USA Travel Guide 2026

April to June · Spring (Best for Cities and the South)

New York, Chicago, and Washington DC are at their best in late April and May. The cherry blossoms in DC are a genuine spectacle in late March and early April. The South becomes oppressively humid by July, so spring is the window for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. National parks in the Southwest are excellent in spring before the summer heat arrives.

July to August · Summer (Best for Alaska and the North)

Alaska comes into its own between June and August, with near-permanent daylight and the best wildlife viewing of the year. The northern national parks in Montana and Wyoming are fully open. Beach destinations from Cape Cod to the Jersey Shore to the Outer Banks are at their busiest and most expensive. Prices across the board peak in July and August.

September to November · Autumn (Best Overall Value)

The most reliable time to visit much of the country. New England's foliage season peaks in early to mid October and is genuinely spectacular. Crowds thin at the national parks after Labor Day in September. Temperatures in the Southwest and South become comfortable again. Prices drop noticeably compared to summer.

December to February · Winter (Best for the South and West)

Florida, Hawaii, and the Desert Southwest are at their most pleasant in winter, with warm days and no humidity. Ski season in Colorado, Utah, and Vermont runs from December through March. The rest of the country gets genuinely cold in January, but cities like New York and Chicago have excellent winter energy and significantly cheaper hotels.

Main International Airports

New York (JFK and EWR): the busiest transatlantic hub; JFK is the main international gateway, Newark is often cheaper and less chaotic, avoid LaGuardia for international arrivals. Los Angeles (LAX): main gateway for the Pacific, with excellent connections to Asia, Australia, and South America. Chicago O'Hare (ORD): one of the world's busiest airports and a major connection hub for the Midwest. Miami (MIA): main hub for Latin America and the Caribbean. San Francisco (SFO): main gateway for northern California and a major Pacific hub.

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ESTA and Entry Requirements

Citizens of 42 countries can visit visa-free under the Visa Waiver Program but must complete an ESTA application before travelling. The ESTA costs around $21 and is valid for two years or until your passport expires. Apply at the official CBP website at least 72 hours before departure. All other nationalities need a B-2 tourist visa from a US Embassy, which requires an in-person interview and can take several weeks. Allow at least 90 minutes for immigration on arrival at major international airports, especially JFK, LAX, and Miami.

Best for Long Distances · Domestic Flights

Flying is the only realistic way to cover the distances involved in a multi-city US trip. New York to Los Angeles is six hours by air or five days by car. Budget carriers like Southwest, Spirit, and Frontier are cheap if you book early and travel light. The main carriers (Delta, United, American) have better networks and more reliability. Book at least three to four weeks ahead for reasonable fares.

Best for Road Trips · Car

A rental car is essential for national parks, the Pacific Coast Highway, New England, and most of rural America. Petrol is cheap by European or Australian standards. American roads are wide and well-signed. The main risk on road trips is underestimating distances. Allow more time than you think you need, and never arrive at a national park without accommodation booked.

Best for Cities · Ride-Share and Subway

New York has the most extensive subway system in the country and a car is more hassle than it is worth. Chicago and Washington DC also have excellent transit systems. San Francisco has BART and Muni. In most other American cities, a car or ride-share is essentially required. Uber and Lyft are available in every major city and are generally reliable and reasonably priced.

New York is the only city in America that genuinely feels like it belongs to the whole world. The sheer density of things to do is overwhelming in the best possible way. The Met alone can take a full day. Walk the High Line, eat a proper bagel, take the Staten Island Ferry for free views of the Statue of Liberty, and find a jazz bar in the West Village. Manhattan is for the first-timers; Brooklyn is where the city actually lives now.

There is nowhere else like New Orleans in the United States. The food is better here than almost anywhere in the country. Eat a muffuletta at Central Grocery, get a beignet at Cafe Du Monde at 2am, and drink a Sazerac at a bar that has been open since the 1800s. The music starts early and ends late and nobody is in a hurry. Go during Jazz Fest if you can plan that far ahead.

San Francisco is smaller and more walkable than people expect. The hills are real and the fog is real and the sourdough really does taste different. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge early on a weekday morning. Take the ferry to Sausalito. Eat a Mission burrito. Alcatraz is worth booking. The city is expensive and has real problems with homelessness in parts of the centre, but it remains one of America's most distinctive and rewarding cities.

Chicago is America's most underrated major city. The architecture is extraordinary from river level on one of the boat tours. The food scene is serious without being pretentious. Deep dish pizza is a thing you do once for the experience; the thin-crust tavern style is what locals actually eat. The Art Institute is world-class and the lakefront is one of the great urban public spaces in the country.

LA takes time to make sense. It is not really one city but dozens of neighbourhoods spread across a vast basin, and you need a car to connect them. Spend time in Silver Lake and Los Feliz, not just Hollywood. The Getty Center is one of the finest museums in the country and the views are spectacular. Drive the Pacific Coast Highway north through Malibu on a clear morning.

Miami is two cities sharing one coastline. South Beach is for the Art Deco architecture and the people-watching and the beach. Wynwood is for the street art and the restaurants. Little Havana is for Cuban coffee and dominoes. The best time to visit is November to April when the humidity drops and the temperature is perfect. July in Miami is genuinely challenging.

Las Vegas is completely absurd and completely entertaining. You do not have to gamble to enjoy it. The restaurants are excellent, the shows range from spectacular to bizarre, and the sheer theatrical ambition of the Strip is worth experiencing. Go in spring or autumn. Summer temperatures regularly reach 45 degrees Celsius. Day trips to the Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, and Zion are all possible from Las Vegas.

Nashville has grown enormously in the past decade and the tourism infrastructure has caught up with the hype. The honky-tonks on Lower Broadway are good fun even if you have no particular connection to country music. The food scene has improved dramatically. Day trips to the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg and the Natchez Trace Parkway are both excellent.

The National Parks of the Southwest

The Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, and Monument Valley are all within driving distance of each other in Utah and Arizona. A two-week road trip connecting them is one of the great travel experiences in the world. Book accommodation and some trail permits months in advance for summer visits.

New England in Autumn

The foliage in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine in late September and October is genuinely as spectacular as the photographs suggest. Drive the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire, visit small towns like Stowe and Woodstock, and eat as much lobster roll and maple syrup as you can justify.

The Pacific Coast Highway

California Highway 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles, or driven in reverse, is one of the most scenic coastal drives on earth. Stop at Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and Santa Barbara. Allow three to four days rather than two. The road closes occasionally for landslides, so check conditions before you go.

Alaska

Alaska is a trip that requires commitment and planning but rewards it enormously. Denali National Park, Kenai Fjords, and the Inside Passage cruise route are all world-class. Visit between late May and early September. The shoulder months give you the midnight sun and the best wildlife viewing without the peak summer prices.

Hawaii

The Big Island is the most varied of the Hawaiian islands, with active lava flows, black sand beaches, snorkelling with manta rays, and the Mauna Kea Observatory at nearly 4,000 metres. Maui is better for beaches and whale watching in winter. Oahu has Waikiki and Pearl Harbor. Kauai is the most dramatic and least developed.

The Deep South

The Mississippi Delta, the Gulf Coast, and the cities of the Deep South form one of the most culturally rich and undervisited regions in the country. New Orleans is the anchor. Add Natchez for antebellum history, Memphis for Graceland and Beale Street, and the Mississippi Blues Trail for context that most visitors miss entirely.