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Two hundred and fifty years, state by state

The fourth of July has been and gone, and the United States is two hundred and fifty years old. What people outside the country sometimes miss is that the anniversary was never meant to be a single afternoon. Philadelphia, where the Declaration was signed, and Boston, where the argument that produced it began, have programmes that run through the autumn; Washington keeps its exhibitions open on and around the Mall; and a great many smaller places have spent the year restoring something and putting up a sign about it. Beyond the famous three, the anniversary is mostly an excuse — a good one — to look at a part of the country you have been meaning to see for years.

That is the spirit in which the Guild spent the past year writing the whole nation down. There is now a book for every one of the fifty states, another for the nation’s capital, and one apiece for the United States territories: fifty-six guides in all, shelved together and free to read. If you are deciding where to point the car this autumn, start there rather than with a hotel search.

A word on timing, offered without drama. The heaviest week has passed, which is good news rather than bad: September and October are the pleasanter months to walk the Freedom Trail or stand in Independence Square, the school holidays are over, the queues are shorter and city hotel rates in the north-east generally ease once Labor Day is behind us. Autumn in New England needs booking ahead for its own reasons, so check your dates against the rate before you assume.

Why these four

They are not the four best hotels in America and we would not claim it. They are four places that answer four quite different questions. The Las Vegas Strip is the easiest big night out in the country and the cheapest good room in any American city of its size. Old Vegas, along Fremont Street, is the version people who dislike the Strip actually enjoy: neon, low ceilings, vintage tables, and a bill half the size. Orlando is where the grandchildren want to go. And historic Boston puts you within walking distance of the Freedom Trail in the year that trail matters most.

About the nightly rates on the cards: they are the lowest starting prices Trip.com was showing when the selection was put together, and they move with the season, the day of the week and the property. Read them as a sense of where a city begins, not as a quotation. The number that counts is the total on the booking page, taxes and fees included.

An hour of rain, not a ruined fortnight

The word monsoon does a lot of damage to Thailand’s reputation. From roughly May to October the rain generally arrives as a heavy downpour in the afternoon — loud, warm, theatrical, over in an hour or two — after which the sky clears and the evening is yours. It is not the grey all-day drizzle the word suggests to anyone who has spent a November in the north of England. The rice country is green, the temples are quiet, the light after the rain is the best light of the year, and the crowds are somewhere else.

This is also, and not by coincidence, when Thailand is cheapest. Hotels discount, airfares soften, and September and October are the lowest of all on the Andaman side. The honest trade-offs are worth stating: boat crossings to the smaller islands can be cancelled when the sea is rough, so leave a spare day before an onward flight; and the two coasts have opposite rhythms. Phuket, Krabi and the Andaman islands are wettest around September and October, while Koh Samui and the Gulf stay comparatively dry through midsummer and take their heaviest rain in October and November. In June, July and August, lean toward the Gulf.

Are these Destinations Guild discounts?

No, and we would rather say so plainly. Destinations Guild does not set prices, hold inventory or run sales. The three campaigns on this page are promotions and listings operated by Trip.com, our affiliate partner. We choose which ones to show, we write the context around them, and we earn a small commission if you book after following one of our links, at no extra cost to you. What we will not do is invent a saving or attach a countdown clock to it.

Is the rainy season really a sensible time to go to Thailand?

For most travellers, yes, with eyes open. From roughly May to October the rain in Thailand tends to arrive as a heavy downpour in the afternoon that lasts an hour or two and then clears, rather than as all-day drizzle. The countryside is green, the crowds are thinner, and hotels and airfares are at their softest, with September and October the cheapest of all on the Andaman side. The honest cautions are that boat crossings to the smaller islands can be cancelled in rough weather, and that the two coasts have opposite patterns: the Gulf islands take their heaviest rain in October and November, so in June, July and August lean toward the Gulf and toward the Andaman coast from December to March.

Have I missed America’s 250th?

Not really. The date itself, the fourth of July 2026, has passed, but the anniversary was planned as a year rather than a weekend, and exhibitions, re-enactments and restored sites in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and a great many smaller towns continue through the rest of 2026. For most travellers the autumn is the better half of it anyway: the same history, thinner crowds, cooler weather and city hotel rates that generally settle once the school holidays end. Check the official programme for whichever city you are heading to, since individual events come and go.

Are the nightly rates shown on the hotel cards guaranteed?

No. Those are indicative starting rates taken from Trip.com listings when the selection was assembled, and they move with the date, the season and the property. Treat them as a rough sense of where a city begins rather than as a quotation. The price that counts is the total shown on Trip.com at the moment you book, after taxes and fees, and that is the one to read before you commit.