So, travel! Thanks to those who made it to this section;) I hope the information will be helpful.
I can't express how much we all dreamed of traveling. Working in a tiny resort village where the only entertainment was a supermarket and the ocean (with sharks). Naturally, we started planning in advance - there was nothing else to do... My cherished travel dream was always the Grand Canyon, the beloved California, and Yellowstone National Park - all these places are in the western US, but quite far from each other, so I doubted if I would manage to visit them all. Especially since everything is so expensive in America. Speaking of the financial side, we saved up plenty of money, so we could afford a budget of $2000, which is about what we actually spent. However, some guys chose to buy iPhones and other tech instead of traveling. Well, it’s up to you!
How we planned the trip.
First of all, I changed my return tickets. The IEC.Exchange should send you an email on how to do this. 2 weeks of travel seemed clearly insufficient to me, so I decided to stay in America for 10 days longer, which cost me $160. It's very expensive, but I came to America for the sake of travel.
After Googling all sorts of tour booking sites (we took a two-week national park tour for $700) and tickets, we made a rough travel plan and decided on the amount. The approximate cost of a ticket, from NY to LA, for example, is $50-100.
Here is a rough plan:
Norfolk (the nearest large city with an airport)
Orlando (3 days)
Los Angeles
Grand-Canyon
Vegas
Utah State - Salt Lake City
Yellowstone National Park
San Francisco
Yosemite National Park
Los Angeles (2 days)
New York (3 days)
We spent about $1000 on tickets, tours, and accommodation. We spent the same amount on shopping. During the trip, we visited about 10 states. And we have enough photos and impressions to last a lifetime.
- Now I will tell you how we booked all this and what we used. All air tickets need to be compared on different sites. Prices may vary.
Try:
https://www.skyscanner.ru https://www.expedia.com https://www.aviasales.ru https://www.spirit.com - super budget tickets, but there may be delays, the planes are old, and you have to pay extra for luggage and carry-on. But if you are traveling with one backpack - this is definitely the best option.
Always check if luggage is included in the ticket! Somewhere they will charge $20 for luggage, and somewhere even $100. Check the information on the airline websites. My friend spent $100-200 just on luggage. Overweight is paid from $50-100, an extra bag is about the same.
If you only need a bus (I already wrote about them in more detail):
https://www.greyhound.com http://www.gotobus.com http://www.chinatown-bus.org
It's damn cold in all the buses! And it doesn't matter that it's +35 outside. I remember how the first time I laughed that Americans carry jackets with them on the bus. Now I always take a small blanket and terry socks with me.
We took the tour itself on http://www.taketours.com - a Chinese company. The more of you go, the cheaper it gets! The tour includes transport and accommodation. You will have to pay separately for guide services ($8 per day), some excursions (optional), and food. Searching for tours is very convenient - you enter the place where the tour starts (we chose LA), then the place or places where you want to go, and suitable tours are shown on the screen. Of course, traveling on your own is more interesting. But we would never have visited so many places in just 12 days on our own.
Accommodation booking:
http://www.booking.com/ - hotel booking http://www.hostelworld.com - hostels www.airbnb.ru/c/devdokimenko1?s=8 - apartments or rooms. Sometimes it turns out quite inexpensive. Registering via the link will get you a bonus.
https://www.couchsurfing.com - live for free in someone's apartment. They might just give you a bed, and sometimes you get a whole room.
I personally used each of the options. Decide for yourself which one is better for you.
There will be a bunch of photos next, I promise))
