Group tours in North America

Spring (April-June) and fall (September-October) bring mild temperatures, and fall foliage is the highlight in the Northeast and eastern Canada, with timing that shifts from place to place: in Connecticut it runs from late September to early November, in Quebec from late September to late October. Summer is ideal for the coasts and many national parks, and winter is perfect for skiing in the Rocky Mountains, from roughly October to April in Colorado and November to May at Banff and Lake Louise.

A few planning notes: Yellowstone's roads are typically all open from June to September, Denali's main season runs from mid-May to mid-September, and in Hawaii the warm season lasts from May to October. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November, so Florida and the East Coast are best planned with that in mind.

10-12 days is enough to explore one coast, such as New York and the East Coast. For a wider road trip across several states or between the US and Canada, plan at least 3 weeks: both countries are huge, and the distances add up. A Thanksgiving break only covers part of such a trip.

You'll feel the size on the clock too, since the contiguous US has four time zones and Canada has six.

As a US citizen, you don't need an ESTA to travel within the US, since it is meant for visitors from visa-exempt countries. For Canada, check the entry requirements for US citizens on the Government of Canada's website and on travel.state.gov before you book. A passport card is not valid for international flights.

Visitors from visa-exempt countries need an online authorization before they travel: the ESTA for the US (esta.cbp.dhs.gov) and the eTA for Canada (canada.ca/eTA), which is only needed if you arrive by air. Both are linked to the passport used in the application, and entry is always decided by the officer on arrival. Stick to the official portals: third-party sites charge extra fees and don't speed up approval.

• New York: the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France with a framework by Eiffel and a UNESCO site.
• National parks: Yellowstone, established in 1872, with over 10,000 geothermal features and more than 300 geysers; the Grand Canyon, nearly 4,900 feet deep, with layers 2 billion years old; and Yosemite, the Everglades, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Mesa Verde. All are UNESCO sites. Some parks use timed entry or reservations, which you can make at recreation.gov.
• Hawaii: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
• Canada: the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, with Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, and Yoho; Old Québec, the only North American city to have preserved its ramparts; and the Rideau Canal. Moraine Lake is reached by Parks Canada shuttle with a reservation, with an authorized operator, or as a lodge guest.
• Niagara Falls: three waterfalls on the Niagara River between Ontario and New York State, with Niagara Falls State Park on the US side, America's oldest state park.

The United States uses the US dollar and Canada the Canadian dollar. Cards are used almost everywhere, but it's best not to assume they're accepted for every small payment, so carry a little cash.

Displayed prices usually don't include taxes, which are added at the register: sales tax varies by US state, while Canada adds the federal GST plus HST, PST, or QST depending on the province. Tipping is customary in both countries and is added to the bill. In Canada the penny is no longer in circulation, so cash payments are rounded to 5 cents. Check your card's foreign transaction fees before you cross the border.

The budget is generally medium-high. The flight is often a big part of it, and visitors from visa-exempt countries also pay a fee for the ESTA and eTA. National parks can require tickets, passes, or reservations, and Moraine Lake has a shuttle. Keep in mind that taxes and tips are not always included in the displayed price and are added at the register.

Renting a car is the most convenient way to explore national parks and rural areas, domestic flights connect major cities quickly, and public transport works very well in big cities like New York and Toronto. Some parks limit access by car, so check ahead.

Traffic keeps to the right, speed limits are in miles per hour in the US and in km/h in Canada, and driver's license rules depend on the state or province. By train, Amtrak links more than 500 destinations in 46 states, with some routes into Canada, while VIA Rail covers Canada with lines such as The Canadian and The Ocean. New York's subway runs 24 hours a day, and in Toronto the TTC combines subway, buses, and a link to the airports.

North America is so big that the climate changes dramatically from place to place. Miami and Honolulu stay warm all year, with July highs around 88°F in Miami. Las Vegas is dry, with July highs above 100°F, while San Francisco stays mild, with rain from November to March and almost none in July. New York has four distinct seasons, with highs around 38°F in January and 84°F in July and no dry season. Vancouver is rainiest in November and much drier in summer.

Anchorage, Denver, Montréal, and Calgary have very cold winters, so pack accordingly if you're heading there between December and February.