The bare essentials to live in america for 3 months.
Hi,
I'm completely new to all the logisitics of travelling and stuff but i have a fair understanding of what you might need to travel to a place like the USA, has anyone done this and traveled from the UK and could shed light on this? how much money, visa entitlements, where, travel, how many people etc etc
thankyou! 😊
Reply to this Max,
Welcome to Travelblog, and the adventure of travel! Many people on this site have visited the US from the UK; its always an incredible experience.
UK citizens are entitled to enter the USA for up to 90 days without a visa. You will need a machine readable passport and get authorization beforehand, which can be done online. The US Department of State website has the details: www.travel.state.gov
The amount of money needed depends entirely on what you want to do, how you travel, and the type of accomodations you want. If you travel on busses, stay in youth hostels, and eat almost entirely fast food, its possible to survive on US $60/day. This is pretty barebones though; add a few tourist sights, souvineers, or expensive cities like New York and the amount will easily double or triple.
As for what to see, the country is so diverse that the best things to visit depends entirely on your interests. The North America forum has many discussion threads on US sights. These two are a good starting point:
Must-see attractions in the USA?
Ultimate USA holiday
After that, read blogs for various areas and see what look interesting. Frequent forum posters will also answer questions if you send them private messages, and several live in the US.
Keep in mind that distances in the country are vast; Texas alone is larger than Germany. This will limit your itenerary to some extent. If your time is limited, plan on seeing specific states rather than sites all over the US.
Reply to this Hiya, if you dont have much of an idea on where you would want to go or what to do, i'd order some travel guides off the internet for comanies that do tours, and see what they offer. Not go go on the tour but it will tell the touristy things to do in cities and give you an idea of distances or length of trips between cities.
Then, i'd sign up for a heap of cheap airlines in the US email specials and keep an eye out for really cheap flights between the cities you want. That has got to be the quickest and easiest way to travel. Whenever you book a flight, then search for the location and hotel that you want and book it for a few days. You can always make it longer or move on once youre there.
For cheap 2 star hotels i think youre looking around the US$100 mark but you might get cheaper if youre willing to try b&b's or youth hostels etc. We decided we liked the Holiday Inn chain as you new what you were getting and its clean and they have a cheaper version called Holiday Inn Express.
Food is pretty cheap in the US and even in a restaraunts or pub you can get meals for $10-15. But... bigger cities and more touristy locations will cost you more, as in any country.
enjoy your trip
tam
Reply to this In response to: Msg #168644
I have mixed feelings about package tour iteneraries. They tend to include only the most popular tourist sites. While many are deservedly popular, many others are either hugely hyped or pay incentives. The iteneraries also bypass wonderful areas that just can't handle lots of people at once. Blogs and travel guides provide much better ideas for what to see.
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