UK Edition
15 best US trips to book now, from budget to blow out
Travel between the UK and the US will resume in early November – just in time for Thanksgiving
For all those wishing to head across the pond, travel between the UK and the USA will resume from "early November", according to White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients.
The USA may have locked us out for the best part of 18 months, but the country's popularity with UK travellers will not have been hurt by Covid’s interruption. For here is a continent masquerading as a country, where just about every manner of holiday is possible, whether you want to play hard and late in vibrant cities, snooze on golden sands, hike trails across soaring mountain ranges, drive for the horizon, follow noble rivers from source to sea – or just about any other trip you can summon to mind.
Better still, you can do all this by spending a lot or a little. This feature picks 15 different destinations, regions and types of getaway – and explains how you can enjoy them either as value packages with one eye on the budget (a ceiling of £3,000 per person), or as bacchanalian blow-outs (£3,000 and sometimes considerably above). America will meet your needs in both cases.
New York
On a budget
When it finally happens, the return of the Big Apple to the travel agenda will spark thousands of long weekends away, and giddy “shall we just do it?” leaps across the Pond. Familiarity never breeds contempt in the case of this most feted city, and after so long under a pile of restrictions, Manhattan, Brooklyn et al will call out more noisily than ever.
The week-long “New York & Miami Twin Centre Holiday” sold by Hayes & Jarvis (020 8106 2403; hayesandjarvis.co.uk) is excellent value, splitting its time evenly between New York and its beach-facing Florida cousin – from £1,699 a head, with flights.
Splash out
New York has some of the planet’s most elegant metropolitan accommodation. The Four Seasons NY Downtown (fourseasons.com/newyorkdowntown) keeps things decidedly chic close to the lower tip of Manhattan, throwing out its range of 24th-floor suites and spa treatments on the edge of Tribeca – while also being ideally positioned for the short hop across the East River, to the bars and restaurants of Brooklyn and the Dumbo district. British Airways runs packages, including flights from Heathrow (0344 493 0787; ba.com/holidays). Expect a seven-night stay, with flights, to set you back something in the region of £3,400 per head.
California
On a budget
Such is the size of the Golden State (America’s third biggest, behind only Alaska and Texas), and so diverse its geography (the soft beaches of Los Angeles on one hand, the glacier-carved peaks of Yosemite National Park on the other), that you need a road trip of at least two weeks duration to gain a fair perspective. Impossibly pricey? Not necessarily.
The “Classic California” break sold by The American Road Trip Company (01244 342 099; theamericanroadtripcompany.co.uk) crams a lot into its 14 days – San Francisco, Yosemite, Napa, Lake Tahoe, Monterey and LA. From £1,699 a head with flights and car.
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A state where Mulholland Drive curves up to palaces with panoramas, and the stores of Rodeo Drive sing of wealth, is always going to be a plausible context for an extravagant escape. But if you really want to revel in the glories of California, it is best to head for the wine regions – where the hotels and food now match the quality of the vintages produced.
Smooth Red (020 8877 4940; smoothred.com) spares little expense in its “Luxury California Experience” – a 15-day jaunt between Napa and San Diego that enjoys four nights (and days of chauffeured tastings) in the former, from £10,090 a head, with flights.
New England
On a budget
Its banding together of six states – Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and northerly outsider Maine – can give the impression that New England is a place of vast size. In fact, you can see most of it in one journey, at a reasonable price.
The “Inns & Charming Hotels” road trip sold by Complete North America (0115 961 0590; completenorthamerica.com) ticks off five of the six states (sorry Connecticut) in 15 days. Stops include the Green Mountains of Vermont and the seafront mansions of Newport (in Rhode Island), plus Boston and Cape Cod. From £1,919 a head, with flights.
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In terms of tourism, the picture of the USA’s north-east shoulder tends to be frozen on a rustic “Fall” road trip, with a stop for clam chowder chucked in. But inevitably, a region that splices the delights of Boston to the forested wilds of Maine and the pretty islands of the Massachusetts shoreline can also be an option for a break alive with food and finesse.
Black Tomato (020 3026 7286; blacktomato.com) serves up a 12-night “Gourmet-fuelled New England Road Trip” that dines well in the city, hikes in Acadia National Park and sips wine by the ocean on Nantucket. From £6,000 per person (not including flights).
