3 weeks NZ / 2 weeks US (& 3 month Australia) Ozbargain style roadtrip

Hansi on 30/03/2015 - 20:15

Hey guys,

I booked a cheap flight through the recent Air NZ deal posted - $950 Syd - LA return with a 3-week stopover.

New Zealand: 3 weeks mid April - beginning of May
US Westcoast: 2 weeks beginning of May

I've booked a campervan in New Zealand to sleep in and a big SUV ( which I will also sleep in in the US )

I've done a few road trips before ( in Australia / Hawaii with the lady / around Europe ).

My question is if you have any great Ozbargain tips regarding the two countries that could save me money ( good ideas for saving money whilst travelling by / living in a car ) ?

Examples:

  • Which are the cheapest supermarkets / ways to organise food
  • Since I will mostly stay in a car are there any good places to sort washing / get a shower? ( On my last trip in Ireland I slept in the car and used the McDonalds for washing / internet )
  • Possibly any cheap ways to organise petrol?
  • Cheap things to do on the way. Are there any deal pages for activities in the US / NZ such as Groupon / Bookme (Queensland) ?

I think that's it. Trip / food / entertainment…..

I will also do a 3-month road trip through Australia afterwards ( going to SEA upon my return first ) , but since I live here, I am more comfortable about how to approach that.
However, any further ideas to this are also welcome.

Thanks for your help!

Travel

Comments

  • RockyRaccoon on 30/03/2015 - 22:19
    +2

    Some comments

    Supermarkets in US are cheaper if you get their customer cards. Work out an address (Fake or Copied, but get the zipcode matching the city you use for the address) , they give you a card on the spot and you can get the discounts. Different chains in different regions. Walmart is good for cheap food and easy. Super Walmarts are the best. 2 years ago you could get great ceaser/chef salad in takeway tray with chicken/ham etc for around $4. A whole cooked chicken for around $5.

    Also Subway would often do a sandwich as a salad (with meat) for the same price. You just have to ask.

    Walmart and many of the suopermarkets have apps for a phone or pad.

    Cheaper fuel, get the app GasBuddy, which shows you cheapest places for fuel. Helps to know that next town 20miles on has cheaper fuel. Also Costco has cheaper outlets and Aussie card will get you access. Also on west coast Safeway has cheaper fuel if you get one of their customer cards.

    Frankly the SUV could end up a crap idea for 2 weeks. You can sleep in cheap motels (motel6) etc for often $50 a night which would be the difference between a cheap car and the SUV plus you save on fuel. Do your sums, also watch the insurance. USA base rental insurance covers not much and the travel insurance only covers the excess they will charge you if you damage the rental car. The minimum they provide would even cover the towing costs of any car you damage. Well not that bad, but it wouldn't cover a day of any legal action taken against you. Read the wiki here to get an idea about US car rental insurance issues.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/car_rental_insurance
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/category:travel

    • Hansi on 31/03/2015 - 19:12

      I am a member of Safeway already. They have more premium food ( and at least some good vegetables ) compared to Walmart, so that is good.
      I wonder if there is something like Aldi? Most of the food at Walmart was trashy unfortunately and I mostly relied on Safeway specials.

      Never saw a Super Walmart so far, Iw ill keep an eye out.

      Subway salad is a great idea! There should be a Subway everywhere anyway.

      When checking out the GasBuddy app it told me that it is not available to the country of my device ( Australia ). Do you think I will be able to download once I'm in the US with my phone?

      Reg the rental car.

      I paid $730 for 15 days for a Midsize SUV, all insurances included. The cheapest car would have been $565, I think the extra is worth not being in a small car.
      Fuel is hopefully not too bad as the price in the US is not too high. Furthermore I hope to save some money by sleeping in the car instead of sleeping at a motel.

      I will have a look at the links also. Thanks Rocky!

      • neil on 31/03/2015 - 19:24
        +1

        I wonder if there is something like Aldi?

        There are Aldis in the US.

        • RockyRaccoon on 31/03/2015 - 19:37
          +1

          Also Trader Joes which is owned by Aldi (nord). Now that's a food store you can explore.

          http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer

          Both Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd also operate in the United States; Aldi Nord is owner of the Trader Joe's chain, while Aldi Süd operates as Aldi.

          Aldi Süd owns Aldi in Australia

        • Hansi on 31/03/2015 - 21:17

          @RockyRaccoon:

          True! I forgot that, sorry.

          I actually looked for some when I went to Hawaii last year but I wasn't lucky.

      • RockyRaccoon on 31/03/2015 - 19:55

        When checking out the GasBuddy app it told me that it is not available to the country of my device ( Australia ). Do you think I will be able to download once I'm in the US with my phone?

        If it's an iPhone (I am not sure on Android - Neil may answer that), then you need to set up a US account, to download. Many sites can be found on Google to tell you how to do this. (or Whirlpool.net.au).

