Yahoo Movies The reality of travelling in the most expensive country on Earth right now
Rather than spend our spare money on new kitchens or bathroom suites, my wife Rosemary and I have long since chosen to blow what we’ve saved in full-time work by travelling. It’s an invigorating way to spend our later years, now our sons have grown up. Our favourite activity by a country mile is road trips in the extravagant beauty of the American West.
The ghastly Covid era temporarily ended all that, so it was with joy that late last year I booked flights to Phoenix, Arizona, with British Airways to spend a month out here in what has turned out to be a glorious autumn. Recent rains have left the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah festooned with flowers. The light is piercing, the rock formations sublime, and the roads endless. Just like it always ever was.
Before we arrived on September 14 the value of the pound was already falling but it had flatlined at about $1.14. That was bad enough. This week it spiralled to $1.05 before recovering, but only a little. That means it’s down around 25 per cent from where it was when we made a short hop to Florida in February, a trip squeezed in immediately before my wife’s breast cancer operation and subsequent treatment.
To compound matters, inflation in the United States is well underway. It’s quite remarkable how, gasoline excepted, most commodities and everyday items have gone up considerably in price. However bad prices might seem in the UK, it’s actually still the case that everyday basics are usually cheaper in the UK than they are out here. Expect a dozen eggs to cost at least $3 and often nearly double that. A decent sliced brown loaf is over $3.50. A pack of 12 small yoghurts costs around $7. A can of baked beans is over a dollar. A four-pint carton of milk costs around $2.20, 60 per cent more than in the UK. To all those you can add sales tax in most states. And those are Walmart prices – expect other supermarkets to be 10–20 per cent more.
Luckily, car rental has come right down since earlier in the year. I booked a car through British Airways a month before we left. It was half the price (at £1,050 for four weeks) it would have been had I booked it with the flights late in 2021.
My secret weapons for saving money in the US
We’ve had to totally rethink how we are paying for this trip. Fortunately, I have an account with Choice Hotels, which has proven extremely handy. This is an umbrella brand for a whole series of motel chains like Econolodge and Quality Inn. They all vary in quality but are widely distributed. When you book online, you earn points to use on future stays. Crucially, the amount of points needed varies depending on motel and location, and with a little careful planning you can identify the motels needing the lowest number of points. This way I’ve managed to secure ten per cent of our stays on this trip for nothing, a saving now of several hundred pounds.
If you’re willing to invest a bit of time, you can also take advantage of falling room rates. I’ve found time and time again that rates can drop in the last few days or weeks before your stay. If they do, simply cancel your booking (assuming you’ve chosen the free refund option), and rebook. I saved £100 just last week on a three-day booking that way. Nevertheless, with tax, you can generally expect now to have to spend between $80-$130 per night for a room. Best to assume it’s going to cost you about £100 on average.
The myth of cheap meals out
American motels tend to have a minimum standard of amenity. Most rooms have fridges and microwaves, something our chains like Premier Inn and Travelodge have yet to get their heads around (when we travel in the UK we take a small microwave with us).
Why does that matter? You can forget the old myth that you can stuff your face for a few dollars in the US. Food is expensive and restaurants even more so. It really mounts up. Dinner in a basic buffet restaurant here with tax and tips is easily going to cost around $50 for two. Over a month that would cost $1,400, and therefore roughly £1,300-£1,400 (depending on where the pound ends up). And that’s on top of lunches. Motel breakfasts here are usually pretty rubbish: rubber eggs, powdery bread, and strange little sausages at best, but they can do the job and they are priced in with the room.
American motels are lousy when it comes to kettles. There is normally only a wretched little hot drinks maker. Solution? We have our own American kettle and flasks. No need to search out or pay for coffee or tea en route, which I can assure you in the West is still today about as difficult as it would have been in 1865 anyway. It also means after a baking hot day trekking through Canyonlands National Park, which we did on Sunday, we come back to our room for a proper cup of free tea (teapot and UK teabags are in our bag too).
Don’t get me wrong. We are having a simply brilliant time, and after my wife’s experiences earlier this year being back in the utter and stupendous humbling glory of the American West it’s the best thing we could have done. It’s expensive but we have made it less so. There are still bargains to be had, too. A National Parks annual pass remains unbelievably good value at only $80. And as for shopping generally, who needs more stuff anyway?
