Expert: Steve Summers - 7/8/2006

Question
Hi,
i'm from Germany and i want to go to California with a friend for about 3-4 weeks. I've been doing a lot of research but did not find enough information to decide how to travel, sleep and survive :P
General Information: we wanted to do this in August for 20 to 30 days.... depending on the costs.
I came up with several ideas, and ich hope you can give me some advice (in the end there's is always the low budget...):

1. Backpacking in California
Travelling around with a backpack using Greyhound to get around (The buses don't seem to be too expensive) , and spending the nights in motels or B&Bs. How much will we habe to spend per night? Is 50$ enough for 2 Persons and can you just walk in at the evening and get a room, or is it totally crowded?

2. Renting a RV
I already found out, that you can get RVs for about 70-100$ per day, which would be o.k., if the nights were for free. But i'm not sure, if there are free camp sites near beaches, especially south of Los Angeles. The ones i found were all some miles away from the coast. We can't afford to pay for RV and Camp site :[

These are the 2 reasonable possibilities i came up with. I hope you can give me some advice :]

greets, michael

Answer
Hi Michael,

California is a very popular destination, especially in the summer (sort of like Berlin during World Cup... you get the picture). The least expensive hotels in the popular areas are easily $75-$150 per night, and it could be very difficult if you do not have a reservation. In September, it would be a lot easier. In August, EVERYBODY comes here. You could try www.motel6.com, or www.super8.com, which are two of the least expensive hotel chains. However, your best bet is to try using hostels; check out www.hostels.com, where you can stay in dormitory style hostels for about $25 per person per night. Some hostels will even allow you to book online, but others are walk-in only.

Unfortunately, nothing is free in California. If you rent an RV, you will have to pay for a place to park it for the night. There are NO free campsites near the beaches... the beaches are just too popular, and the local police will be knocking on your window if you try it. There is a store here in the US called Wal-Mart... they will let you park overnight in their parking lot for free. However, none of these are by the beach. Actually, a couple of them are near the beach, but local laws do not allow you to camp overnight in the parking lot. Some of the state beaches along the coast charge about $20 per night for "dry camping" (no electric, water, or sewer hookup). Hookup sites are more expensive, in the $30 range.

So, the best bet would probably be to travel using the hostels.

Hope this helps,

Steve