United States

Traveling the United States

The United States is where a lot of my own travel habit actually started, long before passports and long-haul flights entered the picture. I’ve criss-crossed the country for work, family, and a memorable stretch following a Team USA handball squad from one gym to the next, and I’m still nowhere close to running out of new corners to explore. It’s a country big enough that “visiting the US” barely means anything on its own — a trip to the Pacific Northwest and a trip to the Gulf Coast can feel like two completely different countries.

That size is the first thing to plan around. Distances between cities are often much bigger than they look on a map, time zones shift as you cross the country, and climate varies wildly by season and region — snow in the Rockies in April, humid heat in the South by June. I always recommend picking a region rather than trying to “do America” in one trip, then building in extra time for driving, since a rental car opens up far more than flying between a few major airports.

If national parks are anywhere on your list, the National Park Service’s trip-planning site is the best place to check seasonal closures, timed-entry permits, and campsite availability before you go — some of the most popular parks now require reservations months in advance. A few other practical notes: tipping (typically 15-20% at restaurants) is expected rather than optional, prices are usually shown before tax is added, and power outlets run on 120V, so travelers from most other countries will need an adapter.

Every trip I’ve taken across the United States has reinforced how different it feels depending on where you land. A United States road trip through the Southwest — red rock canyons, long empty highways, tiny diners — barely resembles a United States city break in Chicago or New York, and both are worlds away from island time in Hawaii or the fishing villages of coastal Maine. If you’re new to United States travel, I’d start by picking one of those flavors rather than trying to sample all of them in a single visit.

Public transit exists in the bigger United States cities, but outside of a handful of them, plan on driving. Distances that look short on a map can eat a whole afternoon, so I always build slack days into any United States itinerary rather than packing every day full. Seasonality matters too — hurricane season affects the Gulf and East Coasts from June through November, while mountain passes out West can stay snowed in well into spring.

Below you’ll find the guides and stories we’ve put together so far from our time on the road in the US, and we’re always adding more as new trips happen. If there’s a state, city, or national park you’d love to see covered next, let us know in the comments — it genuinely shapes where we head next.