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English is the dominant language nationwide and was designated the official federal language by executive order in 2025. Spanish is widely spoken, especially in the Southwest, Florida, and major cities, and is a practical second language for travelers in border regions. Regional accents vary considerably from the Deep South to New England to the Upper Midwest, though all are mutually intelligible.

Prepaid SIM cards and eSIMs are widely available from carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon at airports and city stores, with no ID requirement as strict as in some countries. Coverage is excellent in cities and along interstates, but can drop out in national parks, mountain areas, and stretches of the rural West and Great Plains — worth planning for on a road trip.

Tap water is safe to drink throughout the country. Healthcare is high-quality but can be extremely expensive without insurance — a single ER visit can run into thousands of dollars — so travel insurance covering medical care is strongly recommended for visitors, since there's no reciprocal coverage system like the EU's EHIC. Pharmacies (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid) are common and many stay open late or 24 hours in cities.

Citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries (much of Europe, plus countries like Australia, Japan, and South Korea) can enter for stays of up to 90 days for tourism or business after registering online for an ESTA authorization in advance, rather than a visa. Travelers from other countries need a B1/B2 visitor visa arranged ahead of time.

Entry requirements and the list of eligible countries change from time to time. Verify current requirements with the US Department of State or your nearest US embassy before travel.

Small talk with strangers — cashiers, servers, people in line — is normal and friendly rather than intrusive; a brief "how's it going" doesn't require a real answer. Waiting your turn in line ("queuing") is taken seriously, and cutting is a real breach of etiquette.

Dress is generally casual almost everywhere, including at many restaurants; a few upscale places in big cities expect smart-casual. Remember sales tax isn't included in a listed price (see Money) and that tipping in restaurants and bars is expected, not optional (see Tipping).

Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday of November) is widely considered the country's biggest domestic travel holiday — flights and highways are at their busiest the day before and the Sunday after — with many businesses closed for the day itself. Independence Day (July 4) brings fireworks and closures nationwide, and the day after Thanksgiving ("Black Friday") kicks off the holiday shopping season with early store openings and major sales.

Most stores, unlike in much of Europe, stay open seven days a week, including Sundays.

• By air: domestic flights are usually the fastest way to cover the country's distances — New York to Los Angeles is about 6 hours nonstop, and many regional routes run frequently.
• By car: road trips are a core part of the travel culture, and a rental car is often the easiest way to reach national parks and smaller towns; interstate highways are well maintained.
• By train: Amtrak connects major cities but is far more limited and slower than European rail, with its most frequent and reliable service concentrated in the Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
• By bus: intercity coach lines (Greyhound, FlixBus, Megabus) are the cheapest way between cities not well served by rail or convenient flights.

Regional specialties vary sharply enough that "American food" isn't really one cuisine: Tex-Mex and barbecue in the South and Southwest (with barbecue style itself varying by state), deep-dish pizza in Chicago, bagels and pizza by the slice in New York, clam chowder in New England, and Cajun and Creole cooking in New Orleans. Portion sizes at restaurants tend to run large by international standards, and free refills on soft drinks are common.

Diners serving breakfast all day are a fixture almost everywhere, and weekend brunch — often with a wait for a table — is a real social ritual in most cities. Food trucks are a normal, often excellent, way to eat casually in bigger cities.

New York City is the classic first stop for many visitors, with its skyline, Central Park, and Broadway packed into a walkable, transit-connected city. Washington, D.C. concentrates the country's political history and free world-class museums along the National Mall, an easy add-on from the Northeast.

San Francisco pairs steep hills and cable cars with easy access to Napa Valley and the California coast, while Los Angeles spreads Hollywood glamour and beach culture across a famously car-dependent sprawl. Chicago offers a compact, walkable downtown with major architecture and museums on Lake Michigan, Las Vegas is the gateway to the Grand Canyon as much as it is a destination in its own right, and New Orleans brings a completely different pace built around music, food, and its French Quarter.