Vacation in the USA is possible again! You have to see these highlight regions

There are 50 states in the USA. The dimensions of the country are huge: the north-south extension, i.e. the distance between the Canadian and Mexican borders, is around 2,700 kilometers. The east-west extension, the distance between the Atlantic and the Pacific, is around 4500 kilometers.

Impossible to see everything in one trip. That’s why we’ve selected seven destinations that are among the most popular places – east to south and west. Since the opening of the borders for vaccinated people on November 8, 2021, they have moved back into the realm of possibility. Here are a few inspirations for the travel year 2022.

1. Indian Summer in New England

Let’s start on the east coast, more precisely in the northeast. Where the European colonization began. New England is the name of the region, which includes six states: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

What defines them: Forests, mountains, long beaches on the Atlantic coast, small fishing ports with lobster stalls and picturesque coastal towns with a chilled maritime atmosphere. The Indian Summer in New England is legendary. Between the last week of September and mid-October, the trees in strong red, yellow and orange tones compete with the deep blue Atlantic. The exciting history of immigration is encountered everywhere here – whether on the Freedom Trail in Boston or when visiting the historic university city of New Haven with the internationally known Yale University, which was founded in 1701.

On the Cape Cod peninsula, for example, it is so beautiful that many well-heeled New York weekend houses and villas have taken over. Ex-President Barack Obama also loved the area, he spent many summer vacations on the offshore island of Martha’s Vineyard.

Best travel time: Mid May to mid October

2. Never asleep, but always a dream destination: New York City

Anyone who is already on the east coast has to go: the city of superlatives. Nowhere is there such a cultural, ethnic, economic and skyscraper diversity as in New York City. The list of must-sees is long: Broadway, which runs diagonally through Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty with its walk-in crown. The 381-meter-high Empire State Building, built in Art Deco style, and the newly built twin towers of the World Trade Center, which are currently the seventh-highest skyscraper in the world – with their grandiose 360-degree views of the Big Apple.

For many, New York is most beautiful around Christmas time, even if it is usually frosty and cold. The Christmas decorations in shops, shop windows, on streets and on buildings are beyond imagination. And Christmas shoppers rave about the unique atmosphere.

Best travel time: April, May, September and October

3. The most beautiful landscapes: national parks

Endless expanses, breathtaking landscapes, untouched wilderness: there are more than 60 national parks in the USA – their area together is larger than Great Britain. The area of ​​the Yellowstone National Parks expelled.

The park in the Rocky Mountains stretches across today’s states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho and impresses with 300 geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud pots and wild animals such as bears, moose and bison – and the fact that the super volcano Yellowstone lies below it.

Best travel time: June to September

The second national park was created in 1890 Sequoia National Park in California. It fascinates with its sequoia trees, some of which are thousands of years old. That’s also in California Yosemite National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its granite rocks, waterfalls and groves of giant sequoias.

Best travel time: June to August

One of the greatest natural wonders in the world beckons to Arizona: the Grand Canyon National Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reddish, ribbed mountains with their 450 kilometers long and up to 1.6 kilometers deep gorge are the symbol of the Wild West – breathtaking!

Best travel time: March to May and mid-September to mid-November

Another highlight is that Death Valley National Park in the southwest of the country with its bizarre stone sculptures, striped rocks, sand dunes, a salt lake and snow-capped mountain ranges. The “Valley of Death” is part of the Mojave Desert and is one of the driest regions in the world – the sun almost always shines here.

Best travel time: Spring and autumn months

You encounter a completely different world in the Everglades National Park in Florida. A swamp area with mangrove forests and animals like alligators, pumas, snakes, flamingos, turtles and manatees.

Best travel time: November to April

4. Playful glittering world: Viva Las Vegas!

Nightlife at its best: In the desert city of Las Vegas in the US state of Nevada, life pulsates 24 hours a day. The famous casinos are open around the clock, along the strip, the almost seven kilometer long main street, it glitters incessantly. Themed hotels with design elements such as music fountains or replicas of an Egyptian pyramid, the Grand Canal in Venice or the Eiffel Tower open up a fantastic world that is second to none. The best view over Las Vegas is at sunset from the Stratosphere Tower – from a height of 300 meters.

Best travel time: Spring and autumn months

5. Superlative road trip: Along the California coast

Dream road for a road trip: California State Route 1, also known as Highway One, runs over 1000 kilometers along the Pacific coast of California. The most beautiful section is the region between Morro Bay and Monterey on the Big Sur cliffs – roughly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles (see next point).

Rough coastline, untouched nature, several national parks, Hearst Castle and Mono Lake with its bizarre tufa formations and world-famous surf spots line the route.

Best travel time: South coast from September to November, north coast from June to August, skiing in the Sierra Nevada from October to April

6. Stop in San Francisco and Los Angeles

Anyone traveling to California must visit San Francisco or Los Angeles. Both cities are perfect as a starting or finishing point for a road trip on Highway One. The hilly San Francisco with its Golden Gate Bridge, the former prison island Alcatraz, the historic cable cars (cable trams) and the seals at Pier 39 is considered an alternative to the mainstream of the United States.

The mix of free spirits, freedom of movement, individuality and relaxation exerts a very special magic on many people. The birthplace of the hippie movement is also considered to be one of the coolest cities in the world.

Also legendary is Los Angeles, around 600 kilometers away, with its famous Hollywood district. Large film studios, television stations and the music industry have settled here and spread glamor and glamor. The main attraction is the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. Around 2500 celebrities of the American entertainment industry are immortalized with stars on the sidewalk – from Greta Garbo to Charlie Chaplin and Walt Disney to Michael Jackson and singer Christina Aguilera.

Best travel time: May until October

7. Summer, sun, sea and beach: Summer feeling in the Sunshine State

1,300 kilometers of sandy coastline on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico: Florida’s beaches are among the best in the world and attract with resounding names such as Daytona Beach, Clearwater Beach or Miami Beach. The latter is located on an island that is connected to the city of Miami by several bridges. Popular with stars and starlets.

The southern part of South Beach is one of the top travel destinations in the USA with its white sand, the turquoise sea, the extravagant lifestyle, its Art Deco district, the Ocean Drive promenade and the lively nightlife. Heavenly beaches also beckon on the southern tip of the Sunshine State – on the island of Key West. The drive on the Oversea Highway alone is an experience: the road leads over up to eleven kilometers long bridges over the sea and islands, always on the border between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.

Best travel time: End of November to mid-May