Florida
On a budget
There is, of course, more to the Sunshine State than rollercoasters and talking mice. It offers what may be the briefest but also the most picturesque of the classic US road trips. Only 110 miles separate the north end of the Florida Keys (Key Largo) from the bottom (Key West), but the view is glorious most of the way, not least over “Seven Mile Bridge”.
The brevity of the road trip can be reflected in the cost. Inspiring Travel Company (01244 435 020; inspiringtravelcompany.co.uk) takes its time (seven nights) with its “Experience The Florida Keys” suggestion – from £1,769 per person, with car and flights.
Read more: A complete guide to the best hotels in Florida
Splash out
Miami is a city almost custom-designed for indolence. It certainly seems that way where Ocean Drive runs along the Atlantic at South Beach, the pale structures of its Art Deco Historic District eternally stylish – and up at Bal Harbour, with its palatial new properties.
The “City Lights of the USA” holiday sold by Abercrombie & Kent (01242 386 500; abercrombiekent.co.uk) pins itself to the St Regis Bal Harbour for four days of five-star relaxation, but doesn’t limit itself to Miami, offering similarly top-end down-time in LA, Vegas and New York as part of a 14-night itinerary. From £9,850 a head, with flights.
The Wild West
On a budget
In some senses, the soil and stone of the American West demands a holiday with little adornment – just hiking boots on weary feet, and the dusty trail stretching into the sunset.
Explore (01252 882 445; explore.co.uk) runs a regular “Walking the Western US National Parks” group break which wanders three states and five protected enclaves over 10 days – Grand Canyon in Arizona; Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches and Canyonlands in Utah. The focus is on travelling light and staying in campsites or basic hotels – all firepit chatter and cicada buzz. Four tours are planned for 2022, from £2,530 a head with flights.
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You can, of course, glimpse the same epic scenery without having to fret about blisters. Several of the West’s greatest national parks come with grand lodges – giant affairs built to cocoon the first American tourists, and as comfortable now as they were a century ago.
Exodus Travels (020 8772 3936; exodus.co.uk) takes this refined approach with “National Parks and Lodges” – a 15-day group tour that admires Yosemite, Death Valley, Zion, Arches and Yellowstone National Parks, plus the majestic monoliths of Monument Valley, with lodge accommodation in most cases. From £5,499 per person (flights extra).
The Great Lakes
On a budget
The five interlinked water features which help to shape the US-Canadian border – Lakes Erie, Michigan, Huron, Ontario and Superior – are an enormous canvas; one that might require two or three holidays to appreciate in entirety. However, if you are going to focus on one section of a region that spans US eight states and one Canadian province, go west.
America As You Like It (020 8742 8299; americaasyoulikeit.com) offers a 15-day road trip across Minnesota and Wisconsin that starts by driving north, past the appetisers of the Brainerd Lakes to Lake Superior – before tacking south-east to trace the lip of Lake Michigan down through Green Bay and Milwaukee. From £2,495 per person, with flights.
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There is a more leisurely way to see the Great Lakes than driving for two weeks along Midwestern highways – and it might even show you the full famous five. A luxury cruise.
Wexas (020 8125 4216; wexas.com) offers “Great Lakes Discovery” – a 12-day trip that calls on the complete quintet as it sails from Chicago to Toronto via Detroit and Niagara Falls. Prices from £5,695 a head with flights.
Deep South
On a budget
There’s always a certain element of debate as to which states constitute the “Deep South” – but if you focus on Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, you won’t be too far from the easiest definition. Especially if you book a break where local food is to the fore.
Trafalgar (0808 149 6295; trafalgar.com) offers a 10-day “Tastes and Sounds of the South” escorted tour which indulges a love of shrimp and grits in Louisiana and Mississippi, and adds the great music cities of Tennessee (Nashville and Memphis) to the recipe. From £2,548 per person (flights extra). Twenty-one editions are planned for 2022.
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At a push, you can expand the concept of the South to include Kentucky. It won’t stretch further, to Missouri and Illinois – but a journey out of the latter in search of the Creole flavours of New Orleans and the warm waters of the Gulf will always be a splendid idea.
Luxury Gold (0800 206 1468; luxurygold.com) sells “The Sumptuous Soul of America” – a 14-day escorted tour which meanders from Chicago to the Big Easy via St Louis and Louisville. From £5,372 a head (flights extra). Registrations for 2022 are open.
