What should I pay attention to when traveling to the United States for the first time?

Pay attention to the time difference and climate. You cannot bring meaty products to the airport. Tipping is 15%. Accommodation must be booked in advance.

Extended information:

The U.S. Customs is divided into two parts, namely, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (U.S. Immigration and Customs) Enforcement (ICE for short).

What cannot be brought into the United States? Livestock and poultry meat.

Whether it is fresh, dried, canned or vacuum packed, it is prohibited. Therefore, meat floss, beef jerky, etc. are not allowed. Foods containing meat are also prohibited. For example, meat rice dumplings, steamed buns, fresh meat mooncakes, etc. In addition, chicken feet are not allowed. Someone once brought chicken feet and had them confiscated. The reason was to prevent bird flu from entering the United States...

Food. You can bring a small amount of bread into the United States. However, almost any food containing meat, such as beef soup and noodle soup, is not allowed. However, condiments, vinegar, cooking oil, honey, coffee and tea are allowed.

You can bring some with Chinese characteristics, such as mushrooms, fungus, star anise and other seasonings, red dates, wolfberry, small walnuts, hawthorn slices, etc. If you like to eat seafood, congratulations, the United States has no special ban on this. You can bring dried squid, yellow croaker, Kaiyang, shrimp skin, etc., but hairy crabs and dairy products are not allowed.

Special reminder:

1. If you bring food, you must declare it on the form. You will be inspected. Usually this inspection is as simple as the inspection of other luggage. It is just a matter of passing the inspection. Just scan.

2. Some foods are not allowed to be brought in. But if you have declared it in advance, the food will only be confiscated.

3. If you carry contraband without declaring it, you may be punished.

Fruits and vegetables. In the 1980s, the California and federal governments spent $100 million to deal with the Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak. The root cause of this fruit fly outbreak is that someone brought fruit into the United States. Therefore, the United States takes strict precautions against fruits and vegetables.

If you brought apples or something from China and did not finish them on the plane, it is best to throw them away or declare them before entering the customs. Violators are fined $300 for the first offense and $500 for the second offense. In addition, you can bring cooked peanuts, but not raw ones.

Plants and seeds. Import documents and other documents are required to enter the United States. Mainly to prevent pests. Therefore, if you plan to bring some rapeseed to grow your own vegetables, don’t take the risk. Some vegetables in the United States are more expensive than pork, but rapeseed is actually sold in American supermarkets. Of course, vegetables from your hometown may not be available, so you have to "do as the Romans do." In addition, handicrafts made from plant materials (including straw) must be declared.

Soil. For example, if you bring a pot of flowers, the flowers are prohibited, and the soil in the pot is also prohibited.

Biological products. Such as cell culture, biological tissue, etc. If you want to carry relevant biological products to the United States for biological research, you must obtain prior approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP).

Drugs. You can bring the medicines you need, but only in reasonable amounts for personal use. In addition, narcotics and other drugs that may be abused, such as Rohypnol, GHB and Fen-Phen, are prohibited and violators will be punished. If you want to bring drugs containing addictive ingredients, such as cough drops, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and antidepressants, they must be declared and placed in the original box or bottle; a doctor's prescription and medical certificate are also required.

Pottery tableware. The US FDA recommends that carriers send ceramic tableware produced in China, Mexico and India for testing to ensure that the lead content meets safety standards.

Items protected by intellectual property rights (Trademarked and Copyrighted Articles). For example, Microsoft software and CDs of American blockbusters. It’s best not to carry knock-off designer bags.

Dog skin and cat skin. Including products containing dog skin and cat skin, such as dog skin hats.

Intentional violations are subject to a fine of US$10,000 for each violation; unintentional violations are subject to a fine of US$3,000 for each violation.

Can I bring pets? For example, dogs and cats. Can. However, strict inspections are required at customs, including review of all vaccination records and health certificates.

Gold. Gold coins and gold bars, which were prohibited before, can now be carried. However, gold coins without the name of the country of issue are not allowed into the United States. Cash must be declared if it exceeds US$10,000.

Weapons and ammunition. Chinese people basically don’t have this problem. But please note that the following items are not allowed in your carry-on luggage: such as fruit knives, razors, and scissors (with metal tips and blades longer than 4 inches).

Liquid. Such as drinks, shampoo, toothpaste. Drinks must be finished before security check. Other liquid items, such as cooking wine, rice vinegar, and sesame oil, can be checked in with your luggage, but they are absolutely not allowed to be carried with you. Toothpaste is travel-friendly and has a capacity of no more than 3.4 ounces.

How to book a ticket to travel to the United States?

Step one: Use kayak, priceline and wego search engines to check air tickets, although these three websites often do not offer real prices.

