USA trip checklist

Entry and ESTA

• German citizens can visit for up to 90 days without a visa – with an approved ESTA. Apply at least 72 hours before you fly, ideally right after booking.
• Fee: US$40.27 per person (since 1 January 2026; until September 2025 it was $21). Valid for 2 years or until the passport expires.
• Apply only at esta.cbp.dhs.gov. Many look-alike sites charge several times as much for the same form.
• Visa instead of ESTA if you visited Cuba after 12 January 2021, or Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen or Somalia since March 2011.
• At entry: photo and fingerprints. ESTA or a visa give no right to enter – the officer at the desk decides and may inspect phones and laptops.
• Proposed but not in force when we checked: listing social-media accounts from the last five years as a required ESTA field (US border agency proposal, December 2025).

Sources: Auswärtiges Amt: USA – Einreise · U.S. CBP: ESTA (offizieller Antrag) · U.S. CBP: Visa Waiver Program

With children

• Every child needs their own e-passport and own ESTA. A German children’s passport (Kinderreisepass) requires a visa.
• If a child travels with only one parent, US authorities advise a signed consent letter from the other parent, in English.
• Children under 16 enter national parks free.
• Child seats are required; the rules (age, height) differ by state. Book them with the rental car or bring your own.

Sources: Auswärtiges Amt: USA – Einreise · USA.gov: Reisedokumente und Einverständniserklärung für Kinder · National Park Service: Eintritt

National parks: new fees since 2026

• Non-US residents pay an extra $100 per person aged 16+ at 11 parks: Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion.
• The non-resident America the Beautiful annual pass costs $250. It covers regular vehicle entry and the $100 surcharge for the holder and up to three more adults.
• Example, family with 2 adults and one child aged 16+: just two of the 11 parks cost $600 in surcharges plus entry without the pass – $250 with it.

Sources: National Park Service: Gebühren für Nicht-Einwohner · National Park Service: Pässe

Driving

• Carry your national and international licence – the international permit is only valid together with the national one.
• Right on red is allowed in most states after a full stop, unless a sign says “No turn on red”.
• Never pass a school bus with flashing lights and its stop sign out – not even from the opposite direction.
• At all-way stops (“4-Way”), whoever stopped first goes first.
• Speeds in miles per hour, fuel in gallons. Many pumps reject non-US cards at the ZIP-code prompt – pay inside first.

Sources: Auswärtiges Amt: USA – Reiseinfos

Customs – both ways

• Entering the US: meat products and plants are banned. Easiest: bring no food, and declare anything you do carry.
• Cash of $10,000 or more must be declared on entry.
• Returning to the EU: goods up to €430 per person duty-free (under 15: €175), plus, for those 17+, 1 litre of spirits, 4 litres of wine, 16 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes. Several people’s allowances can’t be pooled for one expensive item.

Sources: Auswärtiges Amt: USA – Einreise und Zoll · Zoll.de: Reisefreimengen

Money, power, emergencies

• Prices are shown before tax – at the till usually 6 to 10 % is added depending on state and city; a few states like Oregon have none.
• Tips are part of the wage: 18–20 % is usual in restaurants, 15–20 % for taxis, a few dollars a night for housekeeping.
• Power: 120 volts, type A/B plugs. Phone and laptop chargers cope (look for 100–240 V); hair dryers and straighteners often don’t.
• Emergency: 911 (police, fire, ambulance).
• Doctors and hospitals are very expensive. Travel health insurance is strongly recommended; carry medicines in their original packaging.

Tax rates and tips are typical values, not rules.

Sources: Auswärtiges Amt: USA – Gesundheit