USA

What to say about the USA?

As I previously wrote, I really like traveling to the USA. This is my favorite location, where I always want to go on vacation and where I would like to move and live. Canada is also very nice and similar, but this is probably colder than the USA.

In the USA, I really like this mix of people and the fact that you can be in a city and drive 30-60 minutes to arrive in a national park.

The life is also really different in this country: Shops and restaurants have extended hours, when not 24x7; Everything is bigger; Sales are really sales, with a big discount; If you really want to start or try something (like a new business), you get the opportunity to do it;...

Which states did I visit?

I already visited a lot of different states (22 States, if I did not forget any of them):

AR - Arkansas, AZ - Arizona, CA - California, CO - Colorado, FL - Florida, GA - Georgia, IL - Illinois, IN - Indiana, LA - Louisiana, MD - Maryland, MI - Michigan, MS - Mississippi, NC - North Carolina, NJ - New Jersey, NM - New Mexico, NV - Nevada, NY - New York, PA - Pennsylvania, SC - South Carolina, TX - Texas, VA - Virginia, WI - Wisconsin

And one District :
DC - District of Columbia

But my favorite place is probably Los Angeles, in California. I really love this city (maybe because I lived there during few weeks to improve my English?). There are really a lot of things to do, not only for tourists but also when you live there. There is really a big mix of people & culture, so many places to visit and there is always something to do if you want to.

How to plan a travel there?

Flight:

There are plenty of different companies going to the US, but from Geneva I prefer taking Continental Airlines (now regrouped with United) or British Airlines.

Continental offers a direct flight from Geneva to Newark (near New York). Flying to the US could be long, this is why a stop in Newark could be good. It is giving the opportunity to walk a little bit and be outside of an airplane for a short break. Continental has a good service and in Economy Class, seats are bigger than European companies. This is really good, especially if you have long legs.

British has a good services too, but you need to fly through London. I then check both schedules (Continental & British) before making my final choice.

Others companies like Swiss or Lufthansa could be good, but they are often more expensive and provide less space on the seats... This is why I am usually not flying with them for long distances.

Something important to remember: When landing in the US, you need to pass the immigration, get your baggage and pass customs, no matter if this is your final destination or not. If you have a flight connection, you need to check your baggage again. This means that you need to plan enough time when you arrive in the US and take a connection. I usually plan at least 2 hours (the first airplane can arrive late and it will easily take 1 hour to pass all steps and re-check your baggage), 3 hours is safer. Don't worry if you have too much time: International airports are usually big and you have everything you need for eating and shopping.

When booking a flight, you need to take some details in consideration: During vacation period, tickets are usually at least twice the price; During Christmas period, there are often doing overbooking, do not forget to register on time; For Thanksgiving, they are often reducing the number of flights (In the USA, Thanksgiving is more important than Christmas).

Rental car:

It is really easy to rent a car, but you need to be at least 21 years old. You can also rent a car in one location and give it back in another location. Pay attention to one-way fees: You could be asked to pay a fee if you take a car in one state and give it back in another state. Some companies have a fee based on the number of kilometer between both places, when others have a fixed price. This is then important to verify it.

In my case, I usually check prices with Alamo, National, Dollar and Avis. They are the biggest companies and often have the best prices.

When you are booking online, take attention to what you need in term of size and insurances.

When you arrive at your destination and take your car, do not accept everything the agent will try to sell you. They will always try to sell a bigger car, additional insurances (you will maybe not need them, depending of your coverage), a GPS... I usually always take what I decided to pay for and do not buy anything additional when the agent is trying to force me.

A big advantage for European people is the price of the gaz (fuel). For US people, it increased a lot during the last years, but for European people this is still about half price.

Before drivong a car in the USA, you need to think about few rules:

Red light: You can usually turn on the right when the light is red, except if there is a sign indicating you are not allowed to turn on red. Before turning on red, you need to be sure there is no traffic coming.
Green light: When the light is green, people in front of you have the green light too, except if you have a green left arrow.
Stop: When you arrive at a crossroad and you have a stop sign, respect the first in first out (first car that arrive is the first one to pass).
Highway: There is often a lot of lanes, you can pass from the right or the left. It is then really important to watch your mirror before moving to another lane. Watch carefully the signs, exits could be on the left.
Speed: The speed is in miles per hour, not kilometer per hour. On the highway, if you are going 5 miles per hour above the speed limit, cops are usually tolerating it.
Horn: Drivers are usually very calm and do not use their horn very often, in comparison with Europe.
Cops: If a police officer ask you to stop, stop your car and do not move from your car or joke with them.
Automatic: When you rent a car in the USA, it will usually be an automatic and not manual car. You need to know how to drive it and remember that you only have 2 pedals.