Step 2: Check the official website of the ticket you are interested in to reconfirm the price, which is likely to be lower than the price you searched for.

Step 3: Log in to mr.rebatre and choose rebate.

Step 4: Complete the purchase.

Most people who go to the United States book through Expedia and Priceline.

There is nothing special about expedia, they are just discounted hotels, so just book them if you like them. Just pay attention to the various information on the hotel to see clearly what can be refunded and what cannot be refunded. The advantage is that it has an official website in Hong Kong. Friends who are not confident in English can go to the official website in Hong Kong to order. It pays in Hong Kong dollars, while the official website in the United States pays in US dollars.

After booking a hotel on priceline, it is non-refundable. For the same hotel, Expedia is cheaper than Priceline. It is cheaper to use Expedia’s official website in Hong Kong than the official website in the United States.

There is also a more convenient way, which is to use the WeChat applet to search for dream travel, compare hotel prices and make reservations.

When is the best time to travel to the United States? May-October.

It is best to travel to the United States between May and October. The climate changes between cities are not particularly large. You must avoid the cold winter unless you just go to Hawaii to enjoy the sunshine.

The United States spans a very large area from east to west and from north to south, so the climate differences across the country are also quite large. Also in winter, the temperature in some areas drops to several degrees below zero, while in some places you can bathe in the sea.

The summer in the United States is very hot, and you must be prepared to "fight the high temperature"; but if you are traveling to the northern United States, it is best to bring a thick sweater or cold-proof jacket, even in summer, the northern United States But it is relatively cool, and there is even some chill at night.

China is 12-13 hours ahead of the United States. The United States adopts a dual-time system of summer and winter, one is summer time and the other is winter time (i.e. standard time). Daylight saving time is one hour ahead of standard time. Daylight saving time is on the second Sunday in March each year, and winter time is on the first Sunday in November. Arizona, Indiana, and Hawaii do not use daylight saving time.

The United States is a tipping country. The main source of income for many service providers in the United States is tips from customers. Their dedicated service strives for good consumer income. Although tipping is not a legal consumption item and the amount is not clearly defined, tipping is also regarded as a social etiquette in the United States.

Generally speaking, as long as they are in the service industry, such as restaurant waiters, taxi drivers, hotel waiters, tour guides, etc., their basic wages are very small. In many areas, tips are their main source of income. Because American bosses are very smart, they put most of the waiter's salary on the customers and pay it in the form of tips.

So service providers can only strive to earn income with service quality, and customers use "tips" to thank service staff. This is an established practice and a basic consumer cognition. Many people who first arrive in the United States have a headache about how to tip correctly. They don’t know when to tip, when not to tip, and how much to tip.

Let me give you a brief introduction to how to tip reasonably in the United States.

In principle, as long as we enjoy the service of others, we should tip. So how much should we tip? Tipping rates vary from place to place, and are higher in big cities than in remote areas. Sometimes the tip will be directly included in the bill in the name of "service charge" or "gratuity". Because sometimes the tip will be directly included in the bill, be sure to read it carefully and don't give more.

Generally, tips are 10-15% for lunch and 15-20% for dinner. If there are more than five people dining together, the restaurant has a term called Party Over Five, then you must tip 18%. In American restaurants, there is usually only one waiter per table. Whoever takes your order at the beginning, you can call him if you need anything later. You can’t just call the waiter when you see him, because you only pay him the tip. So other waiters are not obligated to help you.

If you are not satisfied with the service, you can only give 10% to explain that you are not satisfied with the service. In short, in restaurants where a waiter serves you and asks you what you want to order, you must tip. If you are dining at a fast food restaurant, such as McDonald's, and you only need to order at the counter and then return to your seat to eat, this type of restaurant does not require tipping. There is also a food court in the United States, which is a general food court where you order with a tray. In this case, no tip is required.

In a hotel, no tip is required for the waiter’s service of smiling, opening the door, and giving directions, or you can tip separately to the concierge in different places. It's a good idea to leave a tip when you get to your room, maybe $1 to $2 per bag. Tip the housekeeping staff between $2 and $5 per day, either by placing it directly under the pillow or by posting a note saying "To the housekeeping staff."

Be sure to give it to the right person so your room stays the way you want it during your stay. When ordering room service, tip at least $5 unless it's included in the bill.

In terms of transportation, parking attendants usually tip 2 to 5 US dollars, usually when picking up the car. When picking up and dropping off at the airport, if the driver helps you carry your luggage, it is common to tip 1 to 2 US dollars per portion. Taxis, limousines, trucks and other paid rental vehicles: generally account for 15% of the total cost. If the service is very considerate, up to 20% can be given.

If there is a tour guide, the average tip for the tour guide is 15% of the total price. If the tour guide is very good, the tip is usually 20%.

Reference materials: Baidu US Customs