Nothing that you say about the whole country is going to be true.
Alistair Cooke, Alistair Cooke’s America
United States holiday experts at WEXAS will tailor-make all aspects of your itinerary to create a United States holiday, personal to you.
Welcome to America, the land of the free. Based on an idea, millions of immigrants have now shaped this still young country, this ’New World’, into the world’s dominant power – both politically and culturally.
Every visitor has some idea of what to expect, but the thrill, comes not from spotting the differences between expectation and reality, but the shock of seeing the familiar. Big yellow taxis, engines throbbing, wait in line at Times Square, cable cars heave their passengers over San Francisco’s hills, Monument Valley is only missing John Wayne, roads head straight to the horizon through desert and the Statue of Liberty stands proud surveying Manhattan’s skyline.
Its possible to think of the US as a series of urban centres – with New York, New Orleans, San Francisco and Las Vegas being by far the most interesting culturally, for very different reasons – however, it is the astounding landscapes outside the cities that truly astonish and reveal the real America.
Make time to visit the glacial splendour of Yellowstone, the deep canyons – not just the Grand Canyon – of Arizona and Utah, the geysers at Yellowstone, the towering redwoods on the north-west coast, the Rocky Mountains and Montana’s open plains.
United States facts
Capital: Washington
Language: English.
People: European descent: White (69%), Hispanic (13%), Black American/ African descent
(13%), Asian (4%) Native American (1%).
Religion: Protestant (52%), Roman Catholic (25%), Muslim, Jewish and other
faiths.
Size (sq km): 9,809,155.
Population: 301,140,000.
Population density/sq km: 31.
Etiquette
Open friendly people of different cultures and origins. Normal courtesies apply. Smoking increasingly unpopular, ask permission first. Dress generally casual.
Shopping
Clothes, electrical items, traditional artefacts from the different peoples and regions, sports goods.
Food & drink
American breakfasts are legendary. Fast food, from hamburgers to hotdogs, is available everywhere, and international cuisine is available in every city. There are numerous regional specialities, from Spanish flavours in the south-west to Creole or French, and also fried chicken, in the deep south. Many different kinds of bar, with varying ‘happy hours’. Californian wines are good.
International Airports
Numerous. Busiest 10 are: Atlanta (ATL), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Dallas/Fort Worth(DFW), San Francisco (SFO), Denver (DEN), Miami (MIA), Newark (EWR), Phoenix (PHX), Detroit (DTW).
Internal travel
Excellent air, rail and road networks. Buses, taxis, and different types of car-hire available.
Red tape
Visas
Not required up to 90 days.
Vaccinations
Not currently required.
Driving requirements
National driving licence accepted for a year. International Driving Permit recommended, not required.
Reps in UK/US
US: 24 Grosvenor Square, London W1A 1AE, tel (020) 7499 9000, fax (020) 7495 5012.
UK/US reps in United States
UK: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008, tel (202) 588 6500, fax (202) 588 7866, email washi@fco.gov.uk.
Currency
Dollar ($) = 100 cents.
Finance
Credit cards widely accepted, cheques less so.
Business hours
0900-1730 Mon-Friday.
Safety & life expectancy
Safety information
Safe, despite high levels of violent crime and murder.
Life expectancy
Life expectancy: M 75.0, F 80.70.
Useful websites for travel
www.usembassy.org.uk, www.britainusa.com, www.tia.org, www.london.usembassy.gov, www.usatourism.com, www.areaguides.net, www.us-national-parks.net, www.visitusa.org.uk.
Local media
Many, including, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washingon Post. Bulky Sunday papers, especially in The NewYork Times. Many state/regional papers.
Tourist boards
Various states have their own tourist boards, but n/a for whole.
Below is a selection of some ideas for holidays to United States. This is simply a taste of what we can offer. If you're interested in a specific United States itinerary then please call one of our consultants on 0845 643 6548.
Also known as California Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway is America’s dream drive and one of our most popular self-drive itineraries in the USA. Travel south from San Francisco to Los Angeles through mile upon mile of mountain and ocean views, accla...
The ‘outdoor state’ of Washington and the coastal stretch of Oregon are no less magnificent than the Californian coast south of them, yet these states remain unspoilt by mass tourism. This two-week roundtrip tour from Seattle takes in their highlig...
Located within a ring-shaped region around the North Pole called the auroral oval and less than 200km south of the Arctic Circle, Fairbanks in Alaska is among some of the best places on earth to experience the mysterious Northern Lights....
Discover America’s capital city Washington, DC, explore the misty Blue Ridge Mountains and savour the flavours of the Chesapeake Bay while staying in some of the region’s best hotels, The Inn at Perry Cabin, Keswick Hall and the historic Hay-Adams ...
This comprehensive escorted touring program from APT takes you to all the highlights Canada and Alaska have to offer....
Great Divide Lodge is one of Breckenridge’s premier hotels. It’s perfectly located close to historic Main Street and the base of Peak 9, with the Quicksilver high-speed lift just across the road from the front entrance....
Mayan Dude Ranch is located in the beautiful hill country of Texas, 47 miles north west of San Antonio in Bandera - an area often referred to as the "Cowboy Capital of the World"....
One of the newest guest ranches in Texas, Wildcatter offers over 4,000 acres of Texan countryside from rolling hills to the historic Brazos River....
Flying you further and deeper to the the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Maverick are our preferred helicopter sightseeing partner in Las Vegas. They are highly recommended by members who have flown with them....
Pennsylvania is America in miniature. Filled with a sense of historical beginnings, wartime struggle and landmark moments, the state today flourishes, crammed as it is with inspirational art and architecture, internationally celebrated cuisine and astounding n...
Featuring stays in Boston, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard this excellent 10-day self-drive itinerary includes an exciting whale watching cruise and a day on the tiny island of Nantucket.
... Please call 0845 643 6548 for price details.
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Savings of up to £2,501 on flexible tickets with Virgin Atlantic.
... Please call 0845 643 6548 for price details.
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The Capital Region, with Washington, DC at its centre, stretches east to the Atlantic Ocean beaches and west to the Appalachian Mountains. To the north lies Maryland and to the south Virginia. This easy-paced self-drive is the perfect way to explore arguably t... Please call 0845 643 6548 for price details.
More information »Dear Valerie [Vasquez],
We would like to give you a big thank you for arranging our holiday to America so well. Everything you booked worked like clockwork and the car, a Toyota Rav4, was the perfect size for our group of four. Our only disaster was booking our Durango [Colorado] hotel and Narrow Gauge Railroad experience on the internet through a separate company. After a 450-mile drive, none of the three Best Westerns in Durango could find our booking. When I showed the receptionist the hotel name, Best Western Plaza Vizcaya, she found out it was in Durango, Mexico. We are still trying to sort out where the error occurred and whether we can get a refund.If it had been left to me and the internet I can’t imagine what other disasters might have occurred.
So again, thank you.
Anthony Hughes
Climate varies hugely, check with individual states.
GMT Spans six time zones, from -5 (east coast) to -10 (Hawaii).
Dollar ($) = 100 cents.
Get foreign currency online
