World Country Guide

Travel - International

Note
The information to be found immediately below is of a general nature. For more details, consult the individual State sections.
Visitors to the USA should consider that, although all trips to the USA are almost always trouble-free, the US government has maintained its general threat from terrorism as "elevated". All nationals should expect stringent security checks at airports and in other public buildings. With effect from October last year, the US also introduced changes to its entry requirements for those wishing to enter the US under its Visa Waiver Programme.

Air
The principal US airlines operating international services are: American Airlines (AA) (website: www.americanairlines.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). Many other airlines operate services from all over the world to the USA.

International airports
The busiest airports in the USA include Atlanta (ATL), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Dallas/Forth Worth (DFW), San Francisco (SFO), Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP), Phoenix (PHX) and Detroit (DTW). For further details, consult the individual State sections.

Approximate flight times
From London to Anchorage is eight hours 55 minutes, to Detroit is eight hours 30 minutes, to Los Angeles is 11 hours 20 minutes, to Miami is nine hours 45 minutes, to New York is seven hours 50 minutes, to San Francisco is 11 hours 10 minutes, to Seattle is nine hours 50 minutes and to Washington, DC is eight hours 25 minutes (all times are by non-stop flight).
From Singapore to Los Angeles is 18 hours 45 minutes and to New York is 21 hours 25 minutes.
From Sydney to Los Angeles is 17 hours 55 minutes and to New York is 21 hours five minutes.
More international flight times may be found in the individual State sections.

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 new security system, which requires all visitors with visas to be photographed and fingerprinted upon entry, was put into operation in January 2004, as part of US anti-terrorism measures. Experts warn that this heightened state of alert could prevail for the next few years.

Departure tax
None.

Sea
Numerous cruise lines sail from ports worldwide to both the east and west coasts; contact a travel agent for fares and details.

Rail
The US and Mexican rail networks connect at Yuma, El Paso and Del Rio, 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: (800) 872 7245 (toll-free in USA) or (212) 582 6875 (New York); website: www.amtrak.com). In the UK, contact Leisurail (tel: (0800) 698 7545 or (0870) 750 0222).

Road
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, San Diego, Tucson and San Antonio. Bus: Greyhound offers services to many destinations in Canada and some destinations in Mexico (tel: (800) 229 9424 (toll-free in USA); website: www.greyhound.com).