Frequently asked questions

Two people originally from Liège, in Belgium, who love hiking and wide open spaces. We tell the story of our trips and share what we wish we had known before leaving. More on the About page.

The site is split by destination: USA, Belgium, France and Other adventures. The USA section is the fullest for now: you'll find our road journals, guides by place and by state, an interactive map, travel tips and games.

A journal tells the story of one day of a road trip as we lived it.
A place is a guide dedicated to one specific spot (a park, a city, a road): our “is it worth the detour?” verdict, how much time to allow, practical information, etc.
A state is an overview to help you plan a trip there: regions, must-sees, best time to go, itinerary ideas.

No. The places we have been to carry a “V” badge on their page and in the lists, and their page ends with our own experience there. The other pages are written from our research, with no personal story: they are places we would love to discover in turn.

They are a personal opinion, not an official ranking. For the places we have visited, the rating comes from what we experienced there. For the others, it reflects how much we want to go.

Road trip 2 heads down the East Coast of the United States over the Christmas holidays, from New York to Orlando by way of Washington, Savannah, Miami and the Keys. The journals of Road trip 1, across the American West (Los Angeles, Utah, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco and the Californian coast), will be published from December. To hear about each new journal, sign up for the newsletter.

We try to publish every Sunday and every Thursday. To make sure you don't miss anything, sign up for the newsletter.

Type a few words into the search box at the top of the page: it looks through the journals, the places and the guides. You can also use the USA map, which shows all our places and itineraries, or the archives, sorted by date.

Yes: the main pages, the places, the states and the travel tips are all available in English. The journals are being translated gradually; those not yet translated remain in French.

Yes. On the Offline page, you download the states, road trips and guides you care about and read them without a signal, on the road or on the plane. You can also install the site on your phone: it then opens like an app, from your home screen.

Yes, all the photos on the site were taken during our trips. The drawings and infographics are made with artificial intelligence. The photos are protected by copyright: please ask us before reusing them.

Our Preparing for the USA page gathers the essentials before you leave: ESTA, customs, insurance, money, phone, car rental, driving, national parks and tipping. Each topic has its own detailed guide.

It all depends on the region: the country is huge and the seasons are nothing alike from one end to the other. Our guide When to go to the United States covers it region by region, and each state page gives its best time to visit.

It varies a lot with the season, the type of accommodation and the distance you drive. Our guide What budget for a road trip in the United States? goes through the costs one by one.

Start with our guide Building your itinerary, then have a look at the mistakes to avoid on a first road trip. The planner then lets you pick your stops on the map and download your itinerary as a PDF.

It is something we are considering. In the meantime, we can talk it over depending on your needs: write to us.

Flights, the car or the van, accommodation inside or right next to the parks, and entry to some parks, which sometimes has to be booked months ahead. Our booking timeline tells you what to book, and when.

For a short tourist stay, no: you need an electronic travel authorisation, the ESTA, to apply for online before booking anything non-refundable. Every traveller needs one, children included. Beware of unofficial websites that charge more for it: everything is explained in our ESTA guide.

Yes. Healthcare is very expensive in the United States, and the basic assistance from Belgian health insurance funds doesn't cover the country. Check what your bank card covers, then top it up if needed. Our travel insurance guide goes through the options.

Generally yes, for a tourist stay, but the rules depend on each state. We recommend also asking your local council for an international driving permit. The driving rules that differ from Belgium are in our guide Driving in the United States, and car rental is covered in Renting a car.

eSIM, roaming or a local SIM card: each option has its advantages. We compare them in our guide Phone and internet in the United States. Keep in mind that the signal often drops in the national parks.

As soon as you visit several parks, it often is. Prices for foreign visitors changed in early 2026 and some parks require a reservation months ahead: do the maths with our guide National parks and the America the Beautiful pass.

We check the information when we write each page, and we update the guides when something changes. But prices, opening hours and conditions change fast, especially in the United States: always check the official website before booking. And if you spot something out of date, let us know!

Games built from our trips: guessing where a photo was taken, a memory game, a road trip bingo, a word search, a blank map of the 50 states and a quiz to find out your traveller profile. Everything is on the Games page, free and with no sign-up.

There are two. The states passport fills up with one stamp per state as you discover our places. The national parks passport is more demanding: each stamp is earned by passing the park's quiz.

Your progress is saved only in your browser, on your device: nothing is sent to us. If you switch device or browser, browse in private mode or clear your browsing data, your stamps don't follow.

Sign up for the newsletter: one email a week at most, and only when there is something new. You can unsubscribe in one click with the link at the bottom of each email.

Through the form at the bottom of the About page. A question about an itinerary, a place, or just want to say hello: we reply as soon as we can.

Yes: @abelgiancouple.usa in English, for the United States. In French, you will find us on @uncouplebelge for all our trips and on @uncouplebelge.usa for the United States. We share photos and videos from our trips there.

Yes, at the bottom of the journals and the place pages. Comments are published after review, to avoid spam. The rating mostly tells us what you found useful.

They are the ones we stayed in. We picked them carefully, to have the best possible stay.

No, our opinions are our own. Some booking links (hotels, activities, car rental) are affiliate links: if you book through them, we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. They are only activated if you accept them in the cookie banner; otherwise, the links work normally. A brand may sponsor some articles or pages to show its logo in the partner box, but the opinion always remains our own.

With pleasure, as long as the collaboration stays true to what we share here: honest opinions, in our readers' interest. All the details are on the Partners page, and you can write to us there directly through the contact form.

Only audience measurement (Google Analytics) and partner links, and only with your consent: nothing is loaded before you make your choice in the banner. The details are on the Privacy and cookies page.

At any time, through the “Manage cookies” link at the bottom of every page. If you do nothing, we ask you again after six months.