The 50 states may be united by a common government and language, but you will find many cultural differences throughout the USA.

The United States is a representative democracy with three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. In the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., you will find many important sites connected to these branches, including the U.S. Capitol Building, White House and U.S. Supreme Court.

There are federal laws that apply to the entire country. In addition, each state, county and municipality has its own government and laws governing things like smoking and liquor sales.

The United States does not have an official language, but English is the most commonly spoken language and it is the official language in a number of states. Increasingly, information is also provided in Spanish because of the significant Latino population in the U.S. Besides English, the most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. are Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, French, German, Korean, Arabic, Russian and Italian.

The United States has countless options to fill your time and many beautiful places to relax. When planning a trip to the USA, the sheer breadth and variety of places to see and activities to experience can be daunting. Once you decide to travel to the U.S., you might need some help and recommendations on deciding what to do and see.

Knowing the right places to visit and how to get there can be a huge endeavor. Tour operators can be a very helpful resource in planning your trip to the United States. There are three kinds of tour operators: domestic, outbound and inbound. Domestic tour operators usually are U.S. residents and they offer area tours such as the Pacific Northwest and National Parks, as well as specialties like Mississippi River cruises. You can book these tours from home or while you are in the USA. Outbound tour operators arrange for clients to travel from one country to another, while inbound tour operators provide local assistance for tours arriving in their country, providing help with details such as ground transportation, hotels, local tour guides and restaurants.