Alhamd-o-Lillah ... nice trip you had.
I was little concerned about this transportation cost because I actually traveled to these places in "public transport" by spending a very little amount of money but with complete peace of mind.
Using public transport means you get to know a lot of people while traveling. You can leave the transport at any place you like. You can get the next transport of your choice within few minutes/ hours. You can also hitchhiking and can enjoy the ride with some cool people (I've done that a lot of time in Northern areas and even get a ride in Ford truck which turns out to be amazing).