Getting there

Flights from the UK and Ireland >
Flights from Australia and New Zealand >
Airlines and operators >

Anyone travelling to the US from abroad should start by deciding which area to explore first; the country is so vast that it makes a huge difference which airport you fly into. Once you’ve chosen whether to hit the swamps of Florida, the frozen tundra of Alaska, the summer heat of the South or the splendor of the Rockies and Southwest, you can then buy a flight to the nearest hub city.

In general, ticket prices are highest from July to September, and around Easter and Christmas. Fares drop during the shoulder seasons – April to June, and October – and even more so in low season, from November to March (excluding Easter, Christmas and New Year). Prices depend more on when Americans want to head overseas than on the demand from foreign visitors. Flying on weekends usually costs significantly more; prices quoted in this section assume midweek travel.

Flights from the UK and Ireland

Nonstop flights >

More than twenty US cities are accessible by nonstop flights from the UK. At these gateway cities, you can connect with onward domestic flights. Direct services (which may land once or twice on the way, but are called direct if they keep the same flight number throughout their journey) fly from Britain to nearly every other major US city.

Nonstop flights to Los Angeles from London take eleven or twelve hours; the London to Miami flight takes eight hours; and flying time to New York is seven or so hours. Following winds ensure that return flights take an hour or two less. One-stop direct flights to destinations beyond the East Coast add time to the journey, but can work out cheaper than nonstop flights. They can even save you time, because customs and immigration are cleared on first touchdown into the US rather than the final destination, which may be a busy international gateway.

Four airlines run nonstop scheduled services to the US from Ireland. Flights depart from both Dublin and Shannon airports, and the journey times are very similar to those from London.

As for fares, Britain remains one of the best places in Europe to obtain flight bargains, though prices vary widely. In low or shoulder season, you should be able to find a return flight to East Coast destinations such as New York for around £300, or to California for around £400, while high-season rates can easily double. These days the fares available on the airlines’ own websites are often just as good as those you’ll find on more general travel websites.

With an open-jaw ticket, you can fly into one city and out of another, though if you’re renting a car remember that there’s usually a high drop-off fee for returning a rental car in a different state than where you picked it up. An air pass can be a good idea if you want to see a lot of the country. These are available only to non-US residents, and must be bought before reaching the US (see Air passes).

Nonstop flights

From London (Heathrow or Gatwick) >
From Manchester >
From Edinburgh >
From Glasgow >
From Dublin/Shannon >

From London (Heathrow or Gatwick)

Atlanta British Airways, Delta

Baltimore British Airways

Boston American Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic

Charlotte US Airways

Chicago American Airlines, bmi, British Airways, United, Virgin Atlantic

Cincinnati Delta

Dallas/Fort Worth American Airlines, British Airways

Denver bmi, British Airways, United

Houston bmi, British Airways, Continental, United

Las Vegas Virgin Atlantic

Los Angeles American Airlines, British Airways, United, Virgin Atlantic

Miami American Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic

New York American Airlines, bmi, British Airways, Continental, Delta, KLM, Kuwait Airways, Virgin Atlantic

Newark United

Orlando British Airways, Virgin Atlantic

Philadelphia British Airways

Phoenix British Airways

Raleigh/Durham American Airlines

San Francisco bmi, British Airways, United, Virgin Atlantic

Seattle British Airways

Washington DC bmi, British Airways, United, Virgin Atlantic

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From Manchester

Atlanta Delta

Chicago American Airlines, British Airways

Las Vegas Virgin Atlantic

New York American Airlines, Continental, Delta

Newark United

Orlando Virgin Atlantic

Philadelphia US Airways

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From Edinburgh

New York Continental

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From Glasgow

Chicago British Airways

New York Continental

Orlando Virgin

Philadelphia US Airways

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From Dublin/Shannon

Atlanta Delta

Boston Aer Lingus

Chicago Aer Lingus, American Airlines

New York Aer Lingus, Continental, Delta

Orlando Aer Lingus

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Flights from Australia and New Zealand

For passengers travelling from Australasia to the US, the most expensive time to fly has traditionally been during the northern summer (mid-May to end Aug) and over the Christmas period (Dec to mid-Jan), with shoulder seasons covering March to mid-May and September, and the rest of the year counting as low season. Fares no longer vary as much across the year as they used to, however.

Instead, fares on the regular Air New Zealand, Qantas and United flights from the eastern states to Los Angeles, the main US gateway airport for flights from Australia, tend to start at around Aus$1000 in low season, including tax, or more like Aus$1250 in summer. Flying from Western Australia can add around Aus$700, while throughout the year, flying all the way through to New York tends to cost another Aus$250–300 extra.

Similarly, from New Zealand, the cost of flying from Auckland or Christchurch to LA or San Francisco ranges from roughly NZ$1750–2250 across the year, or more like NZ$2500–2800 to New York.

Various add-on fares and air passes valid in the continental US are available with your main ticket, allowing you to fly to destinations across the States. These must be bought before you go.

A better kind of travel

At Rough Guides we are passionately committed to travel. We believe it helps us understand the world we live in and the people we share it with – and of course tourism is vital to many developing economies. But the scale of modern tourism has also damaged some places irreparably, and climate change is accelerated by most forms of transport, especially flying. All Rough Guides’ flights are carbon-offset, and every year we donate money to a variety of environmental charities.

Packages and tours

Although you can often do things cheaper independently, countless flight and accommodation packages to all the major American cities allow you to leave the organizational hassles to someone else. Drawbacks include the loss of flexibility and the fact that you’ll probably have to stay in relatively expensive hotels. A typical package might be a return flight plus mid-range Midtown hotel accommodation for three nights in New York City, starting at around £550 per person in low season and more like £800 at peak periods. Pre-booked accommodation schemes, where you buy vouchers for use in a specific group of hotels as you travel around, are not normally good value.

Fly-drive deals, which give cut-rate (sometimes free) car rental when a traveller buys a transatlantic ticket from an airline or tour operator, are always cheaper than renting on the spot, and give great value if you intend to do a lot of driving. They’re readily available through general online booking agents such as Expedia and Travelocity, as well as through specific airlines.

Several of the operators listed here go one stage further and book accommodation for self-drive tours; some travellers consider having their itineraries planned and booked by experts to be a real boon. Bon Voyage, for example, arranges tailor-made packages in the Southwest; the cost of twelve nights in Arizona, Utah and Nevada, flying into Las Vegas and out from Phoenix, and staying in standard hotels, starts at around £1250 per person.

A simple and exciting way to see a chunk of America’s great outdoors, without being hassled by too many practical considerations, is to take a specialist touring and adventure package, which includes transportation, accommodation, food and a guide. Companies such as TrekAmerica carry small groups around on minibuses and use a combination of budget hotels and camping. Most concentrate on the West – ranging from Arizona to Alaska, and lasting from seven days to five weeks; cross-country treks and Eastern adventures that take in New York or Florida are also available. Typical rates for a week – excluding transatlantic flights – range from £580 in low season up to £850 in midsummer. Trips to Alaska cost a good bit more. For another touring and adventure package option, see Green Tortoise.

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