The US offers a rich tourist experience owing to its diverse cultures and tourist attractions that include world renowned monuments like the White House and the Empire State Building. However, organizing for a trip here can be agonizing and painful especially when you do not have an idea of what is required for you to be able to travel here. With a couple of tips, you can make your trip to the US easier and without a doubt much more fun. If you are better prepared, you are bound to have a much better experience.
Apply for an ESTA.
Before you make your travel, you need to first apply for an ESTA (Electronic System Travel Authority). While this will cost you about $14 it has some very impressive benefits one of them being the fact that you will not need to fill in a separate customs and immigration form which can be quite frustrating. Instead, you will only need to fill in the customs paper work. The other benefit that you can get with an ESTA is the fact that it makes it easier to board your flight and is valid for up to two years.
Don’t make jokes at the airport with the airport security.
Most international airports do not take jokes lightly but those in the US have taken their dislike for humor to another level. You could be detained for hours while background checks are being made and your luggage being perused because of making a joke. You have to be careful f what you say since the guys at the Transport Security Administration take their jobs extra seriously.
Stack up dollars for tips.
In America, tipping is an inescapable way of life and hence you have to prepare yourself to tip. It is presumed that tipping forms a large proportion of the minimum wage earners not to mention that this also helps to boost service deliver as well as its quality. Also note that some of the restaurants will add a gratuity to your bill in order to make sure that you tip. This is why you have to make sure you have some money for tipping and not just at restaurants but also the bus driver, the doorman and a variety of other kinds of employees.
Accommodation.
You should not expect to get a multitude of hostels here. However, there is an abundance of hotels and outside the cities, you can find many cheap motels and hotels that can cost between $15 and $30. They are perfect if you are working on a shoe string budget. However the prices can fluctuate depending on the region you are in and hence you need to make sure you research on accommodation prices in the areas that you will be travelling around the US.
Money saving tips.
If you would like to see more for less, there are a number of tips that you can use. First, the ideal mode of traveling would be by land. Depending on where you are, you can catch a bus (which are very timely) or you can rent a car. Trains can be very costly here.
To save yourself time and money, get a national park pass. There are a number that are offered and you have to check to find one that would be best suited for you. It is cheaper and in some of the areas that typically have long lines, you can get a free pass and save yourself the time.
You do not have to worry about the food because it is superbly cheap here. However, you can save more if you decide to cook since grocery shopping worth $40 can last you for a whole week.
It is important that you also check on the places that you will be visiting to find out when they are least occupied. This will give you more time to site see without as many people stepping on your toe. As a last minute tip, if you have American friends, you ought to know that they wait to be introduced so to avoid those awkward moments, you should take it upon yourself.
