United States

Understand

The U.S. is large, complex, and diverse, with over 340 million people (2024) and distinct cultural and regional identities. Traveling the long distances between destinations can be time-consuming and expensive.

Geography

The contiguous United States, also called the "Lower 48", refers to the territory excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Much of the population lives on the Atlantic, Pacific or Gulf of Mexico coasts or along the Great Lakes. Its only land borders, both quite long, are shared with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The continental United States are the 48 contiguous states, D.C. and Alaska, but exclude Hawaii. The country has three major mountain ranges. The Appalachians extend from Canada to Alabama, a few hundred miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. They are the oldest of the three ranges and offer spectacular sightseeing and excellent camping spots. The Rockies are, on average, the highest in North America, extending from Alaska to New Mexico, with many areas designated as national parks that offer hiking, camping, skiing, and sightseeing opportunities. The combined Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges are the youngest. The Sierras extend across the "backbone" of California, with sites such as Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park, then give way to the even younger volcanic Cascade range, with some of the highest points in the country. In the center of the country is the Great Plains, which includes the entirety of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and portions of the surrounding states. This region is characterized by long stretches of flat land, and areas of gentle rolling hills. It consists largely of farmland and prairie. The Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast of Texas, to the south of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florid

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Getting there

The United States has a strict and notoriously perplexing visa policy; nearly everyone needs a visa to visit the country, and obtaining an American visa of any kind can be a complicated and cumbersome affair. Read up carefully before your visit, especially if you need to apply for a visa, and consult the Bureau of Consular Affairs. Travelers have been refused entry for many reasons, often trivial. During the application process, visitors to the U.S. are required to fully document mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses and on-line identities they've used in the past five years. Travelers under 18 years old may need a notarized letter of consent, preferably in English, from both their parents. If the border authorities aren't satisfied with this or with your travel plans and their documentation, you may get taken into the authorities' care for months until they can arrange your return. New immigration practices were introduced in 2025 that resulted in the questionable detention of a few visitors with apparently valid travel documents at a port of entry. Detentions would last until the visitor departed on a flight back home. However, a few visitors have been detained for a few weeks before being allowed on a return flight. If you fear this problem (due to work permits, residing with an American spouse, problems on a prior visit or political opinions, for example), using an airport with pre-flight US Customs clearance airports would be safe: while you could still be denied entry, you won't get detained as you would still be outside of US jurisdiction.

Planning and pre-arrival documentation

Visa-free entry The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) permits visa-free stays of up to 90 days. It applies to citizens of Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Repu

Getting around

The size of the U.S. and the distance separating major cities make air the dominant mode of long-distance travel for short-term travellers. If you have time, or are travelling a short distance, travel by car, bus, or rail can be far more interesting. Long-distance car travel, in particular, is a quintessentially American way to see the country. That said, do not underestimate the size of the country and the time it takes to travel between cities. For comparison, the distance between New York City and San Francisco is greater than that between Lisbon and Moscow.

By plane

The quickest and often the most convenient method of long-distance intercity travel in the U.S. is by plane. Coast-to-coast travel takes about 6 hours from east to west, and 5 hours from west to east (varying due to winds), compared to several days for land transportation. Most large cities in the U.S. are served by one or two airports; many smaller towns also have some passenger air service, although you may need to detour through a major hub airport to get there. Depending on where you are starting, it may be cheaper to travel by bus, train, or car to a nearby large city and fly or, conversely, to fly to a large city near your destination and travel by ground to your destination.

The largest airlines are American Airlines, Delta, and United and two of the country's low-cost carriers, Southwest and JetBlue. Southwest is primarily a domestic airline, while the other airlines fly to the U.S. from international destinations, such as Europe or the Caribbean. Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are large regional carriers, while smaller airlines include Frontier, Allegiant and Sun Country. In general, domestic flights in the U.S. often cost twice as much as flights to similar distances in Europe and