USA
The information below is provided by Lonely Planet readers and is not verified by Lonely Planet. For the official lowdown, contact your nearest embassy or check out our Travel Links.
Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
San Diego: Non-US citizens must bring their passports & visas (& form I-94 or I-94W), because upon their return to the US they must present these documents. Without these documents they may be required to pay $250 per person or at worst they may be refused entry back into the US. The Mexican government is much less strict on who enters their country than the US. Mexican Customs officials generally do not ask for ID. The US Department of Homeland Security (Customs & INS) officials are required to ask.
Gilbert Sanders, USA (June 04)
Travel Tips
I drove 15,000km through the States and found a foolproof way of getting cheap accomodation every night. As soon as I entered a new state I would pull over to the nearest service station or info centre and collect a accomodation coupon book. Just by quoting the book I saved up to $40 per night. Not only does it help with costs, but also gives you an idea where the hotels are located in town. The book's free, but sometimes takes a little bit to find.. it's well worth it though! Unfortunately you cannot book a day ahead, but we found the best deals by just ringing that day or simply enquiring that night. I hope it helps!
Ashleigh Frater, Australia (Aug 05)
The Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut offers half price admission at 4pm. For those on a tight budget or who arrive in Mystic after midday, this is a good option. The buildings
remain open until 5pm and the grounds are open until 6pm. The visitors map highlights the "must see" points of interest and they were easily accomplished in one hour.
Lori Balbi, USA (July 05)
New York City, Empire State Building: Recommend not to get on top while the observatory deck is being closed
(e.g. because of strong wind); when there's plenty of people looking out the small windows,
you can see almost nothing!
Jane Stewart, Australia (July 05)
Seattle: Central Library has a beautiful new building in downtown Seattle created by Rem Koolhaas and a Dutch Architectural Firm. There is free internet access available to non-residents
(i.e. tourists) on the 5th floor. Just ask for a one hour pass from one of the staff members. Printing is also available for a per page charge.
Ting-hsu Chen, USA (June 05)
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon: Visitors to Crater Lake to should definitely phone ahead before the height of summer for conditions, as we drove 100 miles out of our way to see it, but were confronted by a huge snowstorm, with zero visibility.
Kimbo Brown, South Africa (June 05)
One thing possibly worth mentioning regarding alcohol is section 16-17-530 of South Carolina law (public disorderly conduct). One can be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for simply walking down the street back home if the police believe you are 'grossly intoxicated', the definition of which is completely at the officers discretion. I am sure in cities like Greenville, Columbia, Myrtle Beach and Charleston, the police have bigger fish to fry and aren't arresting people on this charge left, right and centre. However, in rural Clemson, one look at the campus newspaper's (The Tiger) weekly arrest section will tell
you this is a very common practice.
Matthew O'Donnell, USA (May 05)
Tickets to White House must be arranged through your own embassy or if a US citizen through your Congressman/woman.
Anonymous (Dec 04)
Always have ID on you (passport is the best) since it is often asked for when paying with credit card, getting a motel room, buying alcohol (both in bars and shops).
Morten Stryhn, Denmark (Dec 03)
Greyhound buses: If you have a stopover, layover or a change of bus, retain your re-board pass and original ticket. Failure to present these documents (I had left mine on my seat and they were disposed of by the cleaners) means you will be asked to buy another ticket. This happened to me in Cleveland, and I saw other distressed passengers in the same situation in Chicago.
There are no left luggage lockers anywhere in the five boroughs of New York City any longer so it's best to coordinate transport and accommodation.
Nei McRae, Australia (Sept 03)
Moving About
Hawaii: The road to Kona State Beach (now renamed) is no longer passable with a regular car. A high clearance vehicle is needed. Otherwise, it's a long hot walk down that road.
Kristine McCaffrey, USA (Sept 05)
The names of subway staions in Chicago are not unique! In order to specify a subway station completely you also have to say which line it is on. For example, there are no less than 4 (four) staions called Pulaski. They are on the orange line, the Cermak branch of the blue line, the Forest Park Branch of the blue line, and the green line.
Richard Royston, USA (Aug 05)
There are great deals on buses traveling between Boston and New York, New York and Philly, and New York and Washington DC, and other cities. These are buses run by Chinatown-based companies. They take you from a Chinatown in one city to a Chinatown in another city, picking you up at street corners, and usually operating ticket offices from other businesses (like bakeries and so forth). One-way tickets between Boston and NY can be obtained for as low as US$15.
Anonymous (June 05)
San Francisco: Coit Tower is served by bus 39 from Washington Square and Beach Street opposite Pier 39.
Saves a hefty climb!
David van Rest, UK (May 05) Washington: There is an approximately 35% state tax (please check the figure) on
car rental. On the Internet, there are two classes of price quotes for rental cars:
those that do include the tax, and those that do not. We really got a rude surprise
at the car rental counter.
