Travel to United States of America

The principal US airlines operating international services are: American Airlines (AA) (website: www.aa.com), Continental Airlines (website: www.continental.com), Delta Air (website: www.delta.com), Northwest Airlines (website: www.nwa.com) and United Airlines (website: www.ual.com).

From London to Miami is 9 hours 45 minutes, to New York is 7 hours 30 minutes, to San Francisco is 11 hours, to Seattle is 9 hours 45 minutes and to Washington DC is 8 hours (all times are by non-stop flight).

Note: Return flights to Europe from the east coast of the USA take approximately 30 to 40 minutes less than outward westbound flights, and from the west coast of the USA approximately 60 minutes less. Visitors arriving in the USA via international airports may be subject to serious delays. A stringent security system, which requires all visitors with visas to be photographed and fingerprinted upon entry, was put into operation in 2004, as part of US anti-terrorism measures. Experts warn that this heightened state of alert will prevail for some years.

The busiest airports in the USA include Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) (website: www.atlanta-airport.com), Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) (website: www.ohare.com), Los Angeles International (LAX) (website: www.lawa.org/lax), Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) (website: www.dfwairport.com) and Denver International (website: www.flydenver.com). For further details, consult the individual state sections.

None.

Main ports: Port of Anchorage (website: www.muni.org/port), Honolulu (website: www.state.hi.us/dot/harbors), Port of New Orleans (website: www.portno.com), New York (website: www.panynj.gov) and Tampa Port Authority (website: www.tampaport.com).

Numerous cruise lines sail from ports worldwide to both the east and west coasts.

The US and Mexican rail networks connect at Yuma (Arizona), El Paso (Texas) and Del Rio (Texas), with limited scheduled passenger services. There are several connections with the Canadian network, including New York-Montréal, Chicago-Toronto and Seattle-Vancouver services. For further information, contact Amtrak (tel: (212) 582 6875 or  1 800 872 7245 in the USA and Canada only; website: www.amtrak.com).

There are many crossing points from Canada to the USA. The major road routes are: New York to Montréal/ Ottawa, Detroit to Toronto/Hamilton, Minneapolis to Winnipeg and Seattle to Vancouver/Edmonton/Calgary. There are road links to Mexican destinations from El Paso (Texas), San Diego (California), Tucson (Arizona) and San Antonio (Texas).

Bus: Greyhound offers services to many destinations in Canada and some destinations in Mexico (tel: 1 800 231 2222 in the USA amd Canada only; website: www.greyhound.com).