What's it like to travel solo in America?
I was asked this by a reader.
It prompted me to write Solo Travel to America: 32 Tips. But that post doesn't begin to explain America in terms of its vastness, its diversity and its challenge for travelers.
Watching the news from a distance, America can look like one huge country split only between Democrats and Republicans – liberals and conservatives.
Traveling America blasts that impression into a thousand pieces.
American is a nation that celebrates the uniqueness of its regions, states, big cities and small towns. It honors its landscapes and skylines, mountains and deserts, urban hip hop and cowboy poetry, rural heartland, New England history, southern gentility… it honors it all in every day life as well as in music, literature and film. America is a diverse country in which there are thousands of destinations each with its own, very powerful sense of place.
And it's all there for the traveler to discover.
Despite 14 solo trips to America since 2009, which included 30+ towns and cities, I still have so much of this amazing country yet to see.
Solo Travel America and Discover its Beauty
Each American city and town has its own flavor.
New York is known for high society, art and culture. Its skyline has some of the most famous skyscrapers in the world. Yet it is Chicago that is known for architecture and famous for its architectural tours. Pop over to the west coast and a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge places you unmistakably in San Francisco along with its laid back “left-coast” vibe.
American cities and towns from the French influences in New Orleans to historical Boston, from neoclassical Washington, D.C. to the rarefied air of mile-high Denver, Colorado all have a unique beauty, feel and culture to offer.
America's natural vistas are as diverse as its manmade habitats with seascapes, landscapes and natural formations that change dramatically as you travel across the country. This is why the road trip or train travel makes so much sense in America.
Solo Travel America and Discover its People
The American people are, again, as varied as its cities and nature. They are also incredibly friendly. Expect to be greeted with a good morning in small towns, with a chance for a good conversation just about anywhere and great customer service everywhere.
For so many reasons, the United States of America is a country to visit again and again.
