United States - Verenigde Staten

The United States ("USA," "USA," "America") is a large country in the middle of North America. The country consists of fifty states. 48 of these are contiguous, the other two, Alaska and Hawaii, lie loose. The United States of America is one of the largest, richest and most powerful countries in the world, today's America is an interesting mix of large urban areas and endless sparsely populated plains with beautiful nature. The history of centuries of immigration has created a unique blend of cultures from around the world. A visit to the US is a study in contrasts.

Info

History

climate

Population

Art & culture

Holidays

The US has quite a few holidays - partly official and partly culturally determined - that may be of interest to the traveler (special occasions, closures, changed schedules, etc.) Please note that holidays on a Monday often affect activities throughout the prior weekend.

• New Year's Day (January 1) - most businesses closed; hangovers from the parties the night before, and 'football' parties.
• Martin Luther King Day (3rd Monday in January) - many government departments and banks closed; diversity awareness programs.
• Valentine's Day (February 14) - no store closings, romantic night out.
• Presidents Day (3rd Monday in February) - (also Washington Birthday) - many governments and banks closed. Lots of stores with sales.
• St. Patrick's Day (March 17) - no store closures; Irish themed parties and parades in major cities. And a lot of booze in the evening.
• Easter (a Sunday in March or April) - no closures other than usual, but religious expressions.
• Memorial Day (last Monday in May) - most businesses closed; expressions of patriotism and a lot of traveling back and forth to beaches & parks. This day is seen as the beginning of the summer holiday season.
• Independence Day / Fourth of July (July 4) - most businesses closed; parades, fireworks in the evening.
• Labor Day (first Monday in September) - most businesses closed; a lot of back and forth to beaches & parks. This day is seen as the end of the summer holiday season.
• Columbus Day (second Monday in October) - many governments and banks closed; few festivities.
• Halloween (October 31) - no significant closures. However, costume parties in the evening and children who go door-to-door for sweets.
• Veterans Day (November 11) - many governments and banks closed; various patriotic expressions.
• Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November, and unofficially also the Friday and the weekend after) - most businesses closed; together with family and on the following Friday they start with the Christmas shopping.
• Christmas Eve(December 24) - most businesses but also restaurants close in the afternoon.
• Christmas (December 25) - most businesses but also restaurants closed all day; family comes together, handing out gifts and eating at home. If you depend on restaurants for your meal, you have the best chance at Chinese and Indian restaurants.

Regions

The United States is about the same size as China in area but have only about a quarter of the population of China.

The country is divided into fifty states ranging in size from an average Dutch or Flemish province to three times the size of France.

The main tourist regions are the northeast with New York as the center of gravity, the southeast with Florida as the center and the west around California. Americans often divide the country itself into the following regions:

Towns

• Washington DC - capital
• Chicago — starting point of the famous Route 66 to California
• Houston
• New York City — one of the largest and most famous metropolises on earth
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles — known for its boulevards and cinema culture in Hollywood
• Miami — popular destination for beach holidays
• New Orleans
• San Francisco — known for the Golden Gate Bridge and the prison island of Alcatraz

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  Hollywood

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  Miami

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  Las Vegas

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  New York

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  San Francisco

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  Washington DC

Other destinations

• Bryce Canyon
• Death Valley — hottest place on earth, besides desert also salt flats, rock formations, gorges, sand dunes and mountains
• Grand Canyon — a nearly two-mile deep canyon formed along the Colorado River
• Monument Valley
• Mount Rushmore — four effigies of former presidents carved into a mountainside
• Niagara falls — waterfalls on the border of the United States and Canada
• Yellowstone National Park — the first US national park with geysers and hot springs
• Yosemite National Park — beautiful nature reserve renowned for its granite cliffs, waterfalls and biodiversity
• the theme parks in Orlando

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  Bryce Canyon

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  Death Valley

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  Monument Valley

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  Mount Rushmore

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  Yellowstone

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  Yosemite

Arrive

Passport & visa info

Travelers from the Netherlands and Belgium with a recent passport usually do not need a visa to enter the US. However, if you fly directly from the Netherlands or Belgium to the US, you must register (at least 72 hours before departure) on the ESTA website of the Department of Homeland Security [1]. An ESTA is valid for 2 years or until the passport expires. Any stay in the US can be up to 90 days with an ESTA [2]. As of September 8, 2010, this registration will cost US$14.

