USA Overview

The United States has its relics, of course: preserved colonial settlements on the Eastern seaboard, Spanish ruins in Florida, vestiges of native dwellings built and abandoned long before Christopher Columbus was even a twinkle in his mother’s eye. Yet in the end, visitors to the US often come away struck by the sheer depth of the New World’s infatuation with, well, newness. A nation of johnny-come-latelys, America cuts its teeth on stories of people and places reinventing themselves practically overnight. Movie stars become governors, sleepy cow towns become biotech meccas, and no one blinks at these madcap reversals because America is a country where looking forward trumps looking back time and time again.

Too often, it’s the big cities of the United States that dominate the tourist imagination: the lights of New York, the monuments of Washington, D.C., the trolley cars of San Francisco. And perhaps these cities do give a glimpse of America in microcosm, whether it’s the glamour of a gallery opening or the broken-window dreariness of a housing project. Still, seeing America’s true colors means leaving the cities behind for a spell and heading out to review the high-school marching band in an Alabama whistle-stop or to ponder the solemn immensity of Montana’s Big Sky country. It’s not that these two worlds are always so far apart; it’s just that America is big and brash and bewildering enough that you’ll need six or seven sides of the story to start wrapping your mind around the place. Relentlessly literal, exasperatingly impetuous, disarmingly provincial, America will sweep you off your feet and leave you yearning for another dose of its star-spangled energy.

Essentials

• Passport: Required of citizens of countries other than the US and Canada.
• Visa: Generally required of citizens of all countries other than the US and Canada, but requirement can be waived for residents of certain countries.
• Inoculations: None required.
• Work Permit: Required of all foreigners planning to work in the US.
• Identification: When you travel, always carry at least two forms of identification on your person, including a photo ID; a passport and a driver’s license or birth certificate is usually an adequate combination.
• Currency: United States Dollar (US$1)
• Sales Tax: State sales tax ranges 4-10% in the US, though some states have no

sales tax. Many states charge a tax on hotel rooms; rates vary 3-18%.

• Drinking Age: 21
• Measurement System: Standard
• Biggest Baseball Rivalry: New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox

• When To Go

In general, the US tourist season consists of the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day (May 23-Sept. 4, 2008). National parks flood with visitors during the high season, but cities are less ...more

• Planning Your Trip

Entrance Requirements.  Passport . Required of citizens of countries other than the US and Canada. Visa . Generally required of citizens of all countries other than the US and Canada, but requirement ...more

• Life And Times

Water Under The Bridge. Archaeologists believe that the first inhabitants of the Americas crossed the Bering Sea from Siberia by a land bridge during the last Ice Age—approximately 12,000 years ago ...more

• Basics

Avg. Temp. Precipitation January April July October ˚C ˚F mm ˚C ˚F ...more