LA and New York Budget

Hey everyone,

I'm going to Los Angeles for 5 days and New York for 2 weeks in June/July this year and I am absolutely clueless as to how much money I will need to spend in each city.

I will need accommodation in Los Angeles, however, I won't be needing to pay for accommodation in New York.

I'll be staying in a low budget hostel in LA (maybe AUD$50 a night?) and won't be going crazy buying loads of clothes, but will definitely be spending money on tours/sightseeing in both cities - so, I was thinking i'd need AUD$1000 (USD 750) for the 5 days in LA and AUD$1000(USD 750) for the two weeks in New York.. these amounts are only approximations, so hopefully somebody could maybe give me more accurate advice.

Thank you!

[ Edit: Edited on 17-May-2009, at 23:59 by jaysimmo ]

I can speak for Los Angeles. Forget the tours. rent a car and drive yrself. The highway system is so easy to get around, and find a FREE parking spot isnt as hard as you think (excpet downtown). The light rail is ok, but the car is good. Rentals are fairly cheap if you look for specials. You can go to Hollywood, the beaches and such without paying up the ***. I would go to Griffith Park too. Enjoy your trip and save your money

You certainly won't need $750 for 5 days touring in LA. You can hire a small car and get a free map for about 1/4 of that - including your petrol. If you've the patience to fish around, it'll probably cost you much less.

[ Edit: Edited on 18-May-2009, at 11:47 by Redpaddy ]

Thank you for your replies, however, hiring a car is not an option for me (i think) as I am only 18 years old - I do have my licence here in Australia but, I think you need to be 21 years old to rent a car in LA?