- Currency: US Dollar ($)
- Capital city: Washington DC
- Language: English
- Time difference: New York is five hours behind the UK; Los Angeles is eight hours behind the UK
- Average flight time: Around eight hours to New York, 11 hours to Los Angeles
- International phone code: +1
- Emergency services number: 911
- Public holidays: New Year’s Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Jr Day (third Monday in January), Presidents’ Day (third Monday in February), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (first Monday in September), Columbus Day (second Monday in October), Veterans’ Day (November 11), Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November), Christmas Day (December 25), plus a federal government holiday in presidential-election years on the first Tuesday in November (Election Day).
- Link to FCO travel advice: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa
Why go to the USA?
From sea to shining sea, the United States is big, bold and brilliantly diverse.
It’s everything you could imagine and a whole lot you couldn’t. From hot dogs to hot rods and grizzled cowboys to grizzly bears, holidays in America are the stuff of movie legend.
Rent a Cadillac for the road trip of a lifetime, slurp cocktails as the sun sets over the Manhattan skyline, cheer on the riders in a rodeo and stake your claim to a slice of the American Dream, because a USA holiday means having it all.
It’s everything you could imagine and a whole lot you couldn’t. From hot dogs to hot rods and grizzled cowboys to grizzly bears, holidays in America are the stuff of movie legend.
Rent a Cadillac for the road trip of a lifetime, slurp cocktails as the sun sets over the Manhattan skyline, cheer on the riders in a rodeo and stake your claim to a slice of the American Dream, because a USA holiday means having it all.
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City living
Think of holidays in America and chances are New York City will spring to mind. For a first-timer it’s a sure bet, with sky-tickling towers, world-beating museums and an infectious, relentless pace that doesn’t disappoint.
On the West Coast of the United States, city living comes in the form of sprawling Los Angeles, home of Hollywood, and San Francisco, where old California comes to life in historic Chinatown and the infamous Alcatraz.
Head to the Deep South and New Orleans serves up a steaming shrimp gumbo of Creole culture and dizzying good times, while bikini-clad Miami offers the sizzling pleasures of South Beach with a side of Art Deco – the perfect backdrop for luxury USA holidays.
The great outdoors
On 2017 USA holidays, leave the city behind and discover epic landscapes of monumental scale and staggering beauty.
Marvel at the world’s tallest tree in California, dodge alligators in the primeval swamps of Florida’s Everglades or go bear spotting in the Rocky Mountains.
The Grand Canyon in Arizona or the unmistakable red rocks of Monument Valley fulfil Western fantasies with their cinematic beauty and awesome size.
Alternatively, simply hit the road and head off the highway for cheap holidays in America filled with forgotten ghost towns, roadside motels and picket-fenced villages.
The USA is a many-flavoured feast that would take lifetimes to finish.
Cheap holidays to USA destinations
If you’re looking for great-value family holidays in America, you can keep to a budget with some forward planning.
Rent a motorhome and cruise from Los Angeles to San Francisco along Route 1 where you can camp under the stars in Big Sur, book an all-inclusive USA trip to Disneyland in California, or look for a great package holiday deal in Florida, home to theme parks such as the Magic Kingdom, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios Orlando and many more.
Sure, these holidays aren’t as cheap as a week by a beach in Spain, but by booking well in advance and looking for all-inclusive USA package deals (which help to keep control of costs while away), you can create magical memories for the whole family.
When to go
America has varied weather conditions at different times of the year and its sheer size means the climate varies widely around the country.
The wilds of Alaska are subarctic, while Hawaii is tropical. Coastal Oregon and Washington have climates that are more familiar to Brits.
New York swelters in summer highs and freezes in winter, so spring and autumn often make for the most comfortable visits. Hotel prices can drop in NYC in July and August – it’s just so hot in the city that people flee to the coast – but this means that high summer is a good bet for relatively cheap USA holidays in Manhattan.
The USA has some of the best ski resorts in the world, so whether you’re looking for deep powder in Colorado’s word-class ski areas or wild heli-skiing adventures in Alaska, winter is the obvious time to book your ski holiday to America.
You can find some fantastic package deals on skiing holidays in the USA at either end of the season.
Events for your diary
If you plan to be around for any of the big American public holidays – think Independence Day in July – book well in advance as holiday prices can soar around these dates.
Look out also for Spring Break, which takes places around Easter, when college students take relaxing to a place you might not want to go. Popular Spring-Break destinations include Florida’s coastal areas and Las Vegas.