United States
The United States is big enough that most trips focus on one region rather than the whole country, whether that’s national parks out west, cities on the east coast, or road trips through the south. New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago cover the major city experiences, while places like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon handle the outdoor side. Distances are long, so flights often make more sense than driving between regions. Costs vary a lot depending on where you go and how you travel.
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Is Chicago Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
I’ve visited Chicago twice, once in the middle of summer and once in the depths of winter, and honestly, those two trips felt like visiting almost two different cities. The summer trip was full of waterfront walks, rooftop bars and long evenings that stayed light until well past 8pm. The winter trip involved a lot…
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Is Tampa Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
I added Tampa onto a wider Florida trip almost as an afterthought, four days sandwiched between a longer stay in Orlando and a flight home, mostly because I’d heard good things about the beaches nearby and wanted to see a bit more of Florida beyond the theme parks. I went in with fairly low expectations,…
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Is Orlando Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
I went to Orlando for a week with family, which is honestly the way most people experience this city. It’s not somewhere you visit for the downtown or the local culture in the way you might approach New Orleans or San Francisco. It’s built almost entirely around its theme parks, and going in with that…
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Is San Diego Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
San Diego was the final stop on a longer California road trip I did a while back, four days at the end of a trip that had already taken in Los Angeles and a stretch of the coast in between. By the time I arrived, I was a bit road-weary, and I remember wondering whether…
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Is New Orleans Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
I visited New Orleans for five days, deliberately outside of Mardi Gras season, because I wanted to see what the city was actually like day to day rather than during its busiest, most chaotic week. That decision turned out to be a good one. I got to experience the music, the food and the general…
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Is Las Vegas Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
I went to Las Vegas twice, both times for long weekends rather than full holidays, and both times I came away with a slightly different opinion than I’d expected. The first trip was the classic version: the Strip, the casinos, a couple of shows, not much sleep. The second trip, a couple of years later,…
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Is Miami Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
Miami wasn’t originally supposed to be a big part of my US travels. I added it on almost as an afterthought, a few days tacked onto a longer trip, mostly because a flight connection made it convenient. I ended up staying longer than planned and coming away with a much better impression than I expected…
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Is San Francisco Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
I spent a week in San Francisco a couple of years ago, and it’s one of the few US cities I’ve visited where I genuinely changed my opinion of it halfway through the trip. I arrived expecting fog, hills, and a fairly compact downtown to tick off in a couple of days. What I found…
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Is Los Angeles Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
Los Angeles is a city I went into with low expectations and left with a genuinely different opinion. I’d heard all the usual complaints before I went: too spread out, no real centre, nothing but traffic and freeways. Some of that turned out to be fair. But I also found beaches I didn’t want to…
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Is New York City Worth Visiting? Pros, Cons and Travel Tips (2026)
I’ve now been to New York City three times, and each trip taught me something the last one didn’t. The first time, I did what most first-timers do: I stood in Times Square, craned my neck at the lights, and felt completely overwhelmed within about ten minutes. By my third visit, I’d figured out which…
