Firstly, what happened to the Asia idea? I know you said you were on a budget and that isn't going to make it easy travelling across the USA certainly compared to SE Asia and the like. Still, my belief is you should go where you want to go, not just where it's cheap and I love the USA, so who am I to criticise your choice!!!

We had 2 months nearly in the USA as part of the same RTW trip I mentioned on the Far East forum. We had already seen some of the major US cities on holidays, so it was key for us to concentrate on a few less touristy cities but I think I can definitely help with your planning.

Firstly, getting around. This was a big decision for us. Originally we booked an Amtrak Train Pass which was reasonably good value and certainly seemed the cheapest way of travelling around the USA (we couldn't bring ourselves to coach it, so Greyhound might still be worth a look). However on closer inspection it becomes clear that Amtrak really isn't that extensive in certain areas, and at the same time the distances involved are so huge, that you would actually spend most of your time on a train!!!! As most trains are part of one huge route (i.e. New Orleans to Chicago) we found that you would actually be arriving in certain cities at ridiculous times of the morning etc. Add to that the less than desirable locations of some of the Amtrak stations (and Greyhound come to think of it) and it just put us off the idea. On a budget it could work, but prepare yourself for LONG journeys. We booked our pass through STA Travel, they would be my first port of call personally.

We actually decided on a mixture of transportation to get us around, but primarily flying was the quickest and sometimes cheapest option for us (I know you aren't keen, but seriously look into it). Southwest Airlines (INVALID URL are seriously cheap especially if you book well in advance, plus you can change your travel plans withouth charge, paying only for the difference in fare (if there is any of course). This suited us because although we had a map of the USA with us and had pinpointed the cities/areas we wanted to go, this still gave us the freedom to change our minds which we did a few times. Another good thing about Southwest is if you change a flight and the new fare is cheaper they will actually give you a credit to your account which you can use in the future (there is a time limit attached) which I think in this day and age is excellent customer service (take note Ryanair!!).
The only downside to this at the moment and I know you are not looking at going for some time yet is that the dollar rate is seriously going to affect your budgeting. One way of helping yourselves with getting the best value on $ purchases you make prior to going (i.e. internal flights, some car hire, trains) and when over in the USA is to sign up for the Nationwide Flexaccount and Debit Card. We did this for our trip and we saved a bundle (no commission and the bank rates not tourist rates for purchases and cash withdrawals). Sign up for that as soon as possible.

As I said above, we mixed up our transportation and this worked well. It is certainly just as easy to get a train from Sacramento for example to San Francisco then fly. Also, for cities where Southwest don't fly to (i.e. Memphis) we just flew into the nearest airport (Nashville) and hired a car for a few days. Dollar UK were quite often the cheapest and you get all insurances included and sometimes even a tank of petrol. You can book it as you go along when and if you need to at http://www.dollar.co.uk.

As for routing, I personally would start West Coast and work yourselves along, finishing up in either New York or Boston. I think the priority for you now is to grab a USA book (the Lonely Planet USA was our bible) and map and decide on a route. You need something in place so you can start planning and booking things. The good thing with hotels booked direct in the USA is that they often only require a credit card number as a guarantee, so everything is changeable. Never pay in full for anything because you never know how your plans might change especially on a trip over a few months. If you do pay in full, make sure you read the cancellation policy regarding refunds. It's common sense really.
Hotels are going to be a major cost. In some places where you have a car it will be much cheaper to stay outside a city and drive in. We did this in Memphis, paying just $39 a night for a Red Roof Inn about 20mins outside Downtown compared to $100+ in the city itself. I would recommend Choice Hotels (INVALID URL who have Comfort Inn, Quality Inn etc or any of the Wyndham Reward chain of hotels such as Motel 6, Super8, Travelodge, Howard Johnson etc. Holiday Inn Express are also worth a look, as are Red Roof Inns. Make sure you check on Tripadvisor for reviews of properties but take with a pinch of salt. We booked a Ramada in Denver within walking distance of Downtown and were nearly put off by Tripadvisor reviews only to find it was totally acceptable, clean and in an area which I found just fine to walk around.
Don't forget hostels as an option. Although not as common as in the likes of Oz or NZ, there are some about. Try INVALID URL it could certainly save you serious money in the big cities such as San Francisco and New York.

I'll stop there because I could go on all day, but I think this is a good starting point. You mention in your last paragraph that you are trying to do this as cheap as possible....well in my personal opinion, you may find it tough in the USA. Bear in mind that we travelled for 9 months in 2006, and the USA was the most expensive country out of everywhere we travelled (and we left it until last, doh!!). It's good value on a 2 week holiday (maybe not so much at the moment) but you really notice the costs cripple your budget especially if you want to stay in Downtown in most of the cities where all the major tourist attractions are. Just for example, we found a Comfort Inn in Downtown San Francisco (just outside the notorious Tenderloin district) and that was a bargain, but still cost us $100+ a night (£65+ based on current exchange rates). Other hotels were $200-$300 a night!!! I'm not trying to put you off but compared to what you were originally thinking of with Asia, I don't know if the USA is going to be possible.

