Things to do in United States

The lower 48 states span four time zones, and New York to Los Angeles is about six hours in the air. Tours in the United States come in two kinds. Guided ones bunch in a few hubs, and phone-led routes reach well beyond them.

Where the guided tours are

Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington share one rail line, 735 km end to end. The fast Acela train needs about seven hours for all of it. Miami is a separate trip.

• New York. The largest block: guided drives through Manhattan, Harlem and the outer boroughs, plus long day trips to the other three cities.
• Washington. The Mall, Arlington and Mount Vernon, on guided and private tours.
• Florida. Miami is the base for the Everglades, Key West and the bay.
• In Spanish. Several New York and Washington tours run in Spanish or in both languages.

Phone-led routes and park audio guides

Elsewhere the format changes. You get a route, a story and puzzles, and you walk it without a guide. A route costs a few dollars, a seat on a guided drive tens, a private driver hundreds.

• The South and Midwest. New Orleans, Savannah, Charleston, Atlanta, Austin and Chicago, with ghost hunts and history puzzles.
• The West. San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Seattle and Honolulu.
• Smaller cities. Outdoor spy games for teams, about two and a half hours, from Fresno to Utica.
• The parks. Audio-guide apps for Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon.

Practical

• Weather. Afternoon highs run from 4C in January to 29C in July in New York, and from 25C to 33C in Miami. Las Vegas reaches 40C in July, while San Francisco stays near 22C all summer. Hurricane season on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts runs from June to November.
• Distances. Miami is just over three hours from New York by air. Pick one region per trip.
• Money. Sales tax is added at the till, from nothing in Oregon to about ten per cent in Louisiana. The federal cash wage for tipped staff is $2.13 an hour, so leave 18 to 20 per cent in restaurants.
• Entry. Visitors from Visa Waiver countries need an approved ESTA before flying. Approval can take up to 72 hours, so apply early.
• Parks. Visitors aged 16 and over who live abroad pay a $100 surcharge at 11 parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Most of Yellowstone's roads close to cars from early November to late April.