USA [antikvár]

See Climate Charts (pi 146) for more information. Getting Started The main thing to keep in mind about traveling in the USA - besides costs - is the continent's immense scale. Texas alone is twice the size of Germany. It's easy to get overambitious. The best strategy is to choose a region and dig into it a littie deeper, rather than hopscotch around trying to snag all the USA's highlights in one trip. This guide is organized with that idea in mind. Unless the point is to have a road trip, you don't want to spend all your time on the road. Which brings up another issue: cars. Unless your budget won't allow it, you'll probably want to rent a car at some point, as it's the easiest, most flexible way to travel outside of the major cities (where, incidentally, you usually don't want a car). If time is short, consider flying between distant destinations. Transportation logistics are all-important, and you should carefiilly balance cost against travel time and flexibility. WHEN TO GO Snowing or sunny, anytime is the perfect time to see the USA. Nevertheless, the main holiday season is summer, which is bounded by Memorial Day (the last Monday in May) and Labor Day (the first Monday in September). In summer, hotels charge more and crowds are more crowded, but sometimes you have to strike while the iron is hot: mountain parks and gorgeous beaches are Just not the same without the presence of a warm, beaming sun. That said, one region's high season can be another one's hell: July in the Pacific Northwest is wonderful, but in the deserts of the Southwest if s brutally hot. As a general rule, latitude and altitude are your main guides in determining weather and season: the higher you go, and the further north, the later summer arrives and the earlier winter begins. The USA is so big that exceptions abound, so see the Geography & Climate sections at the beginning of each regional chapter for destination-specific advice, and for current information, visit wrww.weather.com. One travel truism is that spring and fall are often the best seasons. The shoulder seasons - roughly March to May (spring) and September to November (fall) - tend to avoid the extremes of weather, prices sometimes drop and scenery is often at its peak. Again, check your destination: spring may not arrive until May or even June in the Rocky Mountains or Sierra Nevada, or it may bring an off-putting amount of rain, as it can in Seattie. Winter is high season in ski areas, and the cold drives the snowbirds south. With careful planning, however, a successful winter trip can yield the riches of America's landscape virtually all to yourself. Whether you're planning to join them or avoid them, holidays (pll51) and festivals (pll50) are another thing to consider as you make plans. COSTS & MONEY The USA can be a very expensive place to visit or a relatively economical one - excluding the cost to get there - depending on when, how and where you go. Almost any budget can be accommodated. To begin, it's hard to travel cheaper than $50 a day; a comfortable midrange budget is $120 to $200 a day; and if you have $250 or more a day to spend, you're sleeping and eating very well and throwing in plenty of entertainment and activities.