Distances are the thing people underestimate. Flying is often cheaper than driving, and Amtrak is a scenic experience rather than a transport system.
- The distances are not like home. Los Angeles to New York is further than Lisbon to Moscow, and Texas alone is bigger than France - check the driving time before booking anything.
- Domestic flights are cheap and frequent and beat driving on both money and time beyond about 6 hours behind the wheel, though budget carriers' headline fares assume you travel with nothing.
- The Northeast Corridor is the one place US rail is genuinely good. Everywhere else Amtrak is a scenic experience routinely hours late - never connect a flight to one.
- New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, San Francisco and Philadelphia have transit you can live on. In Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix or Atlanta, plan around a car or rideshare.
- Contactless bank cards now work on many systems, New York's OMNY and Chicago's Ventra included, so you often need no local card at all.
The distances are not like home
Los Angeles to New York is further than Lisbon to Moscow. Texas alone is bigger than France.
- Check the driving time before booking anything. A trip that looks like a day on a map is frequently three.
- Domestic flights are cheap and frequent, and for anything over about 6 hours of driving they usually win on both money and time.
- Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier and Spirit compete hard on price. Read the baggage rules, because the headline fare on the budget carriers assumes you are travelling with nothing.
Trains and buses
- The Northeast Corridor is the one place US rail is genuinely good. Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston are properly connected, and the Acela is fast and comfortable.
- Everywhere else, Amtrak is a scenic experience rather than transport. The California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight are wonderful and routinely hours late. Do not connect a flight to one.
- Intercity buses are the cheap option. Greyhound, Megabus, FlixBus and a dense network of regional operators. 12Go covers many of these routes if you would rather book everything in one place.
- Washington DC to New York by bus costs around USD 25 and takes about 4 hours, which is why the corridor buses are always full.
In town
- New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, San Francisco and Philadelphia have transit you can genuinely live on.
- Most other cities do not. In Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix or Atlanta, plan around a car or rideshare.
- Transit apps beat paper. Transit, Citymapper and Google Maps all work well in the cities that have networks.
- Contactless bank cards now work on many systems, including New York's OMNY and Chicago's Ventra, so you often need no local card at all.
Apps worth having before you land
- Uber and Lyft, both, because prices diverge.
- Google Maps or Apple Maps with offline areas downloaded.
- Your airline's app, because gate changes are announced there first.
- A tipping-aware payment habit, since almost every card terminal will ask.
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