This is a long and changeable subject, but let me try to cover some of the basics. I travel to the US mostly from the UK, so information here will be most relevant for those travelling from Britain but I will try to cover some universal basics.

Transatlantic routes are some of the busiest in the world, which means there is plenty of choice. I am definitely a budget traveller, so the most important factor for me is the price. My rule number one is never to fly in high season which generally means July and August. Prices in these months tend to hike to sometimes ridiculous levels and things get very busy, especially planes, accommodation, attractions etc. For me this is a definite no, no. Similarly Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving and other holidays are dates to be avoided. Flying during the midweek can also More...

Central Tirana was a building site. The magnificent statue of Skanderberg astride his horse in the main square, Sheshi Skënderbe, was marooned on a small island surrounded by dug-up streets, piles of sand and general roadwork chaos, and that was in addition to the four lanes of traffic.

I had taken the train from Durrës to spend the day in Tirana. The train journey was an experience in itself. I bought a ticket for the one-hour journey for the vast sum of 70 lekë, approximately 50p, and waited to catch the 08.45. The train eventually appeared, a huge rusty old locomotive pulling what were old, probably Italian, carriages. Albanians only take the train when they can’t afford to go by bus for what became obvious reasons. I clambered up from the More...

America is, in a way, a country designed for people on the move. That's probably why it is one of the places where finding a place to stay is ridiculously easy. But still, let me give you some tips.

As I usually travel on a rather small budget, information here will be most relevant to other low budget travellers but I'll give some general advice as well.

So, how do I organize my accommodation? In short, I don't. OK, I'm joking, but only a bit. More...

Albania is not often on anyone's itinerary but it is an intriguing and quite beautiful country to visit. I came across by bus from Orhid, Macedonia, and my destination was Tirana, the capital. Once the border crossing had been negotiated, which involved changing buses, helping a garrulous old woman with too much baggage, and being entertained by some blatant bribing of a customs official by a truck driver in a hurry, the bus was on its way.

The first part of the journey was spectacular. The bus meandered down through the mountains to the green countryside of small fields dotted with farms and buildings. Across the mountainsides and down into the lowlands were umpteen small toadstool-like cement lookouts – Enver Hoxha's infamous bunkers – indestructible evidence of More...

Mississippi is a difficult word, especially for a non-native English speaker like me. All those double consonants are impossible to memorise – only after some years did I learn how to spell it. It is also one of those names which fires up your imagination. When I was young I looked at maps of the USA, and this great river always caught my attention. Then there were books (anyone remember Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer?) and movies which placed the Mississippi deep in my subconscious. Finally this summer I decided to visit central USA, including the Mississippi River.

I started my trip in a rather unusual place – Davenport, Iowa. Now, it is not where most people would start travelling alongside the Mississippi. Iowa in general is not a state where tourists go in droves. In my case, I had to cross it on my way from the Great Plains of the Dakotas and Nebraska to the Great River itself. Davenport didn’t look like a city worth stopping at (apart from a night in a cheap motel) so I immediately crossed to Moline, Illinois, which I would probably would’ve passed as well if I hadn’t got lost...

But let’s start from the beginning. I got off the highway to stop at the Illinois Welcome Center. Most states in the US operate tourist information centres alongside the major interstates. They are usually real mines of useful, as well as completely useless, information, brochures and glossy magazines. After getting all I needed, I tried to go back to the interstate 80 but somehow ended up in Moline. Driving up and down trying to get back to the highway I found a place called The John Deere Pavilion. John Deere is one of the great American icons. In the Midwest, a John Deere baseball cap is as important part of local clothing as the Stetson hat is in the American west. The pavilion itself, apart from the great gift shop full of toy machines and clothing, offered the chance of More...

Our journey started on a rainy, cold and generally miserable April morning in London. But after just a few hours we landed in sunny and even hot Washington. Washington Dulles Airport is quite unusual – between the jetties and main terminal building there is no fixed connection. You have to board funny vehicles which are a cross between bus, truck and fork-lift. Even with such added “attractions”, the whole process is much faster and easier than I have ever experienced at Heathrow. A few minutes after clearing immigration we collected the keys to our car. More...

Christopher Somerville works from home as a writer and journalist, looking out across a wide and stunning view that takes in much of north-east Bristol and over to the hills near Bath. So although he lives in and enjoys the city there’s always a view to the hills and the landscape which provides the inspiration for his many books and newspaper articles.

He says, "Bristol is an excellent place for a walker to live – 40 minutes travel in any direction takes you to a diversity of countryside; from Somerset Levels to the Welsh Hills, and from the greatest light show on earth (yes, the sunset over the Bristol Channel) to the pretty villages and valleys of the Cotswolds."

Here is the first in a series of walks he will be compiling for Stanfords' readers to follow in the Southwest each month. More...

I visited San Francisco in 2001, during my first visit into the US, when it was the final stop during our cross-country drive all the way from Florida. It was a bit of a crazy trip, on a ludicrously low budget, and the route was the result of a compromise among all five of us. Someone wanted to visit New Orleans, another person wanted to see the Grand Canyon and someone else Las Vegas. For my part, I wanted to visit San Francisco. So we went.

And that's how, after 10 days and well over 5000 km of driving, we finally approached the famous city. Luckily (and totally unplanned), we approached it via the impressive Bay Bridge which offers one of the best vistas of the downtown SF. The Bay Bridge, connecting More...

Before you go to the USA it makes sense to do a bit of homework and planning. Remember, it is a huge country: for example the distance from New York City to Los Angeles is 500km greater than the one from Lisbon to Moscow. So you should know what your priorities and also your limits are.

Are you interested in nature or maybe in the cities? Do you like big, cosmopolitan places like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, or maybe small charming colonial towns like Charlestown and Savannah? Do you prefer lying on the beach or maybe hiking in the mountains? The tropics or the Arctic? America has it all.

First thing you have to decide is how much time you have and More...

New York City seems to be always on the move, from the early morning rush to late into the wild nights. Unfortunately for the budget traveler, it can be a very expensive night out. However, if cheap accommodation in the Big Apple exists, so do cheap bars. You’re sure to find affordable fun. The city is vibrant and diverse, so your choice of nightlife depends on the kind of entertainment you’re looking for.

Cheap Bars and Happy Hours

If you’re looking for a centrally located bar that won’t break your wallet, look no further than More...