Now that you’ve read the travelogue, let’s talk about some of the prerequisites for a trip to the United States. Whether you have decided to travel to the United States or have planned a vacation, this section will provide a description of the necessary requirements. This page is only intended for tourism reasons.



Recommendation for certain books to read and know more about the country before going. I purchased these books. The last book pertains to my trip. National Geographic has the ‘Walking’ series for other American cities as well.
Before going to United States
- Do you want to go to United States?
- United States is a large country. You might want to divide this trip into various legs which will help you to cover them one-by-one. Some would want to visit the main cities of the country with air travel. The latter option might be an expensive option. Others might want to explore via cars.
- It’s a different experience that will be in your memories unlike other trips. Because it’s the USA!
- Planning your itinerary (applicable for touristic intentions):
- A trip to the United States may include certain tentative plans like these, based region-wise.
- Texas + Southeast
- Florida
- Southwest
- Pacific Northwest
- Mid-Atlantic Region
- Capital Region (D.C. area) and the surrounding areas (Virginia and West Virginia)
- New England
- A trip to the United States may include certain tentative plans like these, based region-wise.
- Linguistic issues:
- English is important for your trip. There’s no compromise in this.
- Spanish can also help you maneuver around the States.
- If you take a tour package from your country, they may provide a tour guide who is proficient in the particular language. For example, the packages I looked at catered to the Chinese tourists. Hence for them, it will be easy to go as a group, with the tour guide who can wade his/her way around.
- Prepare your budget for the trip (A trip to the United States can cost a lot. Plan your budget accordingly).
- For the hotel or rented house, allocate as per transportation to your residence by taxi, metro (commonly known as subways in American English), bus/electro-bus per day.
- For restaurants (if you don’t obviously plan on making your own meals in your apartment)/fast-food centers. Usually the fast-food centers provide cheaper rates compared to restaurants (If you think money is an issue for restaurants, you can look at the Google Maps/travel-guides (mentioned as $, $$, $$$, $$$+). Upscale restaurants usually close at around midnight or even at 2 AM. So check accordingly). Most restaurants expect you to tip. Certain restaurants may charge a gratuity fee for groups.
- For buying tickets for museums, theaters, train travel, cruises, and audio-guides. I advise that you purchase these prior to going to these sightseeing spots, as majority of your time meant for travel will be spent in the queues! Certain tickets may need an advance reservation — for example, the Statue of Liberty’s Crown tickets may need a 3-4 month advance.
- For ancillaries (like souvenirs such as stamps, T-shirts, and miniature statues).
- Book a hotel/motel/inn or B&B (bed-and-breakfast)/hostel/home/campground in the United States.
- Like most countries in the world, you will be able to book a hotel with Expedia, Booking.com, or Agoda or an home/resort with AirBnB. Certain airlines can offer miles when booking hotels through their websites. Trip aggregator sites can offer discounts and advance bookings as well.
- Make sure you book these in advance, as most of the “sought-after” houses and hotels are booked quickly. If you book a home, make sure you follow the rules of the host.
- If your itinerary includes hiking/camping, you need to book a campground. Overnight camping adjacent to roads/free-ways is illegal. There are private companies that offer these services, such as the Kampgrounds of America (KOA).
- Travel health insurance:
- Please ensure that you get travel health insurance that covers your trip for that duration. Ensure that your insurance covers the United States.
- Applying for the visa to United States:
- Most countries around the world are granted visa-free access. Check with the United States embassy in your country if you need a visa for entry.
- For those who need a tourist visa (B2 visa), keep in mind that the waiting times for your appointment in the embassy may differ in certain countries (An example, American embassies in India have a long waiting times, as long as a year, compared to the ones in Thailand which may have times as long as a week).
- You can check the US embassy site for eligibility into the TSA Pre-check/Global Entry, which will expedite your entry into the United States.
- Booking your transport (flight/rail) tickets to and within United States:
- Flight tickets: There are several domestic and international carriers covering the United States. Premier domestic airlines include the United, Delta, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines.
- Hubs for certain airlines —
- Delta — Atlanta, Minneapolis, New York (JFK), Salt Lake City, Detroit
- United Airlines — Chicago, Denver, Houston, Newark, San Francisco, Washington.
- American Airlines — Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix
- JetBlue — New York (JFK)
- Southwest — Dallas
- Spirit — Fort Lauderdale
- Hubs for certain airlines —
- Cheaper ones include the Spirit Airlines, JetBlue and Cape Jet. This list is not exhaustive though. Many international carriers cover the United States as a destination — Air Canada, Air China, Air France, Air India, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, China Eastern/Southern Airlines, Cathay Pacific, El Al, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad, ANA, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, Avianca Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Saudi Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic etc. The list again is not exhaustive.
- Rail tickets: Getting around the United States by train (Amtrak) can be accomplished. It’s more developed in the East Coast, as compared to the rest of the country. Ensure that you reserve your tickets in advance.
- Bus: As far as buses are concerned, there are bus services provided by Greyhound Lines, Megabus, Bolt Bus and Flixbus. They offer cheaper fares but takes a longer time.
