North America touring holidays

Flight times do vary widely depending which area you’re visiting and whether there’s a direct route, with the shortest journeys to the eastern US and Canada (such as New York and Toronto) taking as little as seven and a half hours. Flights to the west coast take longer, around nine and a half hours to Vancouver and 11 hours to San Francisco and LA. Flights from London to Hawaii take around 17 hours including one stop.

Flights to the Caribbean range from around eight and a half hours for more easterly islands like Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia and Barbados to around 10 hours to Jamaica. There are also direct flights to Mexico, taking around nine and a half hours to Cancun, around 10 and a half hours to Mexico City and at least 15 hours to Los Cabos in the west. Flights to Central America are longer, around 11 hours direct to Costa Rica, around 13 and a half hours to Panama (including a stop) or slightly over 14 hours to Guatemala (also including a stop).

There are multiple direct routes to North America, depending where you’re planning to visit. Most major cities and airport hubs in the USA and Canada have direct routes from London, while there are also direct flights to Cancun and Mexico City in Mexico.

Many Caribbean islands have direct flights from the UK, particularly those with historic British links or which are British Overseas Territories, including Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Barbados, Aruba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Turks & Caicos islands. Some islands also have direct links from other European cities, particularly Amsterdam for Dutch Caribbean territories, and Paris for French overseas territories.

There are also direct flights from the UK to Costa Rica but journeys to most countries in Central America require a stop en route.

There’s a huge range of options if you’re planning an escorted tour of North America, whether you’re hoping to see natural wonders like the US national parks, the Rocky Mountains in Canada or Niagara Falls, as well as some of the world’s great cities, such as New York, New Orleans, Chicago and San Francisco.

But you could also theme your trip to North America around wildlife, especially in Costa Rica, or around culture, discovering Mayan history in Mexico. So whatever tempts you most, there’s a tour to suit.

Whatever tour you choose, Saga includes our nationwide return shared chauffeur service, to pick you up from home or another address, and take you back after your trip finishes. We also offer optional travel insurance, plus all escorted tours have an expert tour manager to make sure everything runs smoothly, plus tour guides to ensure you see the best of your destination.

If you’re visiting the USA, Canada or Mexico, the only vaccinations required are those recommended for daily life in the UK. The advice is the same for much of the Caribbean unless you’re particularly at risk or heading well off the beaten track, although Hepatitis A and tetanus vaccinations are recommended for the Dominican Republic, as well as tetanus for Jamaica and St Lucia.

In Central America, tetanus vaccinations are recommended for Belize, Hepatitis A for Nicaragua and Panama, while both Hepatitis A and tetanus are both recommended for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. There are occasional outbreaks of yellow fever in Panama and Trinidad, mainly in rural areas, although vaccination is not usually recommended unless there’s a current outbreak and proof of vaccination is not normally required.

Malaria is found also in Honduras and Nicaragua, but the risk varies depending on the area you’re visiting. There is a low risk of malaria in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and some parts of Mexico, while the Zika virus is also found in Mexico and across much of the Caribbean and Central America, with pregnant women most at risk.

Although the term North America is often used as shorthand for Canada, the US and Mexico, there are actually 23 separate independent nations in North America.

This includes the islands of the Caribbean, plus the countries making up Central America, which is officially a subregion of North America – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

Although Greenland is part of the continent of North America in geological terms, it is usually considered European, as the region was under Norwegian and then Danish rule for centuries, and is now an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark.

There are 11 time zones across North America, with some areas also following daylight savings during the summer months. These range from Alaska Standard Time, which is nine hours behind GMT (UTC) to East Greenland time, which is one hour behind GMT (UTC).

While travelling in the USA, Pacific Time (for California and the west coast) is eight hours behind GMT (UTC), Mountain Standard Time (for states including Arizona and Colorado) is seven hours behind GMT (UTC), Central Standard Time (for much of the Midwest) is six hours behind GMT (UTC) and Eastern Standard Time (for New York, New England and much of Florida) is five hours behind GMT (UTC). While not geographically part of North America, the most westernmost state of the USA, Hawaii, also has its own time zone; Hawaii Standard Time is 10 hours behind GMT (UTC).

Canada also has six main time zones, from Pacific Time (GMT-7) in the west to Atlantic Time (GMT-3) in the east, as well as Newfoundland Standard Time in the east, which is three hours 30 minutes behind GMT (UTC).

Mexico uses four time zones, ranging from GMT-8 to GMT-5, although the majority of the country is on Central Time (or Zona Centro), six hours behind GMT. The state of Quintana Roo, including Cancun, is only five hours behind GMT, while different areas of Baja California are seven or eight hours behind GMT.

The Caribbean region and Central America both use two time zones. Most eastern Caribbean countries are four hours behind GMT (UTC), while Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica and some other western Caribbean islands use GMT-5. Central America is six hours behind GMT (UTC) with the exception of Panama, which is five hours behind, and Daylight Saving Time is not observed across the region.

Denali (Mt McKinley) in Alaska is the highest mountain in North America, with many of the continent’s other highest peaks found in Alaska, along with Mount Logan in neighbouring Yukon, Canada and others in British Columbia. North America’s third highest mountain is in Mexico, the volcano called Pico de Orizaba (Citlaltépetl), as is Volcán Popocatépetl, the fifth tallest peak.

California, Colorado and Washington state are also home to various peaks and mountain ranges which make the list of the top 50 highest mountains in North America, with Guatemala’s Volcán Tajumulco making the top 100, the only country in Central America to feature.

Yes, but while there’s nowhere in North America where tips are unwelcome, expectations do vary. In the USA, tipping culture is firmly entrenched and you’ll be expected to tip around 20% in restaurants, as well as adding $1-2 in cafes or at bars, not to mention tips for housekeeping staff and other services. If you have received unsatisfactory service, tipping is never mandatory however.

Rates are similar but slightly lower in Canada – around 15% in restaurants for example. In the Caribbean, you may find that a service charge is added automatically to your bill, otherwise amounts do vary slightly by island. At the more luxury end or on those islands which receive high numbers of US tourists, such as the Cayman Islands or Aruba, 15-20% is standard. On other smaller islands or more informal restaurants, around 10-15% is customary.

In Mexico and much of Central America, around 10-15% is the norm in restaurants, but there are variations from country to country. In Costa Rica, for example, a 10% charge is usually added to the bill automatically (although you can add more if you think the service was particularly good). Rounding up the bill for taxi drivers, as well as at cafes and bars is always appreciated and a good rule of thumb for most of Central America and the Caribbean.