        Also there is a Walmart app to show you locations, and which are super walmarts, while I agree much is plastic food, their prepared salads are great. Also you can buy meat/cheese from their deli, which they slice -fresh - off the big slabs, vs the plastic prepacked crap. You can also buy 1oz or so, just enough for the one meal. I'd add these to the salads.

        Your SUV deal sounds good. Many pay $700 for just one week. Then again 2 years ago we paid $110 a week for a Corolla sized car, with a worldwide annual excess insurance from a UK company ($150PA).

        As for Showers, you might find the big truck stops on the interstates have these for a small fee. Also rest area's on the interstates may be ok for overnight sleeping. Also If you get a national Parks pass you can probably stay and shower in some of those, then enjoy the sites.

        BTW if you make it to Las Vegas, go a little further and visit Page in Arizona ( look at map), theer are the slot canyons (Google slot canyons and Page)

        And just a little further is Bryce Canyon

        Enjoy your trip

        • Hansi on 31/03/2015 - 22:14
          +1

          I will give Walmart salads another tree, let's see how they are!

          Let's see if I will be able to organise showers in the places mentioned.

          Page looks awesome btw. I had saved a place close to it already: "Amangiri", but I don't think I want to stay there…$$$$

  • neil on 30/03/2015 - 23:24
    +2

    Well, shameless plug but please check out OzBargain's sister site, ChoiceCheapies. Shaw will probably have some good tips as he lives there but here are my 2 cents.

    Possibly any cheap ways to organise petrol?

    Sign up for the AA Smartfuel. It's similar to the way the Coles & Woolworths dockets work and is free to join.

    They often have promotions where you can save say 10c/litre on certain days up from the normal 6c/litre.

    ways to organise food

    Assuming you get a NZ sim while you are there, there are lots of free food and drinks you can get via EFTPlus by joining up to bars and restaurants loyalty clubs.

    As for the US, you NEED (or very strongly recommended) to rent cars with insurance included. I drove from LA to Vegas to Phoenix last month and found the cheapest rate, with the same rental companies was with booking through Expedia UK which includes the insurance.

    The travel wiki and the tips that rocky gave are spot on. I have to give a special mention to Priceline & LMTClub at finding hotel rates that no other site could offer.

    • sagrules on 31/03/2015 - 16:14

      Do these tips also apply to Hawaii or just the mainland?

      • neil on 31/03/2015 - 16:20

        Well most of the tips were for New Zealand…

        Getting insurance for your rental car? Yes, everywhere in the US you should get it. If you live in the US, you probably have a car and will generally be covered under your own policy for rental cars. Not the case for overseas travelers.

        Priceline is good for many cities around the world. Have bid on hotels from Texas to Italy way cheaper than anywhere else. LMT is great at some areas and really cheap for attraction tickets (e.g. Universal Studios).

    • Hansi on 31/03/2015 - 19:28

      Thanks Neil,

      the pages look really helpful and I will definitely use those special when I am over there.

      My rental car includes all insurances. I always book through a German price and haven't found cheaper prices anywhere else yet ( just compared to expedia.co.uk ): billiger-mietwagen.de ( unfortunately that is probably not very helpful to many others )

      I used Priceline before, Hotwire as well ( which is great if you book a room for 4 - so cheap! ). Will check out LMTClub.

  • sagrules on 31/03/2015 - 16:46

    What is LMT is that a subscription service?

  • inherentchoice on 01/04/2015 - 00:16

    Little budget travelling tip I got from a seasoned backpacker…

    • Always carry tuna tins and wraps. They are both non perishables that will make an instant meal anywhere without any cooking or utensils.
    • RockyRaccoon on 01/04/2015 - 08:42

      It's the US there's a fastfood joint on every corner, with 40c taco's etc etc, why bother.** (The OP is driving not hiking)

      Failing that every servo has some sort of meal on offer,

      Its a 2 week trip so even if they are loaded with Cholesterol, Sugar, Wheat, additives, you are probably going to survive, and the canned Tuna will have more mercury anyway.

      If you cant find any food within 1 hour, which is only likely if you are stuck in the middle of Death Valley you can just start your 5:2 Diet.

      LOL

      ** http://www.deltaco.com/specials.html (3 for $1.09 plus tax)

      • inherentchoice on 01/04/2015 - 11:31

        Fast food is plenteous in the USA but I found it wasn't so cheap. Now even less so with the falling Aussie dollar.

        OP says he is also going to NZ and around Australia, for a lot longer than his time in the US. In regional or less populated areas a lot of shops and food outlets close early and are expensive.

        I am an hour from Brisbane in an area with over 100,000 people yet petrol stations here close early and the main street is often pretty dead at night. Even the night owl shuts at midnight.

        • RockyRaccoon on 01/04/2015 - 11:36

          ah yes forgot about the NZ part - apologies… pouri

      • Hansi on 01/04/2015 - 19:48

        There's really one fast food place after another. My only worry is that I will come home with big health issues!

    • Hansi on 01/04/2015 - 19:47

      I thought about the very same thing when being in remote places, hehe.

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