North America
Golden Gate Bridge September 2024
USA
Road trips - our most favourite kind of holiday. We book everything independently - flights, hotels, tours, and car hire. We love the freedom of the open road (if that's not too much of a cliché?), especially in America where the terrain is so vast and diverse. You can be in 40℃ (104℉) in Death Valley one day, and see snow in Yosemite Valley, the next!
USA
Route 66 in two weeks
A challenging timescale to drive the most iconic road trip of them all! We did it in two weeks, and even managed detours to the Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon and Vegas! Here we will tell you about our route, the roadside attractions, and sights we saw along the way.
Updated December 2025
USA
California Road Trippin'
This was an eighteen day drive around California, taking in the major cities of the state, some of the national parks, and a couple of unusual places. An epic road trip of over 2,200 miles.
Updated January 2026
USA
Borrego Springs, California - Exploring the Galleta Meadows Sculptures
Borrego Springs is a small, and quirky town, in the western Sonoran Desert. The Galleta Meadows Sculptures in Borrego Springs is an art installation of more than 130 large welded-steel figures spread across the desert landscape. We spent a memorable afternoon exploring.
Added March 2026
Plan your trip to the USA
We love travelling around the USA. To-date we have been on four road trips in the US. We've travelled across the breadth of the country driving Route 66, driving through eight states, east to west. We've taken in the Carolinas and Georgia. We've driven up the east coast and into Canada, and most recently, we took a tour around California, visiting some of the national parks. Here are some of the most important considerations for a well prepared trip to the USA:
Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA)
If you are travelling on a UK passport as a British Citizen, and are visiting for less than 90 days, you can apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA). You apply online through the official ESTA application website. They've recently released a mobile app as well, but I've not used that yet.
The fee per application is $40 - go careful to make sure you are on the official website as there are some fake websites out there. The official website is linked above, and ends in .gov
You must apply for your ESTA at least 72 hours before you enter the US.
ESTAs are valid for two years, or until your passport expires (whichever comes first). ESTAs remain valid for multiple trips to the US, but you’ll need to update your travel dates and accommodation address for each visit.
Make sure that you won't automatically be denied an ESTA before applying. You will NOT be granted entry to the US if you have a criminal record or have visited specific countries. You may need to apply for a visa instead which takes more time to process.
Important - Having an approved ESTA for visa doesn’t guarantee entry – US Immigration makes the final decision upon arrival.
See gov.uk for full details.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office guidelines
Keep up-to-date with Foreign and Commonwealth Office guidelines, travel advice, and current affairs for the area you are visiting.
Be cautious, be compliant with authority figures, and don't get involved in anything (like protests etc).
Health and Travel Insurance
There is no free-at-the-point-of-use healthcare in the US as there is in the UK, so make sure you take out a good worldwide travel insurance policy that covers emergency medical, accident, and legal costs.
Make sure that you buy your travel insurance as soon as you have booked, not just before you go, in case you need to cancel your trip. Your insurance should also include delays and missed departures, cutting your trip short, plus baggage delays and loses.
It's also worth looking to see if you can get travel insurance as an annual policy, or through your bank via a paid-for bank account that often offers other perks such as mobile phone insurance and breakdown cover, as this is often cheaper in the long run.
We have had to claim on our travel insurance twice - once when a close family member died while we were abroad, and once when illness prevented travel. Both times, we saved hundreds of pounds in costs. We have an annual policy through our bank account with RBS.
Car Hire
You drive on the right side of the road in the USA, which I realise is the norm for most countries, but feels unusual for UK drivers. If you are hiring a car, its best to try and get an automatic so that you don't constantly hit your left hand off the car door, trying to change gear with the "wrong" hand. Most hire cars in the US are automatic anyway.
International Driving Permits
The need for an International Driving Permit (IDP) varies by state, and it's difficult not to get conflicting information on its requirement. A lot of car hire companies will require that you have one anyway. You will need a 1949 Permit (there are three different types). An IDP currently costs £5.50 and you will need a physical printed passport photo. IDPs look like they were issued in the 1930s, and are basically is small paper book with your photo glued in. You used to get IDPs from the Post Office, but now you need to go to a shop with a PayPoint. Not all PayPoints offer all services, so check their website.
You will also have to print your driving licence information from .gov.uk. This will show the car hire company whether or not you have any current diving convictions.
