============================== UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ============================== The United States of America stretches across central North America, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It consists of fifty states, including outlying Alaska and Hawaii. The climate varies from polar conditions to the subtropical. Although agricultural production is high, it employs only 1.5% of the population because of advanced technology. The United States is a world leader in oil production. The main industries are iron and steel, chemicals, motor vehicles, aircraft, telecommunications equipment, computers, electronics and textiles. It is the richest and most powerful nation in the world. Area (Sq. Km.): 9,372,570 Population: 249,000,000 Capital: Washington D.C. Language: English Religion: Protestant 55% Roman Catholic 30% Jewish 3% Eastern Orthodox 2% Muslim 2% Government Type: Federal republic Currency: US dollar Embassy: 24 Grosvenor Square London W1A 1AE 0171-499-9000 Travelling in the USA is a vast subject and merits volumes. However the main areas of interest to the traveller can be summarised as: East coast: New York City New England The Atlantic seaboard Washington DC Florida West coast: California including Los Angeles and San Francisco Western States Nevada for Los Vegas, plus many national parks Southern States: New Orleans Texas Pacific seaboard: For Seattle There are so many diverse ways to see the States and so much to see that we plan a future USA disk in the Travel Guide series featuring a state by state rundown of this exciting country. Gateway airports served from the UK: New York(JFK) New York(Newark) Washington Dallas - Ft.Worth Los Angeles San Francisco Boston Miami Orlando Tampa Atlanta Chicago Baltimore Detroit Minneapolis / St. Paul St. Louis Kansas City Philadelphia Houston Seattle US airports are served direct from: Manchester Heathrow Gatwick Glasgow Birmingham HOLIDAY TYPES: Fly/Drive: This is very popular with the UK visitor and allows great flexibility and freedom of action on holiday. Price includes car hire and flight but no accommodation. Vouchers: Hotel and motel vouchers can be purchased in the UK for many US chains. These average about $30 to $40 a night ROOM RATE and for families are great value. Hotel chains featuring these vouchers include - Howard Johnson, Days Inn, Holiday Inn and others. Centre holidays: Normal centre holidays are available and the obviously most popular spot is Orlando, Florida followed by the Tampa Bay area and Miami. California is also a favoured centred holiday destination. Package holidays unlike their European counterparts are always based on room only and self-catering arrangements because they are usually based on luxury villa or apartment accommodation are normally more expensive than hotels. Drive/Tours: These self-drive tours usually cover three or four states and include car hire flights, pre-planned itinerary and pre-booked booked multi-centre accommodation. Coach Tours: Companies such as Cosmos America and Jetsave offer very comprehensive USA coach tours covering east to west coast with many variations. Charter flights: Apart from normal scheduled flights, there are also many charter flights to the USA (especially Florida) - Thomsons Brittania airline for instance operates a very frequent service to Florida. Quite often very good late deals are available on these charters (i.e. Orlando for £199 return) City Breaks: New York is an ever popular city break and two, three or four night breaks are reasonably priced based on return flight from UK and room only with transfers from the airport. Electricity: 110/120 volts Time zones: Eastern standard time: GMT-5 Central standard time: GMT-6 Mountain standard time: GMT-7 Pacific standard time: GMT-8 «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«» Foreign Office Advice: Normal care and precautions should be taken. Florida: See separate entry for advice on visiting Florida. For more information ring: Foreign Office Travel Unit 0171-270-4129