Getting around the USA: car, plane, train, bus

• Minimum age is usually 21, with a young-driver surcharge under 25.
• You need a credit card in the driver’s name for the deposit.
• Your national driving licence is accepted for visits in most states; carry an International Driving Permit if it isn’t in English.
• Insurance: make sure the price includes the collision damage waiver (CDW/LDW) and supplemental liability (SLI). Basic US rates often don’t.
• One-way rentals cost a drop-off fee, sometimes several hundred dollars. Loops are cheaper.
• Automatic transmission is standard. An ordinary sedan or small SUV is enough for every paved park road.

• Right turn on red is allowed after a full stop, unless a sign says “No turn on red” (and never in New York City).
• All-way stop: at a four-way stop sign, the first to arrive goes first.
• School buses: when a yellow school bus stops with flashing red lights, traffic in both directions must stop.
• Speed limits are in miles per hour: 65–80 mph on rural interstates in the West, 25–35 mph in towns.
• Passing on the right is legal on multi-lane highways. Keep right except to pass.
• If police stop you, pull over, stay in the car with your hands on the wheel and wait.

Gas stations are self-service: pay at the pump with a card (foreign cards sometimes need a ZIP code — pay inside instead) or prepay inside. In remote areas of the West, fill up whenever you can.

Tolls: many highways in the East, Florida, Texas and California are tolled electronically, without booths. Rental companies charge a daily fee for their toll transponder plus the tolls; ask at the counter.

Coast-to-coast flights take 5 to 6 hours. Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue and the big three (American, Delta, United) cover most routes; the budget airlines (Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant) charge for everything, even carry-on bags. Domestic security requires your passport for foreign visitors.

Amtrak is excellent on the Northeast Corridor (Boston–New York–Washington) and scenic but slow on the long-distance lines like the California Zephyr. See our Amtrak guide. Greyhound and FlixBus connect most cities cheaply but slowly.