I'm not planning on renting a car (I only had my driving licence 2 years ago and I'm 23 years old), but I might check if I'm eligible and see if it cost me less money for some trip (for example if it's possible to take a car in NY and deposit it at Chicago and it doesn't cost much, that would be great).

For the plane flights, I don't want to be limited due to money but I also don't want to spend money I could save for other activities. I'm planning to travel mainly by bus & plane. I'm also planning to leave my suitcase in NY and travel only with a backpack that I can take with me on flights (in order to save money and be more flexible). I will probably spend around 650$.

I will definitely try to get to Niagara, do you think a one trip Journey would do it justice ? If I take the bus in NY on the morning and back at dawn, I will not regret spending so little time ? I will have to do a shortlist of parks I can do and the Grand Canyon and Zion seems good choices. Acadia and the Everglades are sadly too far.

My first Journey is probably going to be NY to Chicago by bus. I was thinking of taking the plane to New Orleans next. I loved the TV serie Treme and I think that listening to jazz and blues there and discovering the food of this city will be exceptional. After, I will make a stop in Dallas, also by plane, for a few days (my brother lives there for one year) and I will continue my Journey either directly to national parks, or to LA (I have a friend there) and then national parks.

The thing is i'm attracted by cities that are very far apart. I went to Miami 4 years ago so I can skip that, I also went to SF, Las Vegas, Yosemite and Death Valley 8 years ago when I was young so I might skip all of that as well. I don't want to rush into everything and I will try to take the time to enjoy each cities.

For accomodation, It's going to be a mix of couchsurfing at friends/family, Airbnb and sleeping in the bus.

Thanks for the advices!