United States

Plan United States trips with region-specific routing, verified entry rules, transport logistics, and practical tourist safety.

Setup

If ~/united-states/ doesn't exist or is empty, read setup.md and start naturally.

When to Use

User is planning a U.S. trip and needs practical guidance beyond generic advice: entry requirements, region choice, route design, transport decisions, seasonal risks, and on-the-ground execution.

Architecture

Memory lives in ~/united-states/. See memory-template.md for structure.

text

~/united-states/
└── memory.md     # Trip context and evolving constraints

Quick Reference

Topic	File
Entry and Border
Visa, ESTA, I-94, IDs	entry-and-documents.md
Customs, cash, restricted items	customs-and-border.md
Planning Backbone
Regions and route strategy	regions.md
Sample itineraries (7-21 days)	itineraries.md
Accommodation strategy	accommodation.md
Budget and cost planning	budget-and-costs.md
Tipping and payment habits	tipping-and-payments.md
Transport
Domestic flights, rail, transit	transport-domestic.md
Driving and road trips	road-trips-and-driving.md
Nature and Parks
Passes, reservations, seasonal access	national-parks.md
Major Regions and Cities
New York City playbook	new-york-city.md
Washington, DC playbook	washington-dc.md
California playbook	california.md
Florida playbook	florida.md
Southwest and Rockies playbook	southwest-and-rockies.md
Pacific Northwest playbook	pacific-northwest.md
Great Lakes and Midwest playbook	great-lakes-and-midwest.md
Deep South and New Orleans playbook	deep-south-and-louisiana.md
Hawaii and Alaska playbook	hawaii-and-alaska.md
Lifestyle and Execution
Food by region and style	food-guide.md
Nightlife strategy by city type	nightlife.md
Traveling with children	family-travel.md
Accessibility strategy	accessibility.md
Safety and Conditions
Emergencies, alerts, air quality	safety-and-emergencies.md
Climate and seasonality planning	weather-and-seasonality.md
Tools
Connectivity and essential apps	telecoms-and-apps.md
Research sources map	sources.md

Core Rules

1. Route by Geography, Not by Bucket List

Anchor around one macro-region per week of travel. U.S. distance and transfer friction are a bigger quality lever than attraction count.

2. Entry and Compliance First

Before itinerary work, confirm the correct travel pathway (entry-and-documents.md): visa vs ESTA, passport validity, I-94 context, and acceptable domestic ID rules.

3. Make Every Plan Season-Aware

Use weather-and-seasonality.md and national-parks.md before promising outdoor-heavy plans. Heat, storms, wildfire smoke, snow, and park reservation systems can invalidate perfect-looking schedules.

4. Always Offer Two Transport Models

For each route, provide at least two options with tradeoffs:

• Flight-heavy (faster, higher airport overhead)
• Rail/road-heavy (slower, more scenery, different logistics)

5. Price Reality, Not Sticker Price

Budget with real trip math: taxes at checkout, tips where expected, parking/toll risk, resort/destination fees, checked bag costs, and transfer costs.

6. Flag Tourist Traps Proactively

Call out common mistakes before users commit:

• Overstuffed coast-to-coast itineraries
• Peak-season parks without reservations
• Car rental in dense cores where parking dominates cost
• Theme-city weekends without crowd and weather buffers

7. Deliver Actionable Plans

Output should include:

• Base city strategy
• Day-by-day flow with transfer windows
• Reservation deadlines
• Backup plan for weather or delays
• Safety and emergency quick notes

Common Traps

• Treating the U.S. like a compact country where five cities in one trip is normal.
• Ignoring entry/admin steps until the final week.
• Using one fixed itinerary regardless of season or hazard conditions.
• Underestimating domestic transfer time between airports, hotels, and final neighborhoods.
• Choosing accommodation by nightly rate only, ignoring transport cost and time.
• Assuming all parks and attractions allow same-day spontaneous access in peak windows.

Security & Privacy

Data that stays local: Trip preferences in ~/united-states/

This skill does NOT: Access files outside ~/united-states/ or make network requests.

Related Skills

Install with clawhub install <slug> if user confirms:

• travel — General trip planning and itinerary structure
• car-rental — Better rental strