Self Portrait at Niagara Falls

One of the most common excuses I hear from people about why they can’t/ won’t/ don’t travel is money. Believe me, freelance writing is no way to get rich. If I can afford to travel, so can you! Travel doesn’t have to be expensive!  Here’s the breakdown for my most recent road trip from PA to VT:

Time: 8 days, 7 nights

Distance: 1,100 miles by car, 31 miles on foot

Places: PA: World’s End State Park, Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. NY: Finger Lakes, Niagara Falls (Canadian side too!), Lake Ontario, Sodus Point Lighthouse, Chimney Bluffs State Park, Adirondacks, Wanakena. VT: Middlebury and Ripton.

States: PA, NY, VT. Plus, a brief foray into Ontario, Canada. No issues with crossing into Canada and back with the dogs. They didn’t even ask for their rabies certificates. This has been my experience at every Canadian border crossing, but I always carry the dogs’ records in my car, just in case.

Gas: $181

Camping: $49

Free camp sites: 5 nights

Paid camp sites: 1 night at World’s End State Park, PA. $21

RV Parks: 1 night in Niagara Falls, NY. $28. I didn’t want to take the Teardrop over the border into Canada so I needed to find a safe place to leave it while I went to see the falls. All the state parks in the area were closed for the season and this was my only option. Plus, I was ready for a shower!

Food: $43. Restaurant meals: 1. That’s right, I only ate out once (in Niagara Falls). The rest were all grocery story meals cooked in the Teardrop.

Drink: $0. (Water for myself and the dogs, all free)

Souvenirs: $4 (Postcards/ stamps and stickers)

Miscellaneous: Toll across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada to see Niagara Falls: $3.50. Next time I’ll walk!

Cost to offset the carbon footprint of my trip: $14

Total: $ 294.50

Seeing more of the World: Priceless!

The Teardrop meets Lake Ontario

For more tips on cheap road tripping and free camping check out my previous posts: How To Plan A Killer Road Trip: $$$ and Boondocking 101: How To Camp For Free In Beautiful Places.