Travel Tips for USA for Tourists And Locals
Knowing all travel tips for the USA will be a great help for both locals and even US residents to travel across the country smoothly and hassle-free. The USA is one of the most popular travel destinations worldwide, with foreigners as well as Americans. Most of the US population does not hold passports since they mostly travel through the country, not abroad. States like Florida, California, and New York are very popular for Americans to travel to. However, no matter your nationality, there are rules and information you need to know. Here we discuss some of the helpful tips to keep in mind while traveling to the USA.
1. Validity of Passport
One of the major travel tips for the USA is to have a valid passport. Most travelers going to the USA will need to have a passport with a minimum of 6 months validity. However, citizens from some countries only need a passport valid for the length of their stay. You need to check the government website to see how it might apply to you.
2. Be Aware of Your Time-line
Keeping track of time in different states is another one of the travel tips for the USA that you should keep in mind. The United States continent is bigger than Europe. Therefore, the best advice to international travelers is to try not to see all the places in the country. Many travelers to the USA try to visit Los Angeles, Washington, New York as well as Miami all in a single journey. This type of journey will leave you exhausted, and you don’t remember much of your trip at the end of your travel.
3. Transit in The Airport
One of many air travel tips for the USA is that if you travel and have a connecting flight in the US, you will need to go through US Customs. In general, the USA doesn’t recognize transit flights, and all passengers need to go through immigration and customs. This means meeting the visa requirements for the USA only if you are there just for a couple of hours waiting for your flight. Also, your luggage is checked through here and then proceeds to your final destination. Therefore, you should allow a few hours in layover between flights regardless to allow for customs checks and luggage handling. The best thing to do is to try flying with a single airline to make sure they will take off the time needed for the layover.
4. Turn off Roaming For Mobile Data
If you just arrived in the USA, turn off your mobile phone while there unless you have a local mobile plan. Mobile phone roaming fees are very high, like traveling to any international destination. Therefore, try looking around for free WiFi wherever you go or check whether your provider provides affordable data plans for the USA or not.
5. Tip For Acceptable Service
Tipping is a norm in the USA, and tips make up a noticeable percentage of many service employees’ salaries working in restaurants. It’s considerably not polite to walk out of a restaurant without leaving some tips. Therefore always remember to tip some amount. Tipping will sometimes ensure you get very good service on your next visit to the restaurant. Your tipping money should be somewhere between 10% to 20%, depending on your satisfaction with the service.
6. Pay Attention to Signs And Local Laws
One of the most crucial travel tips for the USA is obeying the law and paying attention to traffic signs. Outside of the United States, “No Parking” signs & stop lights do not hold much importance. However, that is not the case in the US. Traffic & parking laws are strictly enforced in all the cities in the USA. For instance, drivers must stop fully at red lights and remain still until the green light is up. Be aware of your speed limit in there since the police will definitely stop you if you cross it.
You need to keep in mind that each state differs in laws and regulations regarding driving. So make sure you check the laws for the state you are traveling to and decide to drive there. Also, be careful that cars drive on the right side of the road, which is the opposite of some countries like Australia and England.
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