If you are visiting the US for the first time, finding the right places to explore might be challenging. America offers so many great natural attractions, and their cities have incredible architecture and a variety of interesting things to do. For Australians that travel to the US, West Coast is the closest. A great starting point for North American adventure in Seattle, a city with a different vibe, cultural hub, and a place surrounded by beautiful natural attractions.
All visitors from down under need esta application australia documentation up to 72 hours before the flight. Since 2009, travelers from 39 countries in the Visa Waiver program have an easy, straightforward procedure to get travel authorization. You will need to answer a detailed set of questions online, and the administration takes around three days to process the application. Once you get ESTA Visa, you have a window of two years to visit the US.
Seattle experience
The best time to visit Seattle is in the summer months when the weather is warmest, and there is less rain. Start exploring the town from Space Needle, a 605-foot tall tower from 1962 with the observation deck. You can see Elliot Bay, the majestic Cascade Mountains, and Mount Rainier.
One of the largest aviation museums is in Seattle, and you can see a Boing lunar rover, an old Air Force One plane, and a huge place collection. Seattle Great Wheel is another sightseeing favorite located on Pier 57.
Visit the historic Smith Tower built-in 1915. The city’s first skyscraper still has manually operated elevators and a beautiful observation deck on the 35th floor with 160-degree views.
Seattle Aquarium is a huge attraction with sharks swimming over an observation dome and plenty of other sea creatures in a large aquarium. Seattle is home to many large American corporations, and coffee lovers can visit the famous Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room on Capitol Hill.
American adventures month
If you come to the US in August, you will be in American Adventure Month. The idea is to explore American natural wonders that include more than 400 national forests, state parks, and many national parks.
You can hop on Washington State Ferries and start the adventures while enjoying the views of Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest coast. The ferry can take you to Olympic National Park, a diverse area of more than a million acres with varied ecosystems. There are 70 miles of rugged coastline, temperate rain forests, and mountains with glaciers.
Complete North America
Seattle and Olympic National Park are close to Canada, and there are also incredible places in the US northern neighbor. Visit Vancouver and British Columbia. You can go to Banf National Park in Alberta or head to the eastern part and tour around the big cities of Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa.
Places around the US
If you want to stay solely in the US, there are more than enough excellent places to visit. Perhaps the most intriguing natural wonder is the Grand Canyon. You can explore the 277 miles long canyon of the Colorado River, go on rafting, or some of the park’s numerous trails. Or you can go to the viewpoint and enjoy the majestic beauty of this world wonder.
Yosemite is the largest national park in California with huge waterfalls, landmarks like Half Dome and Glacier Point, sequoia trees, and plenty of other attractions. Yellowstone is the first national park in the world. You can encounter wild animals, look at geysers, mountains, forests, rivers, and waterfalls. There are more than 900 miles of trails in this huge area.
If you are not into nature outdoor exploration, you might take a tour through great American cities. New York City is probably the most famous city in the world. From Metropolitan Museum to Broadway shows, from Empire State Building to Statue of Liberty. New York has enough things to see to spend the entire vacation.
San Francisco is smaller and filled with world-known attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz historic prison, large China town neighborhood, and authentic cable car.
For a more relaxed visit, choose New Orleans. The Big Easy offers various influences from European and African American roots, through the Caribbean and Latin America. It is a place of live street music, the birthplace of jazz, great eclectic Creole and Cajun cuisine, and nightlife on Bourbon Street.
You can go to the fun capital Las Vegas, choose Route 66 road trip, visit the Deep South, or explore Wyoming, Montana, and central States to get the feel of the Old West.
Make sure you have travel authorization before making the final itinerary and reservation. Besides ESTA Visa, the passport requirements for usa say your travel documents must be valid for six months from the start of your trip.
Bottom line
If you want to experience America, or both the US and Canada, there are so many attractions. You will have to decide and plan which ones to visit. The great thing is you will probably not be disappointed whichever places you put on your traveling plan.
