budget-friendly adventure.

If you’re into hiking, you can explore:

Angel’s Landing or The Narrows in nearby Zion National Park
The Wave (if you’re lucky in the permit lottery) in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
North Rim trails of the Grand Canyon

If you’re road-tripping with kids, check out:

Moqui Caves
Belly of the Dragon
Sand Arch
Dinosaur Tracks
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, where you can rent sand sleds for about $25/day

And don’t miss Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, where animal lovers can hike or take a free guided tour offered daily.

No matter where you’re headed, a few minutes of research can uncover similar free or affordable gems near your route.

🎯 RTL Tip: Search “free things to do in [destination]” on Google or Pinterest before your trip. You’ll often find community events, scenic overlooks, and underrated stops.

9. Repurpose and Reuse Gear

One of the smartest ways to stretch your road trip budget is to make your gear work twice as hard. Instead of buying something for every new situation, look for multi-use items that can serve different purposes on the road.

Your camera bag can double as your day hiking pack.

Your travel blanket can be a picnic blanket, beach towel, or even a dog seat cover.

Your cooler lid can double as a portable table for lunch stops.

Your packing cubes can serve as laundry organizers once they’re empty.

Your rechargeable lantern can also be a reading light or nightlight in cabins and hotel rooms.

Your hard-sided suitcase can serve as a makeshift table or laptop stand in tight spaces.

Your folding camp chairs work just as well for sunsets at the beach as they do for campfires in the mountains.

Your portable power station can charge your laptop, camera batteries, and even your cooler, making it just as useful for remote work as it is for camping.

And don’t underestimate good clothing: merino wool layers (like Ridge Merino or Unbound Merino) can be worn for days, washed less, and last for years.

🎯 RTL Tip: The fewer “single-use” items you bring, the less you’ll spend and the easier it is to stay organized. One of the easiest ways to save money long-term is to invest in quality gear that can do double duty and lasts season after season.

Here’s our exact road trip packing list… full of the items that make it in our luggage trip after trip.

10: Skip Souvenirs, Collect Memories

Souvenirs add up quickly, especially on long trips. Instead of buying something everywhere you go, focus on collecting photos, stories, or small keepsakes like park maps and postcards.

We like collecting postcards because they’re light, cheap, and you can find them almost everywhere. Instead of tossing them in a drawer, keep them in a postcard album so your collection grows over time.

We love flipping through ours to see the places we’ve been. One of the great things about postcards is that they don’t take up extra space as you travel more. They’re some of the simplest, most inexpensive travel keepsakes you can collect, but when displayed in an album, they become a beautiful record of where you’ve been.

💡 RTL Tip: Mail one home to yourself from each destination! When you get back, you’ll not only have the postcard but also a handwritten note from “past you” living in the moment.

Read more: 9 Unique Travel Souvenir Ideas (That Aren’t T-Shirts or Mugs)