Hotel:

They are some nice & cheap hotels, like Days Inn or others Inn hotels. Sometimes, apart-hotels could be a good idea and are not so expensive. In Orlando, it is easy to rent a house with everything you need (including a pool) for a really good price. When traveling, I always book at least 1-2 nights to get an address and somewhere for sleeping the first night, and after this it could be open. If this is during summer vacation, it could be good to book everything in advance... but if you do not book in advance, go to the visitor center: they will often have good addresses for you, or you will be able to find a Room-Saver catalog (a lot of addresses and coupons for reductions).

Hotel rooms are usually cheaper than in Europe, and you pay per room (not per people). When you are a family, this cou make a big difference.

Visitor Center:

You will be able to find visitor centers in every state or city. You will usually find really nice people who likes providing advices or good plans.

Before travelling, take the address of the visitor center, to be sure to get in. At the same time, check if they can send you some documentation. A lot of visitor centers are sending documentation for free, even internationally.

Shopping:

There are a lot of different locations... I will only provide you some of my favorite places and addresses.

Museum:

There are plenty museum to visit, depending what you are looking for. If you are going to Washington DC, for example, museum are free. They are often requesting you to get a free ticket to allow the access, but this is free. Do not forget to get information about what there is to visit before booking your trip to be sure you will be able to do it. You first need to plan enough time to visit everything you want, then be aware about all constraints. When buying a ticket for the NASA, they could specify at which day and time your visit is starting, and they will check your bags. If you want to visit the White House, you need to ask your embassy few months in advance. There are some constraints like this for different museums or monuments, due to the number of people wanting to visit it, or coming from the new security rules after the 9/11.

National Parks:

You need to visit National Parks, they are beautiful !! There are National Parks located in every part of this country, often not so far from big Cities. A big part of them are not free, but this is not very expensive and you often pay by car and not necessary by people. If you are not sure what you will see or which part of the park you need to visit, feel free to ask the visitor center. Most of the National Parks have a visitor center, but you can also ask some details to visitor centers from the region.

Sports:

When visiting the USA, you need to watch a game. You can usually book your tickets the day of the event, but I personally book them in advance and print them at home or collect them the day of the event. Even if you do not really like sports, you need to go there for the show. There is always enough to eat there, before or during the game. During Baseball games, for example, I saw people eating from the time they enter in the stadium, until the end of the game. You also need to watch the schedules: Teams are moving in the country and they are not playing 12 months a year.

There are different games you need to watch there:

American Football: Do not forget to read the rules before watching a game.
Baseball: Do not forget to read the rules before watching a game.
Basketball: I never had an occasion to watch a basketball game, but this was not my priority. My favorite basketball players are not playing anymore..
Ice Hockey: You need to see it! They are not often fighting as we could see on movies, but this sometimes happen. I was really surprised the first time, because games are showed in live on the TV, this is why they stop playing during commercials.
Nascar: I never had the occasion to see a race, but I would probably love it.

Spectacles:

When visiting the USA, you can plan to view a lot of different shows. If you want to be sure to view a specific show, you may book it in advance. But if you just want to decide when you are in town, this is usually feasible and you can ask the tourist information center about any discount. In New York, for example, you can usually buy tickets for Broadway shows for half price, but this is only available few hours before it starts. You are never sure if your show will be available for the date you want to go, but it is good to know that you can have a big discount.

Electricity:

Do not forget to buy adapters for the electricity and watch if your equipments are compatible for the USA. They are using 110V/60Hz, when we are using 230V/50Hz in Europe. Most of your equipments will be compatible (charger for your mobile phone, GPS, laptop, camera...) but others will not (like hair dryers).

Jetlag:

When traveling there, you will need to face to jetlag, and the different time zones. Sometimes, when you go from one city to another, or drive through a bridge, you could need to cange the time on your watch.

There are different theories regarding jetlags... On my side, I am trying to adapt as soon as possible to the local time, in order to get away from jetlag. This means that, as soon as I land, I am trying to eat at the correct time and sleep at the correct time. It is sometimes hard, but even the first day I am trying to not go to bed before 9pm. I you can stay active until 8-9pm, you will probably wake up later (not at 3am, like people really having jetlag).

Conclusion:

I hope I gave you a good advice and enough tips for your next trip in the USA. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any question, or any idea to improve the content of this website.

Have a great trip!

Details: Written by Nicolas Buache; Created on Monday, 29 August 2011; Last Updated on Saturday, 07 April 2012; Hits: 371