California road trip – main points: car rental, fuel cost, hotels, motels and campgrounds, traffic rules, and how to save on such a journey.
California is a concentrate of the brightest natural scenery. To truly and irreversibly fall in love with the USA, you must rent a car and set off on a California road trip. This is the only way to see America’s nature and visit its most remote corners.
America is not a cheap country, and California is its most expensive state. But that doesn’t mean you have to postpone such a trip for the best of times. Especially if you already have a US visa.
It all depends on the strength of your desire and your travel style. Of course, if you only stay at 4-5* hotels and eat exclusively in restaurants, the budget for such a trip will skyrocket. But if you’re interested in nature, love hiking, don’t mind spending a couple of nights in a campground, and are okay with budget motels, then nothing is impossible.
Here’s my personal experience of a California road trip and the main trip expenses.
California road trip – an itinerary to see deserts, mountains and the ocean
Car rental in the USA
Car rental in the USA is basically no different from the procedure in Europe.
You need: an international driver’s license, passport, and credit card.
There are plenty of rental companies, including branches of European firms. But it’s cheaper to rent from local providers – Alamo, Dollar, National. We chose Alamo for their low prices, large car selection, and the ability to pay with a debit card.
Almost all rental cars in the USA have automatic transmissions. Our 10-day rental cost $280 with basic insurance. We didn’t buy full insurance, because the roads in the USA are wide, plenty of parking spaces, and we have decent driving experience. Full insurance, which includes towing after an accident, would have cost another $14 per day.
Another rental nuance – we didn’t pay extra for a second driver. By rental policy, husband and wife can both drive only in California. Outside the state, only the driver on the contract (my husband) can drive.
Roads and traffic rules
California roads are in excellent condition. The signage is clear and indicates direction, city names, and highway exit numbers. It’s easy to navigate.
Navigation apps are helpful: we used Maps.me (offline) and Google Maps (online)—useful for checking traffic jams and if mountain passes were open.
US traffic rules aren’t much different from European ones, but there are a few nuances we noticed.
Features of driving in the USA:
First, at controlled intersections (with a traffic light) right turn on red is allowed. Like our green arrow rule, you can turn right on red if you don’t block cars moving on a green. Where it’s forbidden, you’ll see a sign or a plate that says “NO TURN ON RED“.
Second, at uncontrolled intersections without lights, there’s almost always a Stop sign; you must stop at the line. If it’s labeled “ALL-WAY” or “4-WAY“, you’re at an intersection of equals—the right of way goes to whoever arrived first. If several cars arrive together, everyone yields and crosses in order—“first come, first through”.
Third, don’t exceed posted speed by more than 10 mph on highways (distance is in miles). If traffic is moving faster than the posted speed, it’s best to go with the flow or keep to the far right, so you don’t slow others down.
Fourth, in California there are toll roads and bridges. There aren’t many, mostly around Los Angeles. There are many toll bridges around San Francisco. You can pay either with a toll-card from the rental company, but it’s not worth buying for just a 10-day trip.
It’s easier to avoid toll roads and bridges, or to pay at the entrance to the toll section or over the internet. For example, we crossed the “Golden Gate Bridge” and paid the $8 fee on www.bayareafastrak.org—payment can be made within 48 hours after crossing. The main thing is to note your crossing time—you’ll enter it and your car number when you pay.
Fifth, in major cities you’ll encounter carpool lanes. Usually it’s a left or leftmost two lanes, separated or marked by double solid lines. Main rule—you can use carpool if there’s at least one passenger besides the driver. This encourages less traffic density—so people carpool to work or share a car on the same route.
Gas stations and fuel
There are two types of fuel in the USA—gasoline and diesel, measured in gallons (1 gallon = 3.79 liters). Gasoline is called “gas“, “gasoline“, or “fuel“. Diesel is “diesel“.
There are several grades of gasoline:
- Regular (87, UNLEADED or REGULAR);
- Higher octane (89, MID-GRADE or PLUS);
- Premium (91, SUPREME or PREMIUM).
Most gasoline vehicles only need 87 – REGULAR, it’s the cheapest.
About half of gas stations are self-service—the pump has a built-in card reader, just enter the liters you want and insert your credit card. The money will be charged automatically.
Note: when paying cash (if the station has a cashier), fuel is cheaper than by card. The price can differ by 10–20 cents per gallon.
