Let’s take a look at the first thing you should expect when you land at the airport assuming that is how you are traveling, Immigration. Expect them to be well…let’s just say impersonable. They are busy and only want to get you through and on to their next client. International airports are a busy place and airport employees are not paid to be overly nice they are paid to keep things moving so don’t expect the airport to be a warm happy place. Now that you have shown your travel documents collected your luggage take a second and go to the bathroom. It seems all airports in the US have plenty of them and they are marked usually with blue and white signs though that is not a set rule. Also, if you brought a water and need to fill it up you can do that in the airport. In the US you can comfortably feel safe drinking the water from the tap. Municipal Public water is regulated and is safe to drink. Tap water is treated and some places may taste better or worse but is safe to drink. You are not going to get sick from tap water here. I am talking about tap water, do not drink from a stream, lake etc. if you are going to remote areas, it may make you sick no matter how clean it looks!!!!
Hopefully you have arranged for transportation from the airport. There will be many car rental options at large airports, if you are driving in the US please head this advice. Know the traffic laws in the states you will be driving in. You can go to the state’s department of motor vehicle (DMV) and download a copy of the states driving manual. Study it before you come, don’t wait for the car rental rep to try and give you a crash course in five minutes!! Speed limit signs are in miles per hour here not kilometers and change constantly this is important to understand!!! MPH Miles per hour remember that MPH!!! Search what documents you need to legally drive here. Proof of insurance is required to drive here as well as a valid driver’s license, research if you need any other requirements being from another country to legally drive. Get a car with navigation don’t trust you cell phone!!!! Cell service can be spotty in many parts of the US some rural areas will have 0 cell service for miles and miles. Get a backup paper map and plan your route, mark it with a highlighter, study it. I can’t emphasize enough how big the US is and how far apart places can be, we American’s love to drive our interstate freeways and highways are big and long prepare yourself when driving we have roads everywhere and they are not always clearly marked, it will help to have an idea where you are going.
I am going to go forward with you are driving and renting a car. I would not get a full electric car unless you are strictly staying in a large metro area. Charging stations can be far and few between especially in rural areas. Don’t waste a minute of precious vacation time here trying to find a charging station. Gas is cheap for the most part here. Important: gas is in dollars per gallon not liters!!!! Yes, gallons, dollars per gallon. we do not use the metric system here (I know why!!!) we use gallons quarts cups etc. Inches yards feet miles etc. Gas stations are usually plentiful till you need one. Again, plan your driving trip in advance. If say you are going to be traveling say 400 miles to a destination make sure you have enough gas to make it. rural areas can have fewer or no gas stations, research where they may be on your route. You will be pumping your own gas here except in the state of New Jersey where it is pumped for you. There will be someone at most service stations (gas station) that can help you but getting them to help may be another story and don’t worry it’s not just you its everyone they don’t want to help!! You will find three grades of gas and usually but not always diesel. Diesel will be marked in green as far as I know. Unless you are driving a high-performance sports car the regular unleaded will be fine and the higher grade will run in anything as well but go with what the car rental rep tells you first and foremost.
Let’s talk about paying for things for a bit. I suggest when you get your US dollars and yes get some cash just in case, do not get any big bills. It can be very difficult to use 100$ dollar bills especially in small stores. The one exception to this is in Las Vegas, they will love your 100$ bills and if you are going to Vegas by all means take some and have fun!!! Seriously though I would at a minimum have a couple hundred dollars in twenty-dollar bills on hand and ATM machines are literally everywhere here. I would not carry much more than that. I am not even sure if travelers’ checks are still a thing but i would not recommend them, the only place you could use them is probably a bank or hotel. Same for personal checks no one will take a check anymore except a bank or for bill paying. Have some small bills on hand for tipping. some five dollar bills a few ten-dollar bills, and some one-dollar bills will be fine. Tipping is a big deal in the US. Google search tipping in the US for a breakdown of how much and where to tip but know that service people get paid less and they count on tips as part of their income, and they will go out of their way to earn your tip.