Miami
-23%€46median tour
€32middle half of tours€78
- 52% under €50
- #13 cheapest of 50
Americas · 73 cities
Things to Do in USA
Seventy-three American destinations in one place: what people actually book in each, what a tour costs city by city, and which kind of trip — city walk, canyon day, park permit — lives where.
34,178 tours listed by Viator 73 cities we cover Median tour €46–€89 Free cancellation
Where to go
Cities of USA
In the order Viator’s own catalogue puts them — most-booked first, not alphabetical.
Full list
All cities, by region
Grouped by region using Viator’s own map of the country. The first block is the places it files directly under USA.
What it costs
What tours cost in USA
From our own price index — 2,400 tours across 50 cities, collected August 2026. Medians, not averages: a couple of multi-day packages drag an average into fiction.
€65median tour
€39middle half of tours€116
- 38% under €50
- #29 cheapest of 50
Los Angeles
+10%€66median tour
€34middle half of tours€87
- 40% under €50
- #31 cheapest of 50
San Francisco
+45%€87median tour
€61middle half of tours€127
- 17% under €50
- #43 cheapest of 50
Las Vegas
+48%€89median tour
€52middle half of tours€131
- 19% under €50
- #44 cheapest of 50
Vertical line is the global median, €60. Full table for all 50 cities in the Tour Price Index.
Boats & cruises
Harbour cruises, catamarans, kayaks and sunset sailings.
ExploreFood & drink
Street food, markets and tasting walks with a local guide.
ExplorePhotography
Guided shoots at the right hour, and photographers for hire.
ExploreWalking tours
Small groups, old streets, two hours on foot.
ExploreAdventure
Rafting, zip lines, canyoning, quad bikes and climbing.
ExploreCycling
City rides, e-bikes and countryside routes.
ExploreWine & breweries
Vineyards, cellars, breweries and distilleries.
ExploreCity tours
Guided sightseeing on foot, by bus and by open-top tram.
ExplorePractical info
Know before you book
The things that change a decision — not a retelling of the guidebook.
The big national parks run on reservations now
Yosemite, Arches, Rocky Mountain and Glacier have all used timed-entry permits in peak months, released in windows that open months ahead and again a day or two before. Slots go in minutes. Operators holding their own commercial permits are often the only way in on the date you actually have. Check the park’s own page for the year you travel — the systems change season to season.
Distances are the thing visitors get wrong
Las Vegas to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about four and a half hours each way; Los Angeles to San Francisco about six. Much of what is sold here as a day trip is a twelve-to-fourteen-hour coach day. That is not a reason to skip it, but it is a reason to read the hours before booking one the day before a flight.
The price you see is not the price you pay
Sales tax is added at the register and differs by state and by city, and hotels add resort fees on top of the room rate. Tipping is not optional in practice either: fifteen to twenty per cent for a guide or driver is the working norm, usually cash at the end of a small-group tour.
Domestic holidays move the whole market
Memorial Day at the end of May, the Fourth of July, Labor Day in early September and Thanksgiving week are when Americans themselves travel. Tours sell out and rates jump in places that are otherwise quiet. If your dates can move by a week, that week is worth real money.
Three cities where the catalogue is tickets, not tours
In New York, Las Vegas and Orlando most of what you book is timed entry: observation decks, shows, theme parks. They behave like tickets rather than guided tours, so the order that works is fix the date, take the slot, build the day around it.
Hawaii and Alaska are separate trips
Both are in this catalogue and both are five to six hours’ flying from the west coast. Neither works as an add-on to a mainland itinerary — plan either one as its own week, and in Alaska’s case as its own summer.
When to visit
USA through the seasons
What is open, how busy it gets, and when to book ahead.
Spring
Mar–May
- Best for
- The desert Southwest and the South before the heat; blossom in Washington DC.
- Crowds
- Booking tip
- High-altitude park roads stay shut by snow into late May — check road status, not the calendar.
Summer
Jun–Aug
- Best for
- Alaska, the northern parks and coastal New England — the only months some of it runs.
- Crowds
- Booking tip
- Park permits and Alaska sailings are the earliest-booking things in the country: months, not weeks.
Autumn
Sep–Nov
- Best for
- New England foliage, the Southwest cooling off, cities without the school holidays.
- Crowds
- Booking tip
- September is the best all-round month: everything still runs and the summer premium is gone.
Winter
Dec–Feb
- Best for
- Florida, southern California and the desert; skiing in Colorado and Utah.
- Crowds
- Booking tip
- Northern parks largely close; winter Yellowstone is snowcoach-only and has to be booked as a tour.
Frequently asked
USA: common questions
How many days do you need in the USA?
There is no answer for the country, and that is the point — it is the size of Europe. Take one region at a time: a week for New York and the Northeast, a week for California, a week for a Southwest park loop. The commonest mistake in the itineraries we see is three coasts in ten days, which is mostly airports.
What does a tour in the USA cost?
From our price index of 50 cities: the median tour is €46 in Miami, €65 in New York, €66 in Los Angeles, €87 in San Francisco and €89 in Las Vegas, against a global median of €60. The spread is real — Las Vegas and San Francisco are among the most expensive cities in the study, largely because so much of what sells there is a full day out of town.
Do I need a car in the USA?
In New York, Chicago, San Francisco and New Orleans a car is a liability — parking alone will cost more than the tours. Almost everywhere else it is either your car or a seat in someone else’s: Los Angeles, the parks and most of the South have no useful public transport between the things you came for, which is exactly why the day-tour catalogue there is so deep.
Do I need a visa or an ESTA?
Most European, Australian and Japanese visitors travel under the visa waiver with an ESTA, which has to be approved before you board rather than on arrival. Apply on the official government site — the lookalike sites charge several times the fee for the same form. Rules differ by nationality and do change, so check yours before booking flights.
When is the best time to visit?
September and early October for most of the country: parks open, heat broken, American school holidays over. The week of Thanksgiving is the one to avoid — it is the busiest travel week of the American year, and it is domestic demand, so it hits places tourists think of as quiet.
Are the national parks worth a guided tour?
For Yellowstone, Antelope Canyon and Alaska, yes — and sometimes it is not a choice. Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land and can only be entered with an authorised guide, and winter Yellowstone runs on snowcoaches. For Zion or Yosemite in summer, the shuttle and a map do the job perfectly well.
Which city is best for a first visit?
New York, if it is a first trip to the country. Most of what you want is within walking distance or one subway ride, and there is more to book at every price than anywhere else in this catalogue.
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