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Published: 04 Nov 2008 04:43:14 PST

United States

Traveling

Entry requirements

Passport and visa service: See the Visa section on the Travel webpages on the US Department of State website
Diplomatic representations: List and websites of U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions

Organizing your trip

Means of transport recommended in town

Recommendation: In the USA, you can use Public or Private Transports: Public transports are Rail and Bus services (present most of the time in all the cities). Private transports are taxi cab or limousine services.
Maps of urban networks: New York City Metropolitan
Los Angeles Metropolitan

Means of transport recommended in the rest of the country

Recommendation: The railroad network is good but trains for passengers are slower and less frequent than in Europe. The network of intercity buses is denser and tends to be cheaper. The network of the domestic airlines is very extensive. The plane is the mean of transport more used.
Rail companies: Amtrak

Airlines

Name	Type	Domestic flights	International flights
American Airlines	Traditional	Yes	Yes
United Airlines	Traditional	Yes	Yes
US Airways	Traditional	Yes	Yes
Continental	Traditional	Yes	Yes
Delta	Traditional	Yes	No
Jet Blue	Low Cost	Yes	No
Northwest Airlines	Traditional	Yes	No
Southwest Airlines	Low Cost	Yes	No
Virgin America	Low Cost	Yes	No
Spirit Airlines	Low Cost	Yes	No

Traveling by yourself

Recommendation

If you drive in the USA, remember that each of the 50 states has its own set of traffic laws and regulations. Fortunately, most of the laws are the same.

The gasoline price in the USA is cheaper than in Europe for example. However, you still have to remember that the unit measure is the gallon (3.785 liters) and the price changes from one state to another.

Road maps

The United States Map

Find an itinerary

Google Maps
MapQuest
Live Search Maps
Maporama

Visiting

Different forms of tourism

Historical

Fort Sumter: Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston harbor, South Carolina
Liberty Bell: in Philadelphia, is an American bell asociated with the American Revolutionary War.
Independence Hall is a US national landmark located in Philadelphia. It is a red brick building, built between 1732 and 1753, and designed in the Georgian style.
Washington Monument is a large, tall white-colored obelisk in Washington DC.
Pearl Harbor is a harbor and deep naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
Statue of Liberty in New York city.
Ellis Island in New Yok was at one time the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States.

Cultural

The United States has its cultural heritage from: American Cowboys; Cowboy Cattle Drives; Native American Indians; Native American Culture; American Sports; American Holidays (Thanksgiving); Country & Western Music; American Cooking.

Nature

The National Park System Includes 378 areas. Among them are 55 National Parks and 72 National Monuments. In 1998 the NPS units were visited by 287 million people. The Blue Ridge parkway in Virginia attracted the most visitors: over 19 million. With 10 million visitors the most frequently visited National Park was the Great Smoky Mountains NP. Other parks that attract many visitors are The Grand Canyon (4.5 million), Yosemite NP (3.5 million) and Olympic NP (3.3 Million).
Visit the HM USA Travel Guide website to see all the National Parks.

Religious

For more information go to the Religious Travel Association website.

Thermal

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming has the largest collection of geysers, hot springs and thermal phenomena in the world.

Beach

Some of the Most Popular beaches in USA are located in North Carolina, Florida, New York, Hawaii, Massachusetts and California.

Winter sports

The United States has around 750 cross country ski areas spread out all over the country. Cross-country and downhill skiing as well as snowshoeing, snowboarding, and dogsledding are the activities you can enjoy on public lands.

Outdoor activities

Outdoor activities are very popular. These include running, boating, camping, hunting, hiking, fishing, skiing, and rafting.

Shopping

American whiskey, fashion jeans are popular items for shoppers from other countries. The big shopping malls and discount stores are the favorite places of the Americans during the week end.

Top 10 highlights of the capital city
Empire State Building
Statue of Liberty
Grand Central Terminal
Rockefeller Center
Ellis Island Immigration Museum
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Brooklyn Bridge

Top 10 highlights of the country
Las Vegas, Nevada
Disney World, Orlando, Florida
New York City
Hawaii
Los Angeles, California
San Francisco, California
The Grand Canyon, National Park, Arizona
Yosemite National Park, California
Alaska
Washington DC
New Orleans, Louisiana

Tourism organizations: USA Tourist
HM USA Travel Guide
Visit USA
USA Tourism

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions: No specific vaccinations are needed in the USA.
International hospitals: For a list of hospitals that will accept your US international insurance plan, visit Expat Medical Insurance.
For further information on sanitary conditions: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
For further information on safety conditions: Department of Homeland Security - Travel Security and Procedures
Transport Security Administration
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Emergency Management Agency - Disaster Information

Emergency numbers

Police, Medical, Fire	911 (112 from a cell phone)
Municipal Government	311

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia (GMT-5 in winter, GMT-4 in summer)
It is %T:%M %A in Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas (GMT-6 in winter, GMT-5 in summer)
It is %T:%M %A in Los Angeles, San Diego (GMT-8 in winter, GMT-7 in summer)
Summer time period: From April to October.

Map of the time zone

Fuseau(x) horaire

Type of climate: Average Temperatures in Chicago: from -7°C in January to 20°C in June, in San Francisco from 12°C in January to 18°C in June and in New York from 0°C in January to 22°C in June.

For further information: US Department of Commerce: Climate Analysis Branch
National Weather Service
Federal Emergency Management Agency - Disaster Information

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Climate

Eating

Culinary specialties: Appetizers: Crab Cakes ; Rockefeller Oysters; Crab Soup.
Main Courses: Chili con carne, Burgers, Chicken Gumbo, Shrimp Gumbo, Jambalaya, Country Ham.
Cocktails: Egg Nog, Southern Mint Julep.
Bakeries: Corn bread; Peanut brittle.
Desserts: President's cake; The King cake from New Orleans.
Drinks: Soft drinks like Coca Cola, Fanta, etc are the most drunk. Young people, above 21 years old, drink American beers like Budweiser and Coors. Wines and Bourbons are very much appreciated in the USA; you can find some interesting American wines from California, Oregon and other states. Imported international alcoholic beverages are also available.
Dietary taboos: None

Paying

Domestic currency: US Dollar
ISO Code: USD
To obtain domestic currency: It may be useful to arrive in the country with some dollars in your pocket. You may also change foreign currency into dollars at a bureau de change, use traveler’s checks or withdraw dollars directly from ATMs.
Possible means of payment: You can pay almost everything with your credit card. Another useful means of payment is the traveler's check because it is insured by the bank whereas cash is not.

Speaking

Official language: English
Other languages spoken: Spanish, in particular in Arizona, Texas, California and New Mexico. Other languages, such as Amerindian languages (Navajo, Hopi, etc.) and also Chinese, Japanese, Italian, German, Polish, Greek, etc. depending of the community of immigrants.
Business language: English.
Getting some knowledge: English as a Second Language (ESL) program proposed by Universities or private schools. Foreigners can take English classes at different levels and improve their writing and speaking skills in English.
Free translation tools: Cambridge Dictionaries - Online Dictionary