- There are options for renting cars/motorcycles/bikes/bicycles/RVs too.
- For motorcycles — Eagle Rider and Blue Sky companies offer their services.
- For bicycles — within the city, there are extensive networks for a bicycle trip. There are dedicated bicycle lanes for this. Please read the T&Cs for such trips before going for one. I did the mistake by not reading through it and as a result, I lost $100.
- For RVs (recreational vehicles) — these are good for group or family travels. For more, one may look at Cruise America and Recreational Vehicle Association of America for more details.
- Bikes are however a rarity in the United States.
- For car rentals — Hertz, Alamo, Avis and Budget offer rental cars. Fares can depend for your duration of the trip (I found that a full-week time period for renting a car can offer best rates) and the return location (cheaper if returned to the same location they were rented from).
- For intra-city travel, I suggest you do more research on the particular city you’re visiting and find out if they have subways/public transport buses that cover the area extensively.
- For example, Houston has a METRORail system (a light rail system) but is woefully inadequate to cover all the neighborhoods of the city. There are METRO buses too. (However it may be safer for you to avoid using these as most of the public transportation here aren’t often used).
- On the contrary, New York City has a fabulous, yet complicated public transportation system. I will expand this list further, for your reference:
- New York MTA Subway covers many neighborhoods of the city. (All the boroughs are covered).
- MTA Long Island Railroad (LIRR) covers certain areas in Queens borough and many towns in the Long Island (part of the New York state) — railroad system.
- Metro North covers areas north of New York City — railroad system.
- NJ Transit connects cities of the New Jersey state with New York City.
- Amtrak trains for long distance routes.
- PATH trains connecting New Jersey towns with New York City.
- MTA buses cover many neighborhoods of the city.
- Each city may differ in terms of the services provided, so you might want to do some research on this.
- One important thing to note is your safety in the public transportation systems in the United States. For example, in New York City, the subway is safe. You need to use your common sense here and possibly avoid the subways in the late nights, avoiding subways in certain neighborhoods as crime rates have surged here (for example, the Bronx borough). If you think that the situation around you isn’t safe, leave the area immediately and/or call 911 and inform the police.
- Flight tickets: There are several domestic and international carriers covering the United States. Premier domestic airlines include the United, Delta, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines.
- Must-have mobile applications:
- Uber/Lyft: For booking cabs. Prepaid taxis offer outrageous prices in my opinions.
- Amtrak: The official mobile application for Amtrak train services. You can use this to book, change, or cancel tickets.
- Google Maps: Important! Make sure you use them wisely. Maps for GPS tracking, direction guiding and providing bus-schedules.
- AirBnB/Booking.com/Expedia: For communication with the host or hotel.
- An application for your booked airlines.
- Applications for certain public transportation systems may come in handy. For example, the NJTransit/RidePATH application in the New Jersey/New York connections.
- TodayTix and TicketMaster for booking shows/tickets for sports events.
- Know where your country’s embassy is located.
After coming to United States
If you have planned a tour guide or tour package for your American trip, most of these may have already been arranged by your American host or tour operator.
- Get a SIM card.
- Depending on your days of stay, you can purchase a SIM card accordingly. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon Connect provide tourist-friendly packages. You can purchase these SIM cards at the official stores or supermarkets. They can be pre-paid or post-paid.
- With the SIM cards, you also get contacts for essential and emergency services. Remember, the emergency number is 911.
- 411 for directory assistance or inquiries.
- Remember, the international code is +1. Every US number consists of +1-(3-digit number — stands for area code)-(7-digit number — stands for local number). Therefore for local calls, dial the 7-digit or 10 digit number. Also note that free calls have the usual combination of 3-digit numbers – 800, 888, 877 or 866.
- Get your currency exchanged.
- The basic unit of American currency is the dollar. Denominations exist in $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100.
- The coins consist of a 50 cent coin, a quarter (25-cent coin), a dime (10-cent coin), a nickel (5-cent coin), 1-dollar coin.
- In my opinion, the rates at airports are not that great. You might consider exchanging them in popular areas such as malls or metro stations.
- Almost all banks have 24-hour ATMs, as do most of malls, airports, train stations and supermarkets.
- If you plan to stay for many days in a particular city, consider getting a card for your public transportation travels. For example, the SmartTrip for Washington D.C, MetroCard for New York City.
- Keep your passports and visas safe with you at all times. Use common sense and it’s always a good idea to know the city you’re visiting beforehand (know which are the neighborhoods to avoid). Avoid attracting attention of the criminals.
- Have a simple conversion chart handy with you, if you’re not used to the imperial (US Standard) system.
- 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters.
- 1 foot = 30 centimeters
- 1 mile = 1.6 kilometers
- 1 ounce = 28 grams
- 1 pound = 454 grams
- 1 pint = 0.5 liters
- 1 quart = 0.947 liters
- 1 gallon = 3.8 liters
I hope you have understood the basics of planning a trip to the USA. Have a good trip!


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