Motor Insurance
Your UK motor insurance policy is unlikely to cover driving a hire car in the USA. Make sure you take out the insurance offered with the hire, and depending on your attitude to risk, you can customise your policy to include such things as Collision Damage Waiver (paying a fee upfront to cover any (very likely) large excess on the policy), or breakdown cover.
Drinking Alcohol
Its worth noting here that the legal age to drink alcohol in the US is 21, not 18. There are also around 300 dry counties (about 10% of the country). If you aren't familiar, these are counties where it is prohibited to buy alcohol. There are all sorts of variations as well, such as places where you can't buy alcohol in a shop, but you can buy it in a restaurant. Check in advance to avoid embarrassment!
Smoking and Drug Laws
It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under 21 in the US.
I'm going to assume here that no one reading this looking for information on controlled substances. In terms of cannabis, 14 states have legalised it for medical use only, and 24 states have legalised it for recreational use. Check the CDC website of details.
Gambling
Gambling laws are another area which differs from the UK. The extent to which gambling is allowed varies dramatically by state. For example, no gambling of any sort is legal in Utah, casino style gambling is only legal state-wide in Louisana and Nevada. There are also lots of states where sports gambling is also prohibited.
There aren't many mobile phones these days that DON'T work in the US. To avoid extortionate charges, make sure you either purchase an add-on with your current mobile phone provider, which can be quite expensive, or buy an eSIM from a provider such as Airalo.
eSIMS are usually much cheaper than your normal provider's add-on. Bear in mind though, that a lot of add-ons or eSIMS are for data only, calls and texts will cost a lot if not included in your plan. Or in my case, texts just don't come through while you are on an eSIM, which if you are relying on SMS for two-factor authorisation for anything this causes problems. Prepare for this if you can by moving any two-factor authorisation you might need while you are abroad to an authenticator app.
Also, don't forget a travel adaptor for your phone charger. You'll need a type G (UK) to type A/B (USA) adapter. There's loads on Amazon. I have one that you can also plug in two USB cables in as well, as you might not have enough accessible sockets to plug in all your rechargeable items all at once at your accommodation. I have also invested in a 1.5m phone cable so if the nearest socket isn't right next to my bed, I still might be able to sit in bed and scroll my phone!
Emergency help
Urgent help for British people abroad - https://www.contact.service.csd.fcdo.gov.uk/home
Getting home after losing your UK passport - https://www.gov.uk/travel-urgently-from-abroad-without-uk-passport
The British Embassy in Washington - https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-washington
Time Zones
There are four time zones across mainland USA (plus Alaska at GMT-9, and Hawaii at GMT-10). This is especially important to know if you are road-tripping east/west, or west/east. Travelling from east ot west, you will gain time, and the reverse from west to east. The timezones are:
Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5), Central Standard Time (GMT-6), Mountain Standard Time (GMT-7), Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8)
We drove through three timezones on our Route 66 road trip (below).
Public Holidays and Festivals
There are 11 permanent Federal Holidays, and many businesses close on these days. If the holiday falls during the weekend, the government may observe it on a different day.
- New Year's Day (January 1)
- Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Third Monday in January)
- Washington's Birthday (Also known as Presidents Day; third Monday in February)
- Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)
- Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19)
- Independence Day (July 4)
- Labor Day (First Monday in September)
- Columbus Day (Second Monday in October)
- Veterans Day (November 11)
- Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November)
- Christmas Day (December 25)
When booking your trip, check these holiday dates first. While hotels, and car hire offices will be open, you may find some restaurants or attractions will be closed. This happened to us on our Route 66 trip, where we found our choice of dining limited on Labor Day.
Apps to Download
The app of the airline you are flying with - in my experience, the app is always updated with gate numbers and delays before the boards in the lounge. You can also hold your boarding pass in some airline apps (or in your phone's digital wallet).
The app of the hotel(s) you are staying in. You can access the details of your booking easily, and increasingly, you can get a digital room key instead of carrying around a card.
Uber and/or Lyft for taxis
A currency converter app, or if you have an iPhone, the latest ios gives you a currency converter within the calculator app. I have deleted OandA now, and use this instead.
Movit, and City Mapper - great for public transport.
What3Words - for finding precise locations, or giving the emergency services your precise location (within 3 metres)