Another difference from our gas stations—all types of fuel use the same fuel nozzle. But this isn’t a problem—just choose the right fuel type when paying. And at the pump, press the correct button with the number or name of the gasoline (or diesel).
It’s also handy to check fuel prices at stations using Google Maps. You can compare which station has the cheapest fuel and save a lot that way.
Where to stay on a road trip
At first, I thought of renting a big car to sleep in. That way we’d save on lodging—hotels and motels in California are not cheap.
But after looking into the specifics of sleeping by the roadside and in private campgrounds, we abandoned the idea. A space in a private campground can cost nearly as much as a normal motel with a bed and shower. And roadside/parking lot nights involve lots of rules—you need to know exactly where you can and can’t sleep like that.
But we still brought a tent and sleeping bags to spend the night in government campgrounds in Death Valley and Yosemite National Park.
Recommended reading: USA will charge non-residents an extra $100 to visit the most popular national parks
How to save on accommodation in California?
Campsites in the USA
First, stay in campgrounds. As I said, you can bring a tent and sleeping bags or buy all your gear on site. The US has several big sporting goods chains (Decathlon, DICK’S, Big 5, etc.) where you can get gear pretty cheap (about $30 for a basic summer camp set).
Some travelers (and Americans too) return equipment to the store within 14 days. That trick isn’t for me, so we brought some gear and bought some supplies locally: gas for the stove, an air mattress (it was cold to sleep on foam in the mountains), and various little things.
California offers many private campgrounds but also state-run. Private sites are more expensive: from $45 for a tent for two plus car parking. State-run are cheaper—$6 to $30. Private sites are booked on the campsite’s own website. State-run—at www.parks.ca.gov/camping/.
Recommended reading: Yosemite Park in California – how to prepare for your visit and what to see in the valley
Book private campgrounds 3–4 months before your trip. Not super convenient, but it guarantees a spot. Without a reservation—it’s luck of the draw.
For a place in a Yosemite campground, you need to arrive very early—at 7 a.m., as others break camp, and try your luck at the “first-come, first-served” line. You might get lucky, or not. You can’t wild camp in Yosemite—rangers patrol, checking tags on tents and car parking slips.
We stayed at the cheapest campground #4. We arrived by 7 a.m., queued for a spot, and got a tent site for $6 per night. But this rule doesn’t always work anymore.
Important change for those planning to stay in Yosemite campgrounds!
Since May 2019, stays are only possible with a daily lottery. The lottery is held at recreation.gov, from May 21 to September 14. Each application (up to 12 people) has a non-refundable $10 lottery fee. Camping is paid only if you win the lottery.
Motels
Second, you should stay at motels. They have everything you need—a bed, shower, TV, and fridge. Even a microwave—very popular in American motels.
This kind of place costs from $80 to $100 a night for two. Sometimes the price includes a basic breakfast—toast, jam, coffee. Book a motel through any aggregator, like www.booking.com.
Third, if you don’t plan overnight stops in advance, you can try to find a cheap motel via www.hotwire.com/hotels. Here you can book last minute at discount prices after 3 p.m.—discounts can reach up to 40%.
And, fourth, for the most extreme adventurers—sleeping in your car! Overnighting in a car on the roadside is almost always prohibited. But US law says anyone can spend the night at marked National forest spots (as long as there’s no sign prohibiting camping). There aren’t many, but with a car, you’re flexible. You can check the map at https://www.nationalforests.org/ and plan stops accordingly.
Flight
Cheap flights to California are not a fantasy, but reality. Watch for sales—and you’ll be in luck!
In spring and fall, it’s a pleasure to travel in California, and with low flight prices, it’s doubly pleasant.
From my experience, airfare sales to the USA for April–May are most often in February. For October–November flights, look in August.
We bought AirFrance tickets to San Francisco for 300 euros round trip. The price included baggage, carry-on, meals, and drinks. “The cherry on top” was a transatlantic flight on the world’s largest passenger jet—Airbus A380.
Useful links and articles:
- The ideal road trip route in Morocco
- Ten autumn locations in New York
- Mallorca itinerary – what we managed to do in a week by car
Car rental – Rentalcars.com
Journey schedules and bus tickets – at InfoBus.ua
Green card, liability insurance, and travel health insurance – online at HotlineFinance
Hotel and apartment bookings – Booking.com
