Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ida. When it's noon Eastern time, it is 11am Central time (and 5pm Greenwich Mean
Time).
The region, as well as most of the country, observes Daylight Saving Time (DST). On
the second Sunday in March, clocks are set one hour ahead ('spring ahead'). Then, on
the first Sunday of November, clocks are turned back one hour ('fall back').
And FYI: the US date system is written as month/day/year. Thus, the 8th of June, 2015,
becomes 6/8/15.
Tourist Information
The official tourism website of the USA is
www.discoveramerica.com
. It has links to every
US state tourism office and website, plus loads of ideas for itinerary planning.
Most cities and towns have some sort of tourist center that provides local information,
typically operated by the convention and visitor bureau (CVB) or chamber of commerce.
These entities tend to list only the businesses that are bureau/chamber members, so not
all of the town's hotels and restaurants receive coverage - keep in mind that good, inde-
pendent options may be missing.
A couple of websites to get you started:
New York State Tourism
(
www.iloveny.com
)
Visit Florida
(
www.visitflorida.com
)
Washington, DC
(
www.washington.org
)
Travelers with Disabilities
Travel in the region is relatively accommodating.
»
Most public buildings are wheelchair-accessible and have appropriate restroom facilit-
ies.
»
All major airlines, Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains will assist travelers with disabilit-
ies; just describe your needs when making reservations at least 48 hours in advance.
»
Some car-rental agencies, such as Budget and Hertz, offer hand-controlled vehicles and
vans with wheelchair lifts at no extra charge, but you must reserve them well in advance
»
Most cities have taxi companies with at least one accessible van, though you'll have to
call ahead.
»
Cities with underground transport have elevators for passengers needing assistance.
Washington, DC, has the best network (every station has an elevator); NYC's elevators
are few and far between.
