Your American dream is a reality at last – so it’s time to think big
The scale and variety of the US mean it can feel like 50 countries in one – so how do you make the most of it? As the nation finally reopens to travellers from Britain, Laura Chubb has 20 inspirational holiday ideas
The United States is finally opening its borders to British tourists tomorrow, more than 18 months after it introduced a travel ban on the UK. And it seems absence has only made the heart grow fonder: Virgin Atlantic recently reported a 600 per cent increase in bookings to US destinations, while, according to the flight search engine Skyscanner, the United States is now the most searched destination in the world for travel in 2022.
And yet, despite the expected influx of visitors, it shouldn’t be hard to escape crowds in a land that captures the imagination for its very scale. The US is one nation, but in many ways it is also 50 countries, with each state having its own mindset, customs and landscape. It is, after all, almost the same size as the entire European continent; 11 of its states are individually bigger than the whole of Britain. And its enormity is matched by the range of experiences it has to offer. From polar bears loping across the Alaskan tundra to alligators stalking Florida’s tropical wetlands, this is the land of bigger is better.
But now more than ever is the time to look beyond the tourist staples and dig a little deeper into what really makes America great. Whether that is cities bouncing back from the adversities of the pandemic, new communities and creativity borne out of necessity, or just a great new museum or train journey, America has so much to offer right now. Here are 20 great adventures that should be on your to-do list.
Explore fjords and glacial valleys – areas that big boats can’t reach – via kayak
CRUISE TO ALASKA Navigating Alaska by land is tricky, to say the least. The nation’s largest state – it is bigger than Texas, California and Montana combined – is mostly infrastructure-free wilderness: even the state capital, Juneau, can only be reached by boat or plane. Cruising, then, is the most practical (and cost-effective) way to explore the States’ final frontier. Not that it is all comfy cabins and buffet dinners: small ship lines, such as Lindblad Expeditions, will have you exploring backcountry fjords and glacial valleys via kayak and slipping into narrow channels that the big boats can’t reach.
Lindblad Expeditions offers six-day, full-board cruises disembarking in Ketchikan from £3,454pp, excluding flights (expeditions.com)
EXPLORE ARIZONA’S URBAN BOOM
For the longest time, Arizona’s biggest draw has been its barren canyonlands. But while visitors busied themselves gaping into the beautiful emptiness, they missed the full story – Arizona’s stifled desert cities have lately become buzzing, dynamic centres of urban cool. In Tucson, microbreweries and third-wave coffee spots cram in beside new boutique hotels, the latest of which is the forthcoming Bike Ranch: a sustainable mountain-biking resort stationed next to Saguaro National Park. Phoenix, meanwhile, has risen to become all farmer’s markets, art walks and James Beard-approved restaurants; hippie Sedona has, improbably, become a destination for wine. Plus, you are never far from a desert hike (or a prickly-pear margarita, if you are craving something more sedate).
Plan your trip at visitarizona.com
ISLAND-HOP IN THE FLORIDA KEYS
Forget what you think you know about Florida, because this 125-mile-long archipelago is a world unto itself. Curving away from the US mainland toward Cuba, “America’s Caribbean” is all about unplugged island life, although each island – or “key” – has a unique identity. Explore via the Overseas Highway, an engineering marvel that allows you to island-hop by car. Check out bohemian Stock Island’s art collectives, dip into the “diving capital of the world” at Key Largo and kayak among mangrove tunnels near Marathon. The route culminates in Key West, the islands’ most developed resort town, where pastel-painted villas and a bounty of tiki bars captivated Ernest Hemingway for a decade. Treat yourself with a stay at Little Palm Island Resort & Spa: its thatched-roof bungalow suites are paradisiacal perfection. Plan your trip at fla-keys.com
RV AROUND UTAH’S RED-ROCK COUNTRY Utah’s “Mighty Five” national parks live up to the name. But while Zion park’s rust-red chasms and the pink-rock cathedrals in Capitol Reef park are quite literally jaw-dropping, there is so much more to explore beyond the usual suspects. The creation earlier this year of a brand new state park, Utahraptor – where the skeletons of 10 newly discovered dinosaurs have been found – shines a spotlight on Utah’s lesser-visited state park system. From the lush, bison-covered Antelope Island park in the north, to the blushcoloured Coral Pink Sand Dunes park in the south, a road trip that takes in both state and national parks, via some of Utah’s 26 designated scenic byways, gives an astonishing overview of this wild slice of the South West. As all of the parks have campgrounds, renting a recreational vehicle, or RV, means you can spend your nights in the heart of nature, too.
