North America Overview

Fast Facts

Main Languages: Home to more than 30 big and small nations, a ‘melting pot’ as it is called, giving you an exact number of spoken languages is neither possible nor would it be right. However, English is widely spoken and understood in the United States, Canada, the Cayman Islands as well as Bermuda with little accentual variations. Spanish forms the basis of all conversations that take place in the Mexican and the Central American region. No need to carry along an English-to-Spanish dictionary if you're planning to visit Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Belize. English is widely understood there as well.

French is the lingua franca in Louisiana, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, Saint Pierre & Miquelon and Quebec.

Planning on visiting Greenland? Danish is taught as a second language to young Greenlanders but English is all pervasive.

When to Go: It’s too much! Way too much! Not the endless amount of fun that’s in store for you here but the time you’ll need to take off from work to really experience this bounty of nature, people, cultures, festivals, traditions and topographies to the hilt. If you are one of those people who are sceptical about planned vacations, we suggest that you pack your bags and head off to the airport, right now. Contrary to misconceptions, there is no good time to visit North America. Good times were never this easy to come by!

Summers, i.e. June to September, is when North America witnesses a splurge of travellers, backpackers and families on vacations.

Canada and United States are known North American ‘summer capitals’ but visitors often slip in for some winter fun such as the Quebec Winter Carnival, the Winterlude in Ottawa or the Montreal Highlights Festival. While springtime is when you should venture out into Greenland, when the summers breaks , the thawing snow is worthy enough for skiing and dog sledging and the peak season is still a few months away, Mexico is more inviting from October thru May.

Local Transport:

Water: While a rail ferry and a car ferry service (temporarily suspended) operates between Miami, Louisiana, Florida, New Orleans and Havana, there is only one rail ferry service (the AquaTrain, which is an Alaskan Railroad project) connecting Prince Rupert in British Columbia, Whittier in Alaska and Seattle in Washington. Besides these, you’ll be able to make use of the regular ferry service connecting Alaska to the Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast as well as a number of other automobile ferry services.

Rail: The continent has a super-extensive railroad network covering almost all major cities, even remote minor locations. America, Canada and Mexico boast of a convenient interconnected network. However, people looking to travel to Alaska from the United States or Mexico will miss watching the undulating fields and snow-capped mountains that appear along the way. Why? The Alaska Railroad has a lot of ground to cover in order to become one with the North American Network. Air tickets, anyone!!

Road: Like the railways, travelling by road can be an unforgettable experience, a great way to witness nature paint the Continent with different colours in different seasons. The North American road network is as diverse as it is extensive from a mix of international and interstate super expressways to poor quality rural gravel roads.  

Air: The continent is well connected within and with other destinations across the globe. United States is home to 9 of the 10 busiest airports, the busiest being the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with flights to and from all major world destinations. The busiest outside the country is the Toronto Pearson International Airport. 

Time Zone: Ranges from GMT -4 hours (Nuuk, Greenland) to GMT -10 hours (Skagway, Alaska)

United States Time Zones:

Pacific Standard Time (PST: GMT -8 hours E.g. Los Angeles)

Mountain Standard Time (MST: GMT -7 hours, Eg. Salt Lake City)

Central Standard Time (CST: GMT -6 hours, E.g. Chicago)

Eastern Standard Time (EST: GMT -5 hours, e.g. New York) 

Voltage:

Canada - 110 Volts/60Hz

United States - 120 Volts/60Hz

Mexico - 127 Volts/60Hz