Just for info, this was our route across the USA. I don't know if it will help or hinder but here goes:-

Flew into LA, flew straight out to Sacramento
Train to San Francisco
Train and Bus to Yosemite National Park
Drove car to Las Vegas
Flew Vegas to Denver
Flew Denver to San Antonio
Flew San Antonio to New Orleans
Flew New Orleans to Nashville, hired car for Memphis
Flew Nashville to Chicago
Flew Chicago to Orlando
Flew Orlando to Boston and then home.

Best of luck. Ju

It's going to take me a while to digest all that, so for now I shall just say thanks. And in response to your question about Asia, me and my partner change are mind very often To be honest at the moment it's just a case of collecting as much information about potential destinations as possible. I know my partner is also very interest in Australia aswell so don't be suprised in a couple of months to see me in the Aussie forum

I think i'm being really naive with my budget here, but is it a possibility to speand a month in america on a budget of £6,000 - £7,000, including speading money. I know the weak exchange rate won't help our total expenditure?!

Sorry to keep posting, I just checked a price for flight into California on the 1 September next year and out of new york two months later on the 1 November for the combined price of £771.40, i'm just really confused how can it be that cheap

Is that flight price for the two of you? If so, that's a bargain...

I think you need to break things down to see if your budget of £6-£7k is enough. As you say, the current exchange rate isn't going to help you that much but there is always the chance that it will improve over time. If we call it £7k, that's currently about $10.5k.

For accommodation I would budget for $150 a night across the month, so that's $4500. It's swings and roundabouts really, and don't expect to get a room in NYC for that price, but the savings you will gain in some of the less touristy cities and areas of the USA should allow you to up that amount for the bigger cities. Alternatively for the bigger cities where hotel prices are out of range, look for hostels. I know when we were planning we found a hotel/hostel in Manhattan for just over $100, but our plans changed and we missed out New York in the end (plus we'd been there already). I will try and find the name of that place for you.

Food. Again work out on a daily basis. When we are on a USA holiday we normally budget $10 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $50 for evening meals. On a budget you can squeeze that down, and it is worth noting that if you stay in Comfort Inns, Quality Inns, Super 8 etc they often have a free breakfast which will help with your budgeting. I think when we were in the USA on our RTW trip we allowed for $15 breakfast/lunch and $30 evening meal, so on that basis I would say $50 a day should suffice, so that's $1500.

Transportation. Difficult to judge because you need to decide on how you are going to travel. If you opt for the 30 day Amtrak train pass for example it's a very cheap $579 each, so $1158 but you have to realise that the distances involved are huge. Do you really want to be sitting on a train for 8-12hours at a time just to get between cities? It would be fine if it was all daylight hours but this isn't the case. You need to mix it up, some train (individual tickets in advance can be very cheap), internal flights and car hire. The good thing with hiring a car is you can stay outside the expensive Downtown areas and book an Interstate motel for much cheaper. That Memphis example I gave above shows you what you can save. I would go with $2000 for transportation as a ballpark figure for now.

Sightseeing/attractions. Again difficult to judge. You don't want to do this and miss out on things just because you are on a budget. However at the same time the major US cities are just great to wander around. We did this in Chicago when funds were getting lower and had a great time. Boston is another great example of a city where you can wander to your hearts content and not really have to spend loads, in fact the Freedom Trail (which is the major attraction) is totally free, with some admission costs if you decide to go in some of the buildings. I would say $75 a day for the both of you, so $2250.

So adding up those 4 major cost items:-

Accommodation $4500
Food $1500
Transportation $2000
Sightseeing $2250

total cost of $10250 gets you pretty close to your budget of £7k ($10.5k). You obviously need to factor in flight costs to and from the USA but I think budgeting along these lines will give you a good month travelling across the USA. There are definitely savings to be had from the Accommodation and transportation budgets, especially if you go with the Amtrak train pass.

Worth also nothing for larger city accommodation to try http://www.hotwire.com. You will often find hotels much cheaper here but there are no guarantees as to what hotel you are getting and certainly no refunds ever. http://www.betterbidding.com will help assist you with the potential hotels you are likely to be offered by Hotwire.

IF you do decide to press on with the USA plan, try and draw up a route and we'll be able to help with how long you should allow for certain cities and also we should be able to help with accommodation recommendations. Certainly if you go to Vegas (not always such a good idea on a budget!!!) you will have plenty of help from the regulars.

If you decide to go with OZ then give me a shout. It will be cheaper than the USA when you are in the country (but not by much) but of course the cost of getting to and from the place in the first place will be higher. Personally I would probably recommend NZ over Oz anyway, but that's a different story.

Keep us updated.