DO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS BY RAIL
Luxury rail company Rocky Mountaineer launched its first journey outside of Canada this summer, and it’s a stunner. The new Rockies to the Red Rocks route kicks off against a backdrop of snow-topped peaks in Denver, Colorado, and ends in the dramatic canyonlands of Utah’s adventure capital, Moab. And while the stops are doubtless sensational – see Denver’s hip mix of craft breweries and street art – this trip is about the journey as much as the destinations. The train’s glassdomed roof gives panoramic views of the route’s rugged canyons and desert cliffs, while five-star service includes regional cuisines and wines. The twoday jaunt also includes a night in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where thermal hot pools sit at the confluence of the Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers. Rocky Mountaineer’s two-day Rockies to the Red Rocks route, including one-night’s hotel accommodation, starts at £1,031pp (rockymountaineer.com)
REDISCOVER NEW YORK The Big Apple is back to its best, with new places to stay and new ways to play. A trio of luxury hotel openings are slated for 2022: Aman’s “urban sanctuary” in Midtown, Ritz-Carlton’s NoMad on Broadway and North America’s first Six Senses property in Chelsea. Can’t wait until next year? Check into the brand-new ModernHaus SoHo. It honours the neighbourhood’s arty history with an impressive collection of works by the likes of sculptor Alexander Calder. Another fresh start for the city is its Open Restaurants programme, a pandemic necessity that saw hundreds of city blocks converted into vibrant sidewalk dining and drinking scenes. The scheme is now permanent, bringing a celebratory feel to the streets of the city that never sleeps – which, after more than a year of hibernation, is waking up. Plan your trip at nycgo.com
ROAD-TRIP ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY Straddling Tennessee and North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountains consistently tops the National Park Service’s most-visited list. Even in 2020, it beat second-placed Yellowstone by a whopping 8.3million visits. Though it doesn’t much feature on UK travellers’ to-do lists, it should: particularly as it sits at the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the nation’s favourite scenic driving route. Check out what all the fuss is about with a road trip along the parkway’s storied 469 miles, starting at the north end in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, and stopping for dips into the Appalachian Trail, bluegrass history, Cherokee culture and barbecue joints along the way. The two-lane route, where the speed limit rarely exceeds 45mph, will steep you in the “low and slow” way of the South.
Plan your trip at blueridgeparkway.org
BIKE NEW MEXICO’S BADLANDS
Fans of Better Call Saul won’t need any convincing about the cinematic beauty of New Mexico’s landscape, with its high desert mesas and rugged plateaus. But just as enthralling is the state’s combination of native Puebloan culture and artsy, bohemian towns. Trek Travel’s new bike tour takes it all in with a series of challenging rides, wheeling between the High Road to Taos’ ochre ridges, and Carson National Forest’s green juniper groves. There are stops along the way to see the prehistoric cave dwellings and pictographs at Bandelier National Monument, Santa Fe’s adobe neighbourhoods and art galleries, and Taos Pueblo, a mud-brick Puebloan village that has been continuously inhabited for 1,000 years. The trip also includes two nights at Santa Fe’s iconic Western-style adobe ranch, Bishop’s Lodge.
Trek Travel offers a six-day New Mexico Bike Tour, including accommodation, bike and some meals, from £2,500pp (trektravel.com)
TRY A TASTE OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
The best way to appreciate Northern California’s dreamy landscape is to taste it: the specialist fruit of the orchards; the artisanal cheese of the dairies; the mushrooms foraged from coastal woods; the oysters plucked from its bays. And that’s before we have even get to the vineyards. Boutiquey, pastoral idylls Napa and Sonoma may have been shaken by years of wildfires, but both are bouncing back, particularly the latter, which has two splashy new resorts to its name – biodynamic farmstead New Tree Ranch, and Montage Healdsburg, where luxurious bungalows sit among vines. Consider also Auberge Resorts’ new bespoke road trip, starting with wine tastings and a Michelin-starred meal at Napa’s olive-grove-set Auberge du Soleil, and ending on Sonoma’s woodsy, family-owned Farmhouse Inn. Auberge du Soleil and Farmhouse Inn’s Rutherford to Russian River package includes four nights’ accommodation, £220 of resort credits, and a customised programme of experiences from £3,239 (aubergedusoleil.com; farmhouseinn.com) 10 CATCH A WAVE IN KAUAI For a more low-key feel than you’ll find among the highrises of Honolulu, Kauai is the Hawaiian isle for you. Though it’s no best-kept secret (there are plenty of tourists), it is a lesser-developed paradise: no structure may be built taller than a coconut tree and no town exceeds 10,000 people. Plus, that important pillar of Hawaiian culture – surfing – is approached in the free-spirited way it was intended, with much of the scene centred in the bohemian surf village of Poipu. The wild shores here aren’t short on surf schools. Try beachfront resort Koa Kea, also beloved for its award-winning seafood restaurant, Red Salt. Rooms at Ko’a Kea cost from £363 (meritagecollection.com)
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VIEW ART AND AUTUMN LEAVES IN THE BERKSHIRES A classic fall foliage trip meets contemporary cool in the Berkshires, a rural region of western Massachusetts that, until recently, was best known as quiet and retiring. Though the area has a long history as a summer getaway for artists, a new wave of young families from New York and Boston has revitalised its cutting-edge cultural chops. Follow up a day wandering around the avant-garde works at 120-acre sculpture park and gallery Art Omi with an evening of contemporary dance in the woods at Jacob’s Pillow. Or enjoy alternative cabaret at factory-turned-arts-centre Mass MoCA, before bedding down at retro riverside motel Tourists, co-founded by the bassist of rock band Wilco. Head over in October for the best autumn colours; strike out for Mount Greylock to see endless ridges ablaze in scarlet and gold.
