United States: In the country

Accommodation

Luxury Hotels: Five star hotels
Hotels and Motels: First Class Hotels: the higher option
Budget Hotels: the standard option
Pension Bed & Breakfast: the economical option
All Hotels
USA Bed and Breakfast
Budget Hotels
Low Cost Hotels: Hostels and youth hostels
Hostels
Hotel Rules: Most hotels in the USA are not priced "per person", but are priced by the room. A double room usually costs only a few dollars more than a single room and four people in one room will cost little more than two people. This means great bargains for two or more people traveling together and willing to share a room.

Price Indications

Economy Room	Less than 50 USD
Medium Price Room	50-80 USD
Good Quality Room	Above 100 USD

Source: Lonely Planet

Eating Out

Categories of Restaurant
Fast Food: Fast food restaurants serving all sorts of delicacies from American style hamburgers, hot dogs and fried chicken to Italian pizza, Mexican tacos, Greek Gyros and Chinese egg rolls. Fast food restaurants are mostly inexpensive.
US Cooking: Fried chicken, meatloaf, baked potato, corn, baked beans and apple pie would be considered traditional American dishes.
Regional Cooking: New England cooking was heavily influenced by the cuisine of the original English settlers. Southern cooking has African influences. New Orleans area is a mix of Spanish, French and African styles. Finally, California cooking is known for combinations with Asian, Mexican and Spanish flavorings.
Ethnic Foods: In most cities, you will find food from Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, South America, Asia and numerous other cultures.
Rules For Eating Out: Lunch is usually served between 11 am and 1 pm and dinner 5 pm to 10 pm. Do not forget to tip your waiter or waitress (20 % at a "sit-down" restaurant). Service is almost never included in the price of the meal. Sometimes, if you eat with a group of people over a certain number, the restaurant will add a service charge to your bill, which means you do not have to leave a tip.

Price Indications

Economy Meal	from 5 to 12 USD
Medium Price Meal	From 12 to 25 USD
Good Quality Meal	> 25 USD

Food Specialties: American culinary specialities vary considerably by region. Some popular examples include:
Appetisers: crab cakes, oysters Rockefeller, crab soup and Waldorf salad.
Main courses: chili con carne, burgers, chicken or shrimp gumbo, jambalaya and country ham.
Alcohol and cocktails: bourbon, eggnog and mint julep.
Baked goods: corn bread and peanut brittle.
Desserts: president's cake, red velvet cake and King cake.
Drinks: Soft drinks like Coca Cola, Fanta, etc. are the most commonly consumed beverages.
The legal drinking age is 21 years old. American beers, such as Budweiser and Coors, are popular with younger adults. High quality wines, beer and spirits (especially bourbon) can be found in the United States. Imported international alcoholic beverages can be easily found.
Dietary Restrictions: None

Getting Around

Means of Transport Recommended in Town

Recommendation: Private and public transport is readily available in American cities. Public transport includes rail and bus services (present most of the time in all the cities); private transport includes taxi cab or limousine services.
Maps of Urban Networks: Los Angeles Metro
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
Urban Transport Agencies: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Find an Itinerary: San Francisco Bay Area Transit Information
Ferrocarta
Taxi Companies: Call Taxi USA

Transportation From Airport to City Centre:

Airport	Distance	Taxi	Bus	Train	Car Rental
Los Angeles Intl (LAX)	24 km / 15 miles	USD 30 / 30-35 min	USD 3 / 30-45 min	Available	Available
Chicago O'Hare (ORD)	9 km / 5 miles	10 min	Available	Available	Available
New York - Kennedy Intl (JFK)	21 km / 13 miles	USD 45 / 40-60 min	Available	USD 5 /1 0-15 min	Available

Means of Transport Recommended in the Rest of the Country

Recommendation: The railroad network is good, but the rail networks are less dense and trains for passengers are slower and less frequent than in Europe. The network of intercity buses is denser and tends to be cheaper. Domestic airlines networks are extensive and frequently used for travel over long distances.
Rail Companies: Amtrak

Airlines

Name	Type	Domestic Flights	International Flights
American Airlines	Major	Yes	Yes
United Airlines	Major	Yes	Yes
Continental	Major	Yes	Yes
Delta	Major	Yes	No
Jet Blue	Low Cost	Yes	No
Southwest Airlines	Low Cost	Yes	No

You Can Consult The EU Air Safety List. Look Also at the rating of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Travelling By Yourself

Recommendation: While the laws/regulations are typically common across states, it is still important to remember that each of the 50 states has its own set of traffic laws and regulations. Many Europeans may consider driving in the United States to be cheaper, due to the comparatively low price of petrol.
Driver's License: An international driver's license must be obtained from your home country. This permit only verifies that you hold a valid license in your home country. It is your foreign driver's license that allows you to drive in the United States.
If you are a visitor to the United States and over 18, and have a valid driver's license from your home country, you may drive as long as your home country license remains valid. However, if you take a job or become a resident of the US, you must get a driver's license within 10 days.
Conditions For Renting a Vehicle: You can usually rent a car and drive with a valid driver's license from your home country. An international license may be helpful in convincing the car rental agent that you really have a valid license when they cannot recognize or understand your license. Some rental agencies will not rent cars to anyone younger than 25 years. Other agencies will rent to young people but will charge a higher fee. Some agencies will not rent to anyone over 71 years old.