Road trips
On a budget
Route 66 is still the classic US road trip – a 2,448-mile trek from Chicago to Santa Monica, slicing across eight states, that can be time-consuming and pricey if done in full. Of course, you don’t have to go all the way from Illinois to California to catch the vibe…
Bon Voyage (0800 316 3012; bon-voyage.co.uk) cuts the cost and the mileage with its cleverly named “Route 33 Fly Drive”. In other words, you tackle just half of Route 66 over 12 days, setting off west from Oklahoma City, and pausing for a two-night detour in Las Vegas (Route 66 does not go through Nevada). From £1,795 per person – with flights.
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The literary image of the road trip involves sticking to basics – Jack Kerouac on a bus and On The Road; John Steinbeck in a camper-van with his dog. But a long drive on US soil does not have to mean little motels and cheap fares. Nor – in fact – does it have to be long.
Audley Travel (01993 683 752; audleytravel.com) goes for “short and sweet” with its 13-day “Luxury Georgia & The Carolinas Self-Drive”. “Short” in that the distance is less than 700 miles. “Sweet” in that the pitstops can be five-star properties in the likes of Atlanta, Asheville, Charleston and Savannah. From £5,510 per person – including flights.
Las Vegas
On a budget
If any city encourages you to abandon all financial caution, it is Nevada’s desert mirage, with its myriad temptations. But Las Vegas can also fit an itinerary that explores some of the remarkable surrounding geography – without tossing its car keys onto the poker table.
Vegas is part of the 11-day “Real LA to San Francisco” group tour run by Intrepid Travel (0808 274 5111; intrepidtravel.com); so are Yosemite, Joshua Tree National Park and the Grand Canyon. Mainly staying in campsites, the trip is aimed squarely at 18–29-year-olds. Twenty-three editions are planned for 2022, from £1,377 a head (flights extra).
Splash out
Sin City wants you to spend as much time as possible in its serpentine embrace, thinking naughty cash-frittering thoughts. Indulge it. Yes, its unholy cocktail of windowless casinos and unending indoor playtime is wholly at odds with the fresh-air and socially-distanced rituals of the last year – but don’t expect anything but a dizzy reversion to type.
Ten nights at the five-star Wynn resort, flying first class from Heathrow with BA on March 5, start at £5,411 a head, with Destinology (01204 684 906; destinology.co.uk).
Family Fun
On a budget
The crisis has separated Britain’s youngsters from Florida’s theme parks. A reconnection may take a few months more, but demand is sure to be high once Disney dalliances are possible again. However, while a week in Orlando can be expensive, deals can be found.
American Sky (01342 395 417; americansky.co.uk) offers a seven-night break at the Disney’s Art of Animation resort, at Disney World – where guests can slumber amid scenes from The Lion King and Finding Nemo. From a basic £1,039 per person, including flights. This three-star property also boasts the biggest pool in the whole Disney complex.
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Just as it is feasible to enjoy a Florida family escape on a budget, so you can really let the costs rise in a state where there are chic beach hotels to go with the rides and razzmatazz.
Scott Dunn (020 3553 1327; scottdunn.com) scrimps on nothing in its “Florida With Kids” break. This 14-day odyssey includes five nights at the Four Seasons Orlando, at Disney World (and admission to the park). It moves on to the same luxury hotel brand’s property at Palm Beach, and finishes with three nights at the deluxe Miami Beach Edition, amid the glamour of the state’s coolest city. From £5,300 a head, flights included.
Beach
On a budget
With some 12,000 miles of coast on three oceans (and the Gulf of Mexico), America isn’t short on places where you can switch off within earshot of the waves. Some of them are more celebrated than others. Pitched just below the point where Chesapeake Bay hits the Atlantic, Virginia Beach is the US seaside at its least pretentious – awash with mid-range hotels, lots of solid dining options and, crucially, three miles of soft sand.
A seven-night stay at the three-star Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront, flying from Manchester on May 7 2022, costs from £1,198 a head with Expedia (020 3788 0445; expedia.co.uk)
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If Virginia Beach is one of the nearest – but definitely not the dearest – of the options for a US beach break, the archipelago which sits far-flung and fabulous in the mid-Pacific is the opposite possibility. The volcanoes, tropical beauty and surf folklore of Hawaii fully justify the lengthy journey required to enjoy them.