Plan your trip at berkshires.org
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TRACK BEARS AND WOLVES IN THE WILD WEST
The closure of US national parks when the pandemic first struck gave the wildlife a welcome break from humans. Quick to take advantage of a people-less landscape, bears began sunbathing in car parks; bobcats sauntered down once-busy roads. Our return is doubtless a disappointment, but choose an operator wisely and you can have plenty of unforgettable animal encounters without disturbing their peace. The nation’s finest wildlife reserve? Surely Yellowstone, where it is common to spot bears and bison, while next door’s Grand Teton is known for its grizzlies as much as its soaring peaks and mirror-still lakes. Responsible Travel offers a wildlife-spotting small group trip into both parks, including a day with a specialist wolf tracking guide. Responsible Travel offers a 12-day Yellowstone and Grand Teton Wildlife Vacation, including accommodation and specialist guides but not flights, from £4,399 (responsibletravel.com) 13 DIG INTO SOCAL’S HIGH DESERT COOL For a few years now, there’s been something astir in Southern California’s high desert. Suddenly, the diminutive, dusty towns around Joshua Tree National Park weren’t just all dirt paths and scrub. LA creatives, burned out on city life, were increasingly making the two-hour drive east, turning solitary sun-cracked roads into hubs of hip restaurants, retro motels and vintage boutiques. The exodus has only multiplied since then so that, against a backdrop of bleached boulders and spiky succulents, tiny communities like Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley are now “hot”. Forget LA’s Silver Lake: the best secret gigs are at Pioneertown saloon Pappy & Harriet’s; the finest on-trend ramen bowl at La Copine in Flamingo Heights. And don’t miss the many immersive folk art masterpieces, from climbable Salvation Mountain, to East Jesus’s junkyard sculpture garden. Plan your trip at visitcalifornia.com
Find Vegas culture (yes, really) at museums of crime, neon signs and nuclear weapons
14 SEEK OUT THE SOUNDS OF THE SOUTH Nashville’s world-first National Museum of African American Music opened in January, where interactive exhibitions trace the evolution of indigenous African music through slavery, gospel, blues, hip-hop and more. It also further cements the Tennessee state capital’s “Music City” moniker, joining its raucous Lower Broadway honky-tonks, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry in a legacy of uniquely Southern sound. But don’t just stop at Nashville. Digging deeper into surrounding regions’ scenes – New Orleans jazz, Memphis soul and rock ’n’ roll – reveals stirring stories about Southern life. Black Tomato offers a musicthemed trip to all three cities, with a bonus stop in South Carolina’s Charleston: the oft-voted “best city in the US”.
Black Tomato offers a 13-night New Orleans to Charleston: Luxury Holiday of Music in the South, including accommodation, from £6,750pp, excluding flights (blacktomato.com) 15
SEE LAS VEGAS BEYOND THE STRIP
While its four-mile, neon-lit stretch of excess is the reason people come to Vegas, there’s as much to do off the Strip these days as on. And Sin City’s burgeoning arts scene got a boost this year with the unveiling of Omega Mart, a permanent, interactive art experience from the people behind Santa Fe’s Meow Wolf. An idle around Omega Mart’s aisles sends you into secret portals, redefining the meaning of “shopping trip”. Elsewhere, explore indie galleries, vintage boutiques and on-trend brunches in the Arts District. Or find Vegas culture (yes, really) at a trio of museums chronicling organised crime, neon signs and Nevada’s history of nuclear weapons development. Back on the Strip, check into Circa Resort & Casino: its swimming pool amphitheatre has capacity for 4,000 swimmers.
