Powka

Thank you for the warm welcome!

1) I'm staying at a friend's place for free.

2) Yeah, I've checked BoltBus, but they only have the schedule up to 6 weeks in advance. I'll check with them a month before the trip. Newark-Philadelphia seems way more convenient!

3) I've read on Amtrak website when looking through tickets that it departs from Washington, DC - Union Station and arrives at Baltimore, MD - BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport (24min trip). On GoogleMaps it shows that the final stop is at the airport itself. Am I missing something?

4) Thanks! I'll check the Southwest Airlines right away.

Thank you, very valuable info Bulldog! Much appreciated.

Harrison, cheers!

Yes, I've listed every price in the first post of this thread, but I'm not sure - maybe I've missed something. Although I've really tried to be very precise, counting hotel stays with taxes as well. Those are only flights, buses and trains between the cities (excluding public transportation within the cities). So that comes to around $1100.

Now, as I was planning my "things to do" list for every city, I'm mostly staying central every where and I'm a bit of fast paced walker myself. I figured, that a lot of the stuff can be reached by foot, if I have enough time. For example, in Manhattan loads of famous places are very close together. I'm also not staying for too long to spend much on public transportation.

So now it's attractions and food. Meals, I guess, shouldn't be too much trouble, as I'm not planning to dine at expensive places, I'll just grab something cheap and on the way (plus, some hotels have breakfasts included where you can stuff yourself for the rest of the day...) Except for maybe Philly, where I probably need to try Chese Whiz, and a sandwich.

Attractions - I've get city passes for New York and San Francisco. Most of the things in Washington DC, as you said it yourself, are free - memorials and stuff. In LA also half of the stuff I'd like to see is for free (like Rodeo Drive, Hollywood boulevard/sign, etc). So after a lot of math, I figured if I don't go crazy on food, I should be okay with about $800 (however, I'm not sure how much attractions might cost in Grand Canyon).

That's my math, which might be completely off, but that's why I'm here - to get a second opinion.

Thanks a lot for your response, Harrison!