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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
As ever when shopping look for special offers and generally avoid the expensive brands which are advertised on television. Outlet malls only offer expensive "designer" label goods and are therefore best ignored.
Prices marked in shops in the USA and Canada always exclude sales tax.
GST/PST/HST is refundable for accommodation and purchases of non-consumables in Canada.
Visitors from Britain should remember that the much lower non-EC duty free allowances apply to purchases made in the USA and Canada, and that some electrical and electronic devices are not compatible between the two countries.
Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia and North Carolina - free!
Books, especially computer books where the price in US Dollars is usually numerically the same as in UK Pounds.
Car parking - always free at motels, shops, restaurants, National Parks, etc.
Coffee - in restaurants (including fast food restaurants) coffee is always inexpensive and nearly always with free refills; coffee is often available free in the mornings at motels and sometimes available free in shops and other businesses; however, packets of coffee in supermarkets are more expensive in the USA and Canada than in Britain.
Computer games - try K-Mart and Wal-Mart for currently popular titles; try specialist shops for more obscure titles but expect prices to be rather higher.
Duplicate car key - Wal-Mart (around $1) or a specialist locksmith (around $3 but still a very wise investment).
Entrance fees for the National Parks, etc, especially the National Parks Pass.
Eye glasses - prescription glasses - Wal-Mart Vision Centres - from about $40 (total cost for lenses and frame). UK prescriptions for eye glasses are compatible with those in the USA.
Eye glasses - non-prescription self selection reading glasses - Wal-Mart - around $8.
Ferry fares, generally, especially when compared with the current astronomical cost of crossing the English Channel.
Filters for coffee machines - K-Mart or Wal-Mart, around $1 for 200.
Fruit from roadside stands (although prices and quality vary considerably), or from establishments such as the "Fruit Market" in Farmington, New Mexico and the farmer's market in Parry Sound, Ontario. Fruit prices in supermarkets can sometimes also be good value but again they do vary considerably.
Medicines (non-prescription) and similar products, especially Wal-Mart's Equate brand.
Men's socks - Wilson's - K-Mart or Wal-Mart. Six pack of tube socks $4.92 (summer 2000).
Men's underwear - Fruit of The Loom - K-Mart or Wal-Mart.
Motel prices, generally.
Natchez Trace Parkway, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee - free!
Petrol (gas) prices, generally. Petrol is rather more expensive in Canada than in the USA, but still far below the prices in Europe.
Phone calls - always toll-free to motel chains' central reservations, airlines, car rental companies, etc.
Road Atlas - Rand McNally - least expensive if purchased in K-Mart or Wal-Mart.
Restaurant prices, generally, but especially breakfasts in fast food chains, the Mexican food fast food chains and the family steak house chains. Keep an eye out for posters on the windows promoting current special offers.
Scenic Roads - mostly free!
Shoes - K-Mart or Wal-Mart.
Shuttle Buses - free in some of the National Parks and always well worth making full use of.
Soft drinks - large bottles in various flavours from Wal-Mart (for example, apple juice and pink grapefruit) - around $1.50 a quart.
Soft drinks - cans from Wal-Mart. Their own brand is by far the least expensive, twelve cans for around $2.
Soft drinks - endless free refills in some fast food chains, for example Taco Bell.
Tolls for road bridges, etc. It is hardly ever worth considering making a diversion to avoid a road bridge toll in the USA or Canada.
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Most recently modified 11-Jun-02