🇺🇸 Travel companions and group trips
Group trips in the USA
New York, California and the western parks: the coast to coast is a group trip, and a van trip.
The United States is too big for one trip: you pick New York with a few days in Washington or Boston; or the West, with California from San Francisco to Los Angeles along Highway 1 and the great parks between Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Utah; or the South, between New Orleans and Florida.
The West is the group trip par excellence: a van split six ways, motels and multi-room houses, petrol shared. New York as a group means a Brooklyn apartment instead of hotel rooms, and Broadway tickets bought together.
Upcoming trips in the USA
No trip is scheduled right now. Organise it yourself: publish the itinerary, others ask to join and you approve.
When to go
April–June and September–October for New York and California; the western parks from May to October (the desert is scorching in summer, high altitudes at their best). Florida and New Orleans from November to April.
Don't miss
- New York — Manhattan on foot, Brooklyn, the museums, a Broadway musical.
- California — San Francisco, Highway 1 with Big Sur, Los Angeles.
- Grand Canyon and Utah — Zion, Bryce, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon.
- Las Vegas — The base for the parks, and one wild night.
- New Orleans — Jazz, the French Quarter, Creole cuisine.
💡 The group tip
For the parks buy one "America the Beautiful" annual pass per vehicle: it covers all occupants. Book lodges inside the parks many months ahead; a seven-seat van with drivers over 25 avoids rental surcharges.
Documents and entry
An electronic passport is required. ESTA is mandatory (Visa Waiver Program): a paid online authorization, best requested at least 72 hours before departure. Valid for 2 years.
Frequently asked questions
How many days for the American West?
Two weeks for California and the parks; three to add Yellowstone or the Pacific Northwest. New York alone deserves five days. Better one region done well than the whole country.
Do I need a visa for the United States?
Citizens of Visa Waiver countries travel with ESTA, the paid electronic authorisation requested online before departure, valid two years, with an electronic passport. Check your foreign office.
Is the United States expensive?
Yes, especially lodging, restaurants (with tips) and health insurance, which is essential. Vans, houses and motels shared by a group change the final bill a lot.
How Worldmates works
Find a trip or organise your own, join the whole itinerary or only the stops that fit your dates, and the organizer approves who joins. Free, with no payments on the platform: everyone books flights and lodging on their own.
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