Luxury United States Holidays

The United States covers 3.8 million square miles across six time zones, making it one of the most geographically diverse destinations on earth. From the canyon landscapes of the Southwest to the colonial cities of the Eastern Seaboard, the vineyards of California to the wilderness of Alaska, the country contains multitudes that most visitors only scratch the surface of.

Despite its scale, the US is straightforward to navigate for the prepared traveller. Domestic flights connect major cities in a matter of hours, private car routes open up the national parks and wine regions, and Amtrak’s long-distance scenic routes, particularly through the Rockies and along the Pacific coast, offer an unhurried way to move between destinations that no flight can replicate.

The best of the United States rewards specificity. The national parks are extraordinary but require advance planning to experience properly. The food and wine culture has never been stronger, from New York’s Michelin-starred dining to the private winery cellars of Napa.

The cities—New York, New Orleans, Charleston, San Francisco, and Chicago—each offer a version of America with almost nothing in common with the others. Knowing which version you want, and who to call when you get there, is where the trip begins.

Drive the Pacific Coast Highway

California’s Highway 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles is one of the great American road trips. Done over two days with the right stops, Big Sur, Hearst Castle, the Santa Barbara coastline, it delivers on its reputation.

Spend a week in New York

The museums alone, the Met, MoMA, the Frick, justify a serious stay. Add the restaurants, the theatre, and the neighbourhoods, and a week feels like the minimum to do the city properly.

Catch a game at Fenway Park

The oldest Major League Baseball stadium in the country, open since 1912. The atmosphere on a summer evening in Boston is one of those experiences that has nothing to do with whether you follow the sport.

Take the California Zephyr

Amtrak’s train between Chicago and San Francisco passes through the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada over two days. The observation car gives you a front row seat to America’s vast landscapes.

New England in Fall

The back roads of Vermont between late September and mid-October. The foliage is real, the villages are genuinely beautiful, and away from the main routes it is remarkably quiet for somewhere so close to the Eastern Seaboard.

The Natchez Trace

A 444-mile parkway between Nashville and Natchez, Mississippi, following a path used for centuries before the United States existed. No commercial vehicles, no billboards, and a succession of historic sites, Civil War battlefields, and river towns that most international visitors never find.

Marfa, Texas

A small desert town in West Texas that has quietly become one of the more surprising cultural destinations in the country, built around the minimalist art installations of Donald Judd. The landscape alone justifies the detour.

The Oregon Coast

Highway 101 between Astoria and the California border delivers dramatic coastal scenery, fishing towns, and state parks that are largely empty outside summer. A quieter, less polished version of the California coast, and often more interesting for it.

The US is well served from both the UK and Europe, with direct flights to New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and other major gateways on carriers including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American, Delta, and United. Flight times run around seven to eight hours from the UK to the East Coast and ten to eleven hours to the West Coast.

From the US, domestic connections are straightforward. Most itineraries will involve at least one internal flight, and we factor routing and connection times into every itinerary we build.