Dawnity,
I did the exact same thing at the end of last year and had an AMAZING time, so sad to be home, wanna do it again and again and again.
Money is a truly difficult thing because it really depends on where you stay, when you're going, where you eat, what places you're visiting, what kinda of activities you're doing etc etc plus the dollar isnt what it was when i went, which was fab!
I stayed at quite a few KOA campsites, very cheap, pay the extra for the card and after like 2 visits you start saving, these places are so cheap and are amazing, swimming pools, games rooms, wifi access etc.
I also went down the route of making a list of everywhere i wanted to go and what i wanted to see and even compiling a spreadsheet or exact dates i'd be in each place, that way i could find hotels/hostels/campsites before i went, okay i had to stick to a fairly strict timeframe but it worked out brilliantly.
I then searched and searched and searched online every day, every week, every month leading up to th trip for the best priced, located and rated hotels i could for each area and booked a few each month meaning i had less to pay for accommodation when i was there, plus i had places to head for. Not just a certain city but a certain hotel within that city. Helped with the sat nav.
I got a car, which i felt was a MUST because public transport means relying on timetables and accounting for stupid delays, plus they stick to certain routes meaning perhaps smaller, cheaper accommodation options are out, plus the more off the broken trial types of sights are out too, or at least harder to get to.
The car means you can go where ever you want whenever you want.
I can go on all day about my trip and where i went, what i saw, what i paid, where i stayed etc etc etc but wont bore you.
More than happy to provide more details if you let me know exactly what it is you wanna do/exactly where you're going.
Good luck with the planning ahead, it's so much fun :-)
