How to Plan Your Once in a Lifetime Dream USA Trip

The United States of America. Many of us are dreaming about going there and you are not the only one. For many reasons such as leisure travel to explore this huge country, a business travel to make business with US businessmen, to study further, or to immigrate to this country and realize the so-called “American Dream” and compare America movies with reality, a lot of people aim to have a trip to the United States.

However, planning a trip to the USA requires serious effort, organization, money, and a whole lot of preparations. This may become too overwhelming for most of us, but worry not as we have enumerated the things to secure and the things you need to know when planning your dream USA trip of a lifetime.

First things first, we recommend you to take a map and identify which part of the country seems most interesting to you. Whether you aim to visit the concrete jungle of New York and the beaches of Miami on the east coast or would want to take your picture of Southern California, the Grand Canyon, the Golden Gate bridge on the west coast, you just have to let your imagination go wild and map out the ideal itinerary of your dream travel.

Apply for Visa to the USA

There are different requirements for every country of origin – some may enjoy visa-free travel but some may require an approved visa when stepping on American soil. And usually, it is timebound and must stick strictly to your itinerary while you are there. If your country is required to have an approved visa to travel to the US, make sure to have it before booking anything, because you might be wasting money if you book everything including your flight and accommodation if, in the end, yours will get disapproved.

Ask for visa application requirements from the US consulate or embassy in your country and rigorously secure the documents to avoid inconvenience on the day of your appointment and in general, the whole trip. In essence, time must be taken seriously into account. Set an appointment with the Consul at least two to three months before the intended date of your travel.

Book your Flights in the Lean Season

There are lots of flights from around the world to the USA and prices vary depending on the season – whether it is lean or peak season. The cheapest flights usually are those that land on the east coast such as New York or Chicago and more expensive to the west coast. And since this is your dream of a lifetime, the travel may require domestic flights in the country to maximize the places you can visit.

Optimize your travel by controlling your schedule and achieving your set itinerary on time by keeping up to date with flight status with the help of Flightstatus24, an app where you will get to know the whereabouts of your aircraft, airport information, and other things you need to consider in the course of your journey.

Moreover, when looking for cheap domestic flights, American Airlines offers a wide range of selection of flight connections all over the US. And another insight is it is not worth waiting for last-minute because flight tickets are cheaper if you book a few months or better yet, a year in advance. If you want to buy the cheapest ticket, you may want to consider connecting flights from to other capitals not far from yours. The only disadvantage of this strategy is time, as you have to allot a lot of it if you want to save money. In the end, your priority – to save money or to save time – should be the first thing in mind.

Consider Travel Insurance Expenses

As early as now, keep in mind that medical care in the United States of America is extremely expensive and major serious surgeries can cost a fortune more so for those who have a heart for adrenaline. Knock on wood, we would not want anything bad happening to us during our travel as it will mess up the whole vacation. Travel insurance expenses will cost you a little more to your budget. However, it is needless to say that you would not like to pay for medical bills because almost all of the time, these are not included in your budget in the first place. For travel insurance, make good research, they are scattered all over the internet!

Research Modes of Transportation

If you plan to roam around cities, then you can take buses or trains – the US has a lot of them because big cities got a good connection that works well and they are not too expensive as well. Since it is a humungous country, a very popular and convenient way of traveling from state to another is taking domestic flights. But since not all of us can afford the price of multiple domestic flights, another option would cars for rent if you want to visit national parks and other places where public transportation would be inconvenient. After all, the US is a big chunk of land that is accessible by car, you just have to have a complete checklist of road trip essentials to pack ahead of time.

Renting a car can cost you USD 30 to USD 100 per day, and the longer you rent them, the cheaper it gets. When renting a car in the US, make sure that you have a recognized driver’s license and also, do your research properly as there are rental companies that charge you with rent and insurance included.