kaisersling

check out : https://www.allstays.com/apps/camprv.htm

they have an ipad app which is great. The map feature is really handy. I am an avid RV'r/camper and use it frequently

Erick L

To find campsites, I type "camping" or "campground" in Google Maps. Make sure to click on the little dots to see what they actually are as they be camping gear stores or something completely unrelated.

indyfabz

As noted, that's one method I use. You are right. A search often turns up things like camping stores, RV dealers and mobile home parks. I have also gotten hits that are not even remotely related to camping.

WonderMonkey

I use google and also the state parks website, KOA, and any other known chains in the area. Hostels are popular if you are near a city.

cvskates

I found that campgrounds are the biggest variance (but I don't cook on tour). I like hiker/biker sites at $5 a night where available, with the odd hotel room thrown in (hello Motel 6). Sometimes you can't avoid the $40 campsites, though.

Food I don't track or budget for. I have a couple pieces of fruit for breakfast, restaurant for lunch and a big sandwich (like a subway or Safeway deli sandwich) for supper. Plus snacks through the day.

If I'm pounding through 3-5K calories a day, I eat whatever comes close to me

Rowan

I don't know what is happening with operators' thinking with camp sites, but we have found in Australia and North America that they are pricing themselves out of existence. We more often now are looking at indoor accommodation which is cheap and comfortable and the price differential between many campsites and indoors is narrowing enough to make it a realistic option on short tours, at least.

Australian campgrounds/RV parks also have self-contained cabins that are quite cost-effective, and depending on the location, we can get one for $60 a night, which when lined up against a tent site for up to $40, make it an attractive proposition.

Of course, we still take a tent, just in case...

As a footnote, even on our driving trip north-south and back again across North America last year, we stayed in cheap motels ranging between $45 and $80 a night. They were accessible, the quality wasn't brilliant but acceptable and consistent among the chains, and the cheapest were about par with any of the campgrounds we encountered for a site. There were two motels we found entirely "icky" -- one in Texas and the other in Oregon -- and they weren't the cheapest...

stevepusser

Wow, we get spoiled here in the Pacific coast states--most of the state parks (at least in California, even the inland ones) have the hiker-biker site program, at $4 to $10 per head If they don't have a designated site, many of them will let you camp overnight in the picnic area. Many western National parks also have special sites at discount rates--even occasional Forest Service campgrounds.

When I plan a trip in these areas, I try and see how many I can hit, or keep in mind in case of emergencies.

Don't forget about hostels if you're traveling on a budget--just remember you may bunk with a snorer. You can pay more for a private room. For example, if I wanted to stay at one at north Lake Tahoe, look at this gem:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...alifornia.html

lhendrick

I toured from London, UK to Tours, France and then East to Budapest on the Eurovelo 6 route Summer 2013.

Here is a link to my journal on CGOAB: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/..._id=12792&v=nW

I am 64 years old.

My daily expenses were quite high. After pedaling my huge LHT fully loaded for 60 miles I was exhausted most nights. I really enjoyed the few nights of camping, in great locations, but those are getting harder to find on the tour, and when you are tired, dirty, hungry and come into a strange city alone, a hotel can look pretty good.

I camped three nights very cheap, like $8-15, stayed cheap hostels 3 times for $25 or so.

For the other 30 or so days costs for hotels ranged from a low of $35 ( Formula1) to a high of $135+ (Ibis Downtown) in large cities. I used Booking.com to find a hotel in the town ahead in the afternoons.

Breakfast, usually bakery goods and coffee on the road ran about $5, but often $10 or more if at a fancy hotel. Then I would wrap up some rolls and meat for lunches...

Lunch, like a kabap sandwich in Germany or a baguette with ham and cheese with a drink, maybe $5-$10, but often more if there was a nicer restaurant and nothing else, so lets say $15-20 on those days. Dinners were a big meal for me with a beer or two, $25. Like Weiner Schnitzle with all the trimmings in Germany.

Whenever I passed a bakery I stopped and bought bread and pastries , and it was eaten every day, all day.

A few stops for cold soft drinks, cokes cost $3+ over there. Often got cold water for free in restaurants as I was leaving.

I took a ferry from UK to France, $20 for me and bike.