Upon arrival, your fingerprint will be taken and a digital photo taken of you. You will also receive a green card in your passport that you must return when you leave the US.

If you travel by land Canada enters, the following rules apply:

• Entry from Canada: The officials of the Department of Homeland Security who also take care of border security will run your passport through a scanner and have you fill out a so-called "visa waiver entry form". Part of this form will be attached to the stamp in your passport, the other part will be kept by the border officials. A scanned fingerprint is then taken from your left and right index fingers and a digital photo is taken of you. The costs for these formalities are USD 6 per person, credit card payment is accepted. When you leave the USA you have to hand over the part in your passport: if you are going by plane at check-in; by land or sea to Canada, see below and by land to Mexico at the US - Mexican border to the US border officials.
• To Canada: If you are not going back to the US, have the green card (visa waiver) removed from your passport by the CBSA (Canadian Border Security Authority). They will ensure that this is returned to the American authorities.

LOOK OUT. Since January 2016 it is no longer possible to travel to the United States without a visa if you are in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen have been. If you have been to one of these countries in 2011 or later, you must apply for a full visa at all times, even if all you have to do is transfer.

By plane

From Amsterdam (Schiphol) SkyTeam (KLM/Northwest/Delta) flies directly to New York (JFK); Boston; Hartford/Springfield; Baltimore/Washington; Miami; Atlanta;Memphis; Detroit; Chicago O'Hare Intl.; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Houston Intercontinental; Los Angeles; San Francisco and Seattle.

Continental Airlines flies from Schiphol directly to Newark NJ and Houston Intercontinental.

United Airlines flies from Schiphol to Chicago O'Hare Intl.

US Airways flies from Schiphol to Philadelphia

You fly to other destinations in the US via a so-called "Hub" airport. KLM/Northwest has hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis/St.Paul and Memphis. Delta Airlines has a hub in Atlanta. Continental Airlines is the largest user of Newark NJ, United has its hub in Chicago O'Hare and US Airways in Philadelphia.

By train

From Canada, trains run on the following routes: Toronto - New York (through Niagara Falls) and Montreal - New York. The services are maintained by Amtrak [3] in collaboration with VIA Rail Canada [4].

By car

From Canada there are several dozen border crossings with the US. The most important are those on the East side (Houlton ME/Woodstock NB; Armstrong QC/ME; Champlain NY/ME; Thousand Islands NY/ON; Niagara Falls NY/ON and Buffalo NY/Fort Erie ON). There are also a few important border crossings south of Vancouver between British Columbia and Washington State.

From Mexico are there, among other things, border crossings with Texas (San Antonio) and California ( San Diego/ Tijuana).

By bus

greyhound [5] has connections from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver with the United States.

By boat

There are ferries on the east coast between Yarmouth (Nova Scotia) and Bar Harbor ( Maine) and on the west coast between Victoria BC and Anacortes (Washington State).To leave by boat to the US it is best to consult a travel agency because there is nothing about it on the internet. Nowadays one can book a cruise from Southhampton to New York. This is not cheap but well worth it.

Travel around

By plane

There are a large number of airlines in the US. The main ones are: American Airlines, Delta/Northwest, United, Continental Airlines and US Air. Where international flights terminate, they provide connections to regional airports. However, a number of smaller airports are also called "International Airport". This usually means at least one flight per day with Canada or Mexico!

By train

Long-distance train traffic is operated by Amtrak [6]. The most frequent lines are those along the East Coast (roughly between Boston and washington dc via New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The Acela Express high-speed train, derived from the French TGV, also runs here.

By car

By bus

By boat

Language

To look at

To do

To buy

Cost

Food

The United States is known for its coffee bars where you can get coffee in all shapes and sizes. You must be at least 21 years old to drink and buy alcohol. That is why we drink a lot of soft drinks.

Going out

stay overnight

To learn

To work

Safety

Health

respect

Contact

This article is still completely under construction . It contains a template, but not yet enough information to be useful to a traveler. Dive in and expand it!

Regions of the United States
Alaska · Great Plains · Hawaii · Mid-Atlantic States · Midwest · New England · Northwest · Rocky Mountains · South · Southwest

Countries in North America
Canada: Canada Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Bermuda · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Grenada · Haiti · Jamaica · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago Central America: Belize · Costa Rica · El Salvador · Guatemala · Honduras · Nicaragua · Panama Greenland: Greenland Mexico: Mexico United States: United States