Car rental agencies always offer collision damage waiver insurance (CDW) and theft insurance at very high prices that can significantly increase the price of a car rental. You should not drive without insurance in the US but you can find another way to get your insurance for a cheaper price or check with your credit card issuer to see if it provides such coverage.
Rental Agencies: Advantage
Budget
Dollar
National
Tolls or Taxes: Highways tolls differ from one State to another. Please go to U.S Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration.
Road Maps: Map of the United States Map
Find an Itinerary: Google Maps
MapQuest
Live Search Maps
Traffic Conditions Online: National Traffic and Road Closure Information
Parking Facilities: In the main cities, there is little free space. Parking lots and garages are found in most cities.

Rules of the Road

Minimum Driving Age

The minimum age for driving is 16 in most states but some states will not allow unrestricted driving until 18.

Side of the Road For Driving

Right

Speed Limits

25–30 mph (40–50 km/h) on residential streets
35–45 mph (55–70 km/h) on urban arterial roads
50–65 mph (80–105 km/h) on major highways inside cities
45–65 mph (70–105 km/h) on rural two-lane roads
55–70 mph (90–110 km/h) on rural expressways
65–75 mph (105–120 km/h) on rural Interstate highways

The speed limit in most states is now 65 miles per hour (about 110 km/hr) except where signs indicate slower speeds.

Safety Belts

Obligatory

Permitted Amount of Alcohol in the Blood

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed laws defining it as a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08 percent.

National Roads Organizations

Federal Highways Administration
Department of Motor Vehicles

Time and Time Difference

Current Local Time: It is %T:%M %A In New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia
It is %T:%M %A In Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas
It is %T:%M %A In Los Angeles, San Diego
Summer Time: From April to October.

Map of the Time Zone

Time zone

Climate

Type of Climate: Temperatures and climate vary considerably across the United States. Below are some average temperatures in several U.S. Cities:
Chicago: -7°C in January, 20°C in June
San Francisco:12°C in January, 18°C in June
New York from 0°C in January, 22°C in June
For Further Information: U.S. Department of Commerce: Climate Analysis Branch National Weather Service Federal Emergency Management Agency - Disaster Information

Average Annual Temperatures and Rainfall

Climate

Electrical Standards and Measurement Systems

System of Measurement Used: The U.S. still uses the English Imperial units. It still has no definitive plan for the adoption of the International Metric System.
Unit of Measurement of Temperature: Degrees Fahrenheit (F).

Use our service Measurement converter.

Electricity
Voltage: 110-120 volts
Frequency: 60 Hertz
Type of Electric Socket: For the USA, these are the electric sockets that can be used: Type A & B (National Electrical Manufacturing Association) (North American 15 A/125 V ungrounded).
Type of Telephone Socket: RJ11, found in most homes and offices in North America for single line telephones. RJ14 and RJ25 also fairly common, using the same size connector as RJ11, but with two and three phone lines, respectively, connected.
DVD Zoning: Zone 1

Paying

Domestic Currency: American Dollar
ISO Code: USD
To Obtain Domestic Currency: It is helpful to have some dollars with you upon arrival into the United States. If that is not possible, you can change foreign currency into USD at a bureau de change or withdraw USD directly from ATMs.
Possible Means of Payment: Credit cards can be utilised nearly everywhere. Traveller's cheques may be used; however, they are becoming less commonly accepted in retail locations and less popular.

To Find a Cash Machine Where You Need, Use the ATM locator

Speaking

Official Language: There is not an official language at the national level; however, English is the official language of the majority of American states and the most commonly spoken language.
Other Languages Spoken: Spanish is the most commonly spoken language after English. While regionally concentrated in states such as Arizona, Texas, California, Florida and New Mexico, there are Spanish-speaking enclaves across the country. In communities with large immigrant populations, other languages are spoken, including Chinese, Japanese, Italian, German, Polish or Greek. Moreover, there are many languages spoken by Native American populations (Navajo, Cree, Cherokee, etc.).
Business Language: English
Getting Some Knowledge: English as a Second Language (ESL) programmes offered by universities or private schools. Foreigners can take English classes at different levels and improve their writing and speaking skills. There are many online websites offering English courses (for example, visit the BBC or British Council).
Free Translation Tools: Cambridge Dictionaries : Online Dictionary
Linguee : Online Translation

Emergency Numbers

Police, Medical and Fire	911
Non-emergency municipal service number	311

Communications

Quality of Communications: The USA has one of the most developed network systems. Competition in the telecom market has become a race to be chosen by the customer to deliver bundled communication services, including voice, wireless, data, TV and cellular. In this infrastructure-based competition, Cable TV is in the lead.
Telephone Codes: To Make a Call From the United States, Dial 011
To Make a Call to in the United States, Dial +1
Number of Digits of National Telephone Numbers: The number of digits of national telephone numbers is 10 (3 digits for the area code + the number).
See here the detailed list of US regional codes.
Mobile Telephone Standards: The U.S. mainly uses Analog, TDMA, CDMA and GSM 1900. It is important to note that each standard may have multiple frequencies. Phones that can support multiple GSM frequencies may be able to work in the US, but another option is to purchase a pre-paid card.
National Mobile Phone Operators: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, SBC, BellSouth, Sprint, Qwest

Availability of Internet

Internet Suffix: .us
National Internet Access Providers: Comcast, Earthline, Aol.
Access in Public Places: Accessible in a lot of places: Free wifi point access in different places in big cities.
Access in Hotels: Accessible in most hotels.

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