United States: what to see and when to go

The United States is not one trip. It is a landmass where you can drive for two days and still be in the same time zone, where the desert in Arizona and the rainforest in Washington belong to the same passport. First-time visitors from Cyprus often try to "see America" in ten days and end up seeing three airports and a lot of interstate. The country rewards the opposite instinct: pick a corner, and go deep.

What the United States is really like

Forget the single image. The postcard version — yellow taxis, red rock canyons, Hollywood — is real but scattered across thousands of kilometres. What actually defines the place is scale and variance. Portions are large, roads are wide, and distances that look modest on a map are half a day of driving. Service is warm and fast, tipping is expected almost everywhere you're served, and small talk with strangers is normal rather than intrusive.

The other thing that surprises Mediterranean visitors is how empty much of it is. Between the coasts lie enormous stretches of prairie, mountain and desert where the nearest town is an hour off. That emptiness is the point of many trips, not a gap to be crossed.

Where to go in the United States

New York City is the obvious first bite, and it deserves it. Walk the whole length of Central Park, ride the subway rather than taxis, and give yourself a day just for one neighbourhood — the East Village, or Brooklyn's waterfront. It suits anyone who likes cities dense and loud.

The Southwest is where the landscape does the heavy lifting. A loop out of Las Vegas or Phoenix takes in the Grand Canyon, the red mesas of southern Utah, and the desert light that makes everything look staged. This is a driving trip, and the best one the country offers for a first visit.

California covers three holidays in one state. San Francisco is cool, hilly and fog-bound; Los Angeles is sprawling and best treated as a series of separate towns; the coast road between them, and the Sierra Nevada inland, are worth more time than the cities.

The South — New Orleans, the Mississippi towns, the Carolinas — runs on food, music and slower conversation. New Orleans in particular feels less American and more like its own country, which is the appeal.

The Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland, the Olympic Peninsula) suits walkers and coffee-drinkers who don't mind grey skies. Green, wet, and forested in a way that flatly contradicts the desert cliché.

If you have a short window, do not spread it. One region done well beats a country skimmed.

When to visit

There is no single answer, because the country holds several climates at once. Broadly: late spring and early autumn are the safest bets for most of it — warm days, thinner crowds than midsummer, and national parks that aren't yet overrun.

Summer is when American families travel, so the big parks and coastal towns fill and prices climb. The Southwest deserts turn genuinely dangerous in July and August; hiking there in high summer is a mistake people make and regret. Winter shifts the map: the Northeast gets snow and short days, but that's exactly when the ski states and the warm south (Florida, southern California, the desert cities) come into their own. Autumn in New England, when the forests turn, is the one seasonal spectacle worth planning a trip around.

What first-time visitors get wrong

The biggest error is underestimating distance. New York and Los Angeles are not a day trip apart; they are roughly six hours in the air. Plan around one or two hubs.

The second is tipping. It isn't optional in restaurants, bars and taxis — staff are paid on the assumption you'll add it. Budget for it rather than being caught out.

The third is the sales tax that isn't shown on the price tag. The number on the shelf is not the number at the till. And the fourth: prescription needs, travel cover and the sheer cost of any medical mishap. Sort insurance properly before you go, because healthcare there is unforgiving to the uninsured.

What to eat

Eat regionally and you eat well. Barbecue in Texas and the Carolinas — slow-smoked brisket and pulled pork — is a proper reason to plan a stop. New Orleans gives you gumbo, po'boys and beignets. The Southwest does chilli-heavy Mexican food far better than anything you'll find repackaged elsewhere.

On the coasts, eat what's local: lobster and clam chowder in New England, oysters and Dungeness crab in the Pacific Northwest, fish tacos in southern California. Diner breakfasts — eggs, hash browns, bottomless filter coffee — are cheap, generous and a small ritual worth keeping. Skip the international chains you already know at home. They're the least interesting thing on offer.