America isn’t the sort of country you can just pop to. There’s so much to see and do that each trip should take a lot of planning. Here are our top five destinations in the country.

New York City

If you visit one big city in America then this should be it. It’s a hive of activity with something for everyone. There are shops galore, iconic sights and a buzzing night life. Even if you are used to the hustle and bustle of London it will not prepare you for NYC.

Must-see places include the Statue of Liberty and Times Square. Obvious choices but well worth it. Also, try and get some shopping done in any of the big department stores and have a nice stroll or cart ride around Central Park.

The amount of tourists visiting the city has steadily risen in the past ten years. In 2010 48.5 million people visited NYC.

Niagara Falls

This magnificent place straddles the boarder between the USA and Canada. So it’s a great place to stop if you intend to travel through the two countries. Take a trip on the Maid of the Mist (which has been running since 1846) and then watch the falls change colour as it descends into night.

There are three sets of falls at Niagara. The Bridal Veil Falls and American falls are both on the side of the USA. The Horseshoe Falls are on the Canadian side.

The surrounding area has 56,000 residents and accommodates around 20 million visitors a year.

Yellowstone

The first National Park in the world (and home to Yogi Bear). The park is mainly located in the state of Wyoming but stretches into Montana and Idaho too. If you want to see some real beauty then this is the place to go. It’s also teaming with wildlife. You might be able to see grizzly bears, wolves, elk, bison and so much more. There’s so much you can do in the park, from horse riding to picnicking.

One place to visit would be the Old Faithful Area, which is also know as the Upper Geyser Basin. It has the highest concentration of geysers in the world. Including the infamous Old Faithful which can erupt ever one to two hours.

It covers more than two million acres and over the year around three million people will visit.

Florida

This is a must-see destination, especially if you have kids. There are many theme parks to choose from including Disney World, Island of Adventure and Universal Studios. You could spend weeks exploring all of the parks but there’s much more to Florida than those tourist hot spots.

If you visit Florida take some time to see the Everglades National Park. It’s the largest sub-tropical wilderness in America. You could spend some time there seeing alligators, photographing birds or going on a ranger-led hike.

82.3 million tourists visited in 2010, each spending an average of $150 per day.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a mile-deep rift in the Arizona landscape. It was carved out by a number of forces such as wind, water, continental drift and the course of the Colorado River.

Take a helicopter trip down the length of the canyon, walk along the rim or relax at one of the many viewing points. Also, Las Vegas is only a few hours drive away and there are many companies who do tours taking in both place of interest.

Five million people visit the national park per year and, unsurprisingly, it’s Arizona’s number one attraction.

Written by Tom Tolladay, event organiser for Chillisauce, specialising in Stag Weekends and Activity Weekends