John, Miki & Julie McGehee, USA (May 05)
The Alaska Marine Highway is changing its routes. As of May 2005, ferries from SE Alaska (Seward etc) will go to Whittier instead of Seward (http://www.akmhs.com/).
Kevin Freer, UK (Apr 05)
Just got back from Boston MA, USA: An easy way to get to/from Logan Airport from Terminal E (International) is to use the "Scheduled Bus" outside the terminal; the information desk in the Arrivals lobby has schedules. Specifically, there is a Trailways bus headed hourly for Portland Maine that can be use to transit direct from Terminal E to South Station (its first stop on the way to Maine). Takes twenty minutes. South Station is a transportation hub for the city (even my son didn't know this route). Using this bus obviates getting involved with the three subway line changes needed to get downtown; or using the "Airport Link" bus (the main link is theirs into your wallet); or a taxi. The only hassle is winter weather, which hangs up the buses in Maine.
Rosemarie Brickley, USA (Dec 03)
Scams & Warnings
Never, under any circumstances, engage in any 'stream restoration' or wading about picking up rubbish from any other water source without boots and gloves, however much money or feel-good factor is involved. Unfortunately whilst on a trip to Hawaii, we did just this and my boyfriend brought back some horrible symptoms and a disease called leptospirosis, which involved a week in hospital. All sorts of horrid things lurk in dirty water...
Kate Matthams, UK (Mar 03)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
New York: As a musician, I was delighted to discover that during July, Bryant Park also
has a free "Broadway at Bryant" series on Thursday lunchtimes, featuring stars of
four Broadway shows each week, performing several songs during
their lunch hour.
Jane Stewart, Australia (July 05)
Hawaii is a wonderful place, full of interesting things to do, beautiful people to meet, lots of aloha
going around, with each island having its own character. The absolute highlight of my trip was
Volcano National Park , hiking around the craters and calderas and the cherry on top was watching the
live, red, oozing lava from two metres away, flowing into the sea and down the hillsides along the coast
road at the end of Chain of Craters Road. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life :o)
Barbara Murphy, Ireland (April 05)
Chicago: "Summerdance" is well worth experiencing; held in Grant Park June-August nightly, it promotes dances from a myriad of cultures, beginning with dance lessons, all to outdoor stage music. A MUST-see event.
Neil McRae, Australia (Sept 03)
Anyone interested in the Salem witchcraft hysteria of 1692 should be advised to head to the nearby township of Danvers. The township used to be Salem Village and is the real home of the witch hysteria. The home of one of the victims, Rebecca Nurse, is open for tours to the public ($US4 for adults)and the guide we had was very well informed. There is a nice monument to the victims not far away and a couple of other buildings dating from the same time period. The visitor information in Salem has some information on Danvers (although it took some finding).
Jason and Katie Mead (Aug 03)
Yarns, Fables & Anecdotes
Washington DC: Under the National Zoo, what's more interesting than the Think Tank itself are the aerial orangutan crossings from the Think Tank to the great ape house on the O-line about 30 feet above the ground. The main Amazonia tank also only has large fish left because, well, the original ones either got big or got eaten. There's also a good story about how a child's sneaker fell in a few years ago and the two catfish took turns swallowing it, feeling sick and barfing it back up. It took a couple of weeks before the keepers could fish it out between catfish.
Phyllis Fung, USA (Oct 02)
As far as meeting local Hawaiians, I highly recommend two places. The Saturday evening services at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Kihei have a Hawaiian choir that sang several songs in Hawaiian (and a few in English) during the service...beautiful music. I also met some locals on Sunday at the Kepaniwai County Park (near Iao Needle) playing Portuguese horseshoes! After spending some time with them they invited me to share in their celebration of two baptisms that occurred earlier that day. Mahalo to the great Hawaiians I met that day and treating me to chicken, rice, and poi!!
Mike Earnest and Penny Lee, USA (Aug 01)
Haleakala National Park, Maui HI: Wake up and live! Get up early and watch the sun rise at 5:30 am. Dress warm!! It is chilly up top. Pants, long sleeves, fleece and even gloves will help make it bearable. I made the mistake of wearing shorts, it's Maui, right? As soon as the sun rises shed some layers. Head for the Sliding Sands trail, start going down from here and exit the other end. Otherwise you will be hating life climbing back up a sand switch back after an 11 mile hike. Comfortable hiking shoes with good ankle support will suffice. I stress ankle support, walking on rocky paths. Terrain varies from sand, to rocky, to gravel. Camelback pack was ideal for this trip, 11 mile hike through the crater. Big enough to hold 100 oz. of water, lunch, camera and layers shed. Yet light enough to make climbing 3000 ft. exhilirating and not exhausting! If you're in Maui, it's worth the time to check it out, just fantastic scenery, unlike any other. Closest thing to being on the moon.
L. Guzman, USA (July 01)
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