Original Travel (020 3958 6120; originaltravel.co.uk) sells a 15-day "Island Hopping in Hawaii” break that ties Honolulu and the lava-fields of the Big Island to the scenery of Kauai and the resorts of Maui. From £7,600 a head, with flights
Cruises
On a budget
It is sometimes forgotten that the American sphere extends out east into the Caribbean, where the US Virgin Islands dot the broad blue roughly midway between Puerto Rico and Anguilla. Better still, such is the scope and scale of the cruise industry in Florida, and so numerous the voyages that set off from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, that bargains abound.
Princess Cruises (0344 338 8663; princess.com) has a seven-day Eastern Caribbean voyage due to leave Fort Lauderdale on February 12 for St Thomas (and the archipelago capital Charlotte Amalie), plus St Kitts. From £499 per person (flights extra)
Splash out
There is a fair argument that the most iconic American journey on water has nothing to do with the sea. Certainly, at 2,320 miles (3,730 km), and with 10 states on its banks, the Mississippi is a wonderful setting for a go-slow holiday. The key question is just how much of it to cover?
One classic way to cruise the river is via the American Queen Steamboat Company (01223 568904; americansteamboatcruises.co.uk) and its paddle-steamers. Options include a 15-day near-full length odyssey, from Minneapolis to New Orleans. One such voyage is slated for September 11 2022, from £4,395 a head (flights extra)
Alaska
On a budget
The USA’s biggest state contributes more than half the country’s coastline, but few visit with beaches in mind. Instead, Alaska is generally a setting for adventures inland – in the wilderness zones where Denali (Mount McKinley) rears up as the country’s highest peak 6,190m (20,310ft), and Wrangell-St Elias opens its arms as the USA’s largest national park.
Responsible Travel (01273 823700; responsibletravel.com) visits both said areas with its Denali National Park Holiday – a 12-day group trip which gets back to nature in campsites and canoes. From £1,690 a head, flights extra. Five tours are slated for 2022.
Splash out
If sleeping in a tent in bear country sounds a little much, even during the summer months, there are more genteel ways to experience Alaska. Not least from the deck of a cruise ship, gazing at the cragginess of the shoreline from a safe distance, then retreating to a spacious cabin.
Silversea (0844 251 0837; silversea.com) has a “Vancouver to Seward” trip in the diary for June 9 2022 – a seven-day sailing up the Inside Passage, with halts at Sitka (for Russian history and indigenous Tlingit culture), Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier), Skagway (gold-rush echoes) and Ketchikan (rainforest hikes). From £4,950 a head, with flights.
Skiing
On a budget
Colorado’s portion of the Rockies gleams with sophisticated ski resorts, such as Vail, Beaver Creek and Aspen. But then, it isn’t impossible to book an affordable stint on the snow. Maybe in Breckenridge, which, as well as revelling in high-altitude terrain – its domain reaches a lift-accessible rooftop of 3,915m (12,844ft) – has hotels which come with (comparatively) lower numbers attached.
A week’s stay at the three-star Beaver Run Resort, arriving on December 5, starts at £1,315 a head, with flights, via Ski Solutions (020 3918 7211; skisolutions.com)
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Aspen is particularly eulogised. And with good reason. Not just for the A-listers you may encounter on its pistes, but for the challenges its slopes provide, and for the quality of some of its accommodation.
Carrier (0161 820 4807; carrier.co.uk) offers seven nights at the Little Nell from £3,335 a head, including flights.
Washington DC
On a budget
The capital city’s fame makes it a fixture on escorted breaks that play the greatest hits of the American north-east, and competitive prices are available, if you know where to look.
Budget-travel specialist Costsaver (0800 533 5616; costsavertour.com) offers a self-explanatory eight-day Big Apple, Niagara and Washington DC group tour – from £1,125 a head (not including flights). Thirteen departures are currently planned for 2022
Splash out
It is hard to claim that the US capital has New York’s all-star appeal, but Washington has enough attractions – beyond the political landmarks – to make a long stay worthwhile. The Smithsonian Institution (si.edu) is the planet’s foremost cluster of museums, all retired Apollo mission parts and A-list art; the restaurants of 14th Street NW are a thrilling feast.
A week’s stay with breakfast in a St Regis Suite at the St Regis Washington DC – a beaux-arts icon three blocks behind the White House – flying from Heathrow on April 9 2022, starts at £3,293 per person, via Virgin Holidays (0344 472 9646; virginholidays.co.uk)