Plan your trip at visitlasvegas.com; themobmuseum.org; neonmuseum.org; and nationalatomictestingmuseum.org 16
DRIVE THE OREGON COAST
If California’s coastal Highway 1 is the big stadium band of US roads, then Oregon’s Highway 101 is the cooler upstart playing beersoaked basements. And that means fewer crowds, more fun and, yes, better brews. Because, the moment the borders reopen, you can bet that lines of convertible Mustangs will be backed up along the Big Sur coast. Oregon’s 101 traces a glorious route clinging to coastal cliffs, with California-caliber ocean views. You can hike to secluded beaches at Ecola State Park, spot whales in Depoe Bay, and sip a beer with a view at Pelican Brewing’s shoreside pub on Cannon Beach. At Cape Kiwanda, climb towering sand dunes for superlative sea views and, if you are looping back to Portland, make some time to walk among the Douglas fir trees in Tillamook.
Black Tomato offers a four-night Oregon: Whales, Wine and Coastal Wanderings trip from £3,000pp, excluding flights (blacktomato.com) 17
LIVE YOUR BEST COWBOY LIFE IN FORT WORTH Texas might be in vogue for its hipster towns (we’re looking at you, Austin and Marfa), but this is still cowboy country through and through. And if there were a capital of cowboy culture, it would be Fort Worth: home to the world’s only weekly, year-round rodeo, the Stockyards Championship, held in its historic Cowtown Coliseum. More than that, though, the city tells a broader Western story, from its National Cowgirl Museum to the annual Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, where black cowboy clubs, such as the legendary Circle L5, come to rope and ride. A 90-minute drive outside the city, Wildcatter Ranch is the dude ranch of your dreams, with cabin suites, cowboy-led horserides and an on-site steakhouse catering to your every Old West whim.
Plan your trip at traveltexas.com
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TOUR CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY NEW ORLEANS
After losing its 2021 Mardi Gras carnival, The Big Easy is prepping to bring the party back bigger than ever in 2022. But there is so much more to NoLa than the French Quarter – particularly as the post-Hurricane Katrina rebuild has revitalised areas including the Warehouse District (now a thriving arts hub) and the once-sterile Central Business District. The latter is lately stuffed with boutique hotels (pick the Troubadour for its rooftop restaurant and craft cocktails in your mini-bar) and slick restaurants (see Nina Compton’s French-Creole fusion at Compere Lapin). And while the Garden District’s antebellum mansions remain mustsees, you would also be mad to miss Bywater, where brightly painted bungalows, bona-fide Banksies (the English street artist created several murals throughout the city in 2007) and backyard wine bars add up to New Orleans’ coolest locale. Though many parts of Louisiana are still struggling after Hurricane Ida hit in August, the city has made a quick comeback.
Plan your trip at neworleans.com
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SAIL THE GREAT LAKES Maybe they call it “flyover country” because it’s better by boat. While the likes of Wisconsin and Minnesota don’t make it on to many a bucket list, the Great Lakes do – and a cruise around all five of these vast, interconnected near inland seas will sail you into Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, too. Middle America sure looks different from on-deck, with car-free islands, beaches and picturesque lighthouses dotting the route. The Great Lakes Cruise Company offers an epic, 12-night small-ship cruise with big-city stops in Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto, as well as lesser-known spots such as Manitoulin in Lake Huron – the world’s largest freshwater island, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, and home of the native Anishinaabe people.
The Great Lakes Cruise Company offers a 12-night Great Lakes Grand Discovery trip, departing Chicago, from £4,429pp. The price includes accommodation and port charges, but not flights (greatlakescruising.com)
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HIKE IN THE SIERRA NEVADAS
The great outdoors doesn’t get any greater than the Sierra Nevadas. From the giant redwoods and colossal caverns of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, to Yosemite’s monumental granite cliffs, this is nature on the very largest scale. And you’ll feel your smallest if you get out of the car and onto the hiking trails, trekking to the top of great peaks, alongside rushing rivers and through towering, old-growth forest. G Adventures offers an eight-day hiking and camping trip through all three parks, and there’s stargazing in Sequoia thrown in for good measure. The trip starts in Las Vegas and ends in San Francisco, so consider tacking on time to let loose in the big cities as well.
G Adventures offers a Hiking Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite tour from £1,199pp, excluding flights (gadventures.com)