USA
Continental in scale and impossible to generalise. My coverage is east coast and Florida-heavy - which is where the most interesting rail developments in North America are happening.
The USA is not a single destination - it is closer to a collection of countries that share a flag and a customs process. New York and Miami are as different as Dublin and Istanbul. My coverage is currently east coast and Florida-focused, which is where I have spent the most time and where the travel infrastructure is most interesting to write about.
Florida is having a rail moment. Brightline - a privately-funded intercity service - now runs Miami to Orlando, the first new private intercity rail in the US in over a century, and the Tri-Rail commuter line feeds the Miami network. New York remains the obvious first-time destination and the main transatlantic gateway alongside Boston, Miami and Los Angeles. Newark is consistently underrated as an arrival point - faster to Manhattan by train than JFK, and the United Polaris lounge there is one of the best in North America.
The Best Time to Visit the USA
The USA's climate varies so dramatically by region that there is no meaningful single answer. The figures below use New York as a reference point for the east coast. New York has proper seasons: cold winters (below 0°C with snow possible from December to February), hot and humid summers (30°C+), and two short but excellent shoulder seasons in April-May and October-November.
Florida is a year-round destination but has a clear season split: October to April is the dry season with temperatures around 24-28°C and low humidity - this is peak tourist season and the right time to visit. May to September is the wet season - afternoon thunderstorms, high humidity, and hurricane risk from June onwards. Miami and the Keys are still functional in wet season but the experience is different.
The west coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco) has a Mediterranean climate - mild year-round, summer fog in San Francisco, warm and dry in LA. The Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland) is wetter than the east coast but milder in winter. New England in autumn (October) is world-famous for foliage but busy and expensive during peak leaf season.
Monthly temperature
New York averages below. Florida is warm year-round (dry season October-April). California is mild year-round. Pacific Northwest is wet but mild. Seasons vary dramatically by region.
Getting there
Select your origin to see the best routing options.
Frequent nonstops to the East Coast gateways and Florida. Dublin and Shannon have US pre-clearance - you arrive into the domestic terminal stateside.
| Carrier | Route | Type | Flight time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA / Virgin / Aer Lingus | LHR/DUB - JFK/EWR/BOS/MIA | Direct | 7-9h | The flagship transatlantic carriers; Aer Lingus adds the Dublin pre-clearance advantage. |
| United / American / Delta | LHR/DUB - US hubs | Direct | 7-11h | The US legacy carriers serve every major gateway nonstop. |
| JetBlue | LHR/LGW - JFK / BOS | Direct | ~7h | Budget transatlantic; Basic Blue economy reviewed. |
Dense nonstop coverage into the East Coast hubs from every major European city.
| Carrier | Route | Type | Flight time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lufthansa / Air France / KLM | FRA/CDG/AMS - JFK/EWR/ORD | Direct | 8-9h | The European flag carriers into the main US gateways. |
| United / Delta / American | European hubs - US hubs | Direct | 8-11h | Extensive transatlantic network from across the Continent. |
| Norse Atlantic / Condor | OSL/BER/FRA - East Coast / FLL | Direct | ~9h | Budget long-haul into New York and Fort Lauderdale. |
Nonstop across the Pacific to the West Coast, then connect onward; the East Coast is one stop.
| Carrier | Route | Type | Flight time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qantas / United | SYD/MEL - LAX/SFO | Direct | 13-15h | Trans-Pacific nonstop to the West Coast gateways. |
| Qantas | SYD - DFW | Direct | ~17h | The nonstop into Dallas, the deepest US penetration from Australia. |
| United / American | LAX/SFO - East Coast | 1 stop | 18-22h | Connect through the West Coast to New York, Boston or Miami. |
The country runs on flights and car hire, but the rail is the interesting story - the Northeast Corridor and Florida's Brightline. The reviews below are first-hand.
| Carrier | Route | Type | Flight time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brightline (Smart Class) | Miami - Fort Lauderdale - Orlando | Rail | 30m-3h 30m | The first new private intercity rail in the US in a century - and it works. Reviewed. |
| Tri-Rail | Fort Lauderdale - Miami Airport | Rail | ~1h | USD 5 to MIA - the overlooked alternative to a USD 50 Uber. Reviewed. |
| Amtrak (Acela / Regional) | Boston - New York - Washington | Rail | 3-7h | The Northeast Corridor; faster than flying on the New York-Washington run. |
Getting around USA
The USA largely runs on air travel and car hire for anything beyond a single city. Amtrak covers the Northeast Corridor (Boston-New York-Philadelphia-Washington) efficiently but is thin and slow outside it. The exception is Florida, where Brightline's privately-funded intercity rail is building genuine car-competitive connections between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando, with the Tri-Rail commuter line feeding into it. Domestic flights on Southwest, Delta, United and American cover the distances; a hire car is the default outside the Northeast and the Florida corridor.
Tested routes
2024JetBlue Basic Blue: transatlantic economy (Gatwick/Heathrow to JFK)Good→2024United Polaris Lounge: Newark EWR Terminal CExcellent→2024Brightline Smart Class: Miami to Fort LauderdaleExcellent→Planning the logistics?
The facts above are the short version. The full libraries - flights, rail and lounges - live one level down under Getting There.