I took a train from Lille to Paris and on to Tours, about $120

I took a cab to the airport in NY, $45 with bike

I took a cab in Budapest to the airport, Euro 50 with bike.

So, you can see that I spent anything from $35-$200 per day, and that 37 day European trip totaled over $6000 including airfare and other transport.

As others have reported, you can tour for a lot less. Camp out every night, cook your own food. Get your friends to drive you to the airport. Carpe Diem.

wahoonc

I wish ALL State and Federal campgrounds would do that. Here in NC a state park site is $20+ a night, they doubled the rate about 12 years ago. While I have no problem paying that rate most of the time, it is steep IMHO for a cyclist versus a whole family in a large tent or RV. Private campgrounds are pricing themselves out of the market.

Aaron

Rowan

I don't understand why. Most hikers and bicyclist I see camping leave their sites spic and span. They usually take up minimal space -- for the price charged per square foot, the campgrounds must be doing OK. Perhaps they perceive the use of hot water in the showers as being excessive. But with some campgrounds charging upwards of $20 for a site, then adding another $5 per person, the profit margin seems a bit excessive.

I know a few years ago when the insurance furore occurred -- the insurers jacked up their premiums by a huge amount -- campgrounds used that as an excuse to hike up tent-site prices. It seems to be the campground chains -- those like Big4 here -- that have forced up the rates. Campgrounds run by municipal councils actually offer really good rates, but they are becoming rarer, too.

Juan Foote

Wow, continued thanks for the wealth of information and advice.

There is little to no bike infrastructure and support through most of Ga. The state bike route isn't marked anywhere aside from Google, State Parks don't offer "biker" sites to my knowledge. Even the primitive sites are pretty high here, $15-20 IIRC and maybe more now, I would have to check. I have never seen a hostel, not to say that they don't exist as I really have never looked. The area I live now is pretty rural so I can't see there being a lot of need for them. I think the trick to stays around here would be to research and find the seedy cheapies for motels, which are pretty common to the whole region, that you can live with.

I already have a "pre tour" test set up for myself in planning. I intended to do it this fall but life got in the way. If the weather will do as it has the last couple of years I should be able to complete it this winter. I intend on hitting a couple of the state parks in the area as day trips, perhaps camp at one or all of them and worst case two of the three are very near family or friend's houses. I am already putting on the mileage that I intend to do, and just need to work on loading my trike a bit to test riding like that.

indyfabz

I can see both side of the coin in many instances. For example, I don't think I can expect a discount/lower rate when I am occupying a spot that could otherwise be let at a higher rate. But then there are cases where you just think "Come on!" I had one of those last month. I stayed a huge private campground on a weekday. Aside from a few seasonal people, the place was empty. The place offered "primative" sites in a grove of trees as well as sites right along the lake. The former were $20. The latter were $40. Both included the use of all ammenities, including the bathouse. I opted for the latter. The young guy working there wanted to give me the primative site rate but the woman running the show charged me the full rate. Come on! The site would have been unoccupied if not for me. My vehicle is not causing any wear and tear on your roads. I am one person who is going to drink a limited amount of water, take one shower, flush the toilette maybe 3-4 times and toss one small bag of trash. Compare that to what a family of 4 who drives in would do. There are owners who get this. One of them is a nice man who onws a place I have stayed at twice now. He gives me a substantially discounted cyclist rate of $15.

mtn.cyclist

Costs of being in business are what drive the cost to the camper. Utilities, taxes, payroll, and insurance are expenses the campground revenue has to cover, plus a living for the owner. You are not really paying for the services you use but the associated costs just to keep the doors open. Our system requires businesses to make money to stay alive.

indyfabz

Like I said, I can see both sides of coin in most instances. Good will, however, has a value. I would never go back to the expensive place I described above, especially since there is another, less expensive place a few miles away. The other place was actually closer. The reason I went to the place I did was that the young guy mentioned cheerfully and quickly responded to my email inquiring about the need for a reservation. I thought I would give them the business. The free market works both ways. You charge what you want and I will decide whether or not to give you my business now and/or in the future. Seems like they made a short sighted decision considering the alternative would not have resulted in any incremental cost.

stevepusser

Yes, consider the small towns across the Plains states that will allow you to camp free in the city park.(or Jacumba or Octotillo, here along the Mexican border in SoCal) In return, you will spend your cash in the local grocery, cafe, bar, theater, or whatever. I see that as a win for both sides.

They seemed to have more hostels in California a decade or two ago. I stayed at nice ones in Hilton Creek (near Mammoth), South Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and San Clemente that have since disappeared The Sacramento one, which was handy for ending a Sierra trip, is still there.

Here's hostels that are run by one organization---wow, they are in clusters only in certain areas, such as California and the Northeast. The South is pretty much out of luck. https://www.hiusa.org/hostels/usa_hostels There may be private versions of the same type of place, too.

Rowan

The post above yours by indyfabz shows the issue. I've worked in the tourism industry, and if you have a site that is not occupied for a night, it cannot be got back again on the books, unlike a physical item that might spend a night for 20 on the shelves and still be sold. The opportunity to sell that site for a night disappears. It's called, or used to be called, perishable inventory. It's the same as vacant beds in a motel, or an empty seat on an aircraft about to take off, or an empty tour bus. The money still has to be paid for that room or seat or bus.

If you jack the price up way high, you are either sending a message that you don't want people using those sites, you think them too much trouble, or you have an overinflated sense of your own importance.

Machka has a couple of brilliant stories about this sort of thing, and in one case I can recall, she moved on elsewhere and found digs that were cheaper and much, much better in the same town.

The attitudes in Europe are somewhat different, where there are tent sites put aside, cyclists are welcomed (at least in most cases where we have stayed), the campgrounds are well organised and laid out, and the facilities are usually clean and range from adequate to brilliant. And most importantly, the staff usually were welcoming (although the Germans along the Rhine Route were far less than that).

fietsbob

i do imagine the Rhine tourist bike traffic is a bit dense in the summer.. maybe tedious..

though bike traffic touring business volume makes offering the services post a decent return, Id Think?

Passau to Vienna was well populated along the Danube too ,many years ago..

Machka 

One such story was during my tour in Queensland. My cycling partner and I rolled into town at dusk, and got to the campground about 15 minutes after it closed (7:15 pm). We rang the "If you arrive late, ring this bell" bell, and a very unhappy-looking couple came to the door. The place was packed, but we asked about a patch of grass to plant our tent, and were told, amid heavy sighs, that they supposed we could put our tent on a bit of grass right next to the office for the whopping price of $30. And we were told that under no circumstances could we use the toilet block. If we had to use a toilet, we could use the service station across the road when it opened in the morning.

We left and walked around the corner where we spotted a hostel. The place was almost empty and absolutely spotless ... eat off the floor spotless. The manager welcomed us in and gave us a lovely big, clean room for $20 each ... total $40. And we could use the toilet!

Machka 

In North America, Hostelling International tends to put their hostels in touristy places. In other parts of the world, hostels are scattered everywhere.


Try searching "backpackers" too.

iforgotmename

One way I have found to keep my costs down was dehydrating meals to take with me. The food is better and the $$ per meal is a considerable savings over dining out. I also have a water filter which can save a few bucks over buying bottled water YMMV

Aerohip

I ran into a guy this Summer who said that he Toured the US for a year on $600/mth. He was 56 and retired and that was his Pension each Month. I dunno....I find it pretty hard to believe you can survive on $20/day, even if you stealth Camp and use Warmshowers.

Rowan

It's conceivable.

What we shove in our mouths each day can account for a substantial amount when bicycle touring. As I said in one of my previous posts, if you can cook, you will save a substantial amount. A friend of mine was stranded in NZ several decades ago with no access to money, but he survived by eating oatmeal for most meals and with friends helping out with accommodation for something like a month or longer.

Older hands at touring solo can become very adept at identifying free camping sites that offend no-one and are reasonably safe, even in urban areas. It becomes easier outside cities.

The only wrench in the works would be if there was a catastrophic failure of the bike requiring total replacement.

And frankly, if you had the option of touring by bicycle, or seeing much of your pension disappear into rent in fixed accommodation, I would take the bicycle touring option every time. It's also possible to pick up work here and there to supplement the income.

CandSAdventures

Great thread! I have been bitten by the touring bug and have started planning some short trips. This is good information.

wahoonc

I know several people that tour on that or even less in some cases...

Aaron

Aerohip

I would love to hear from someone who has Toured on $20 per day. What did they eat? How often? Is the cost of food that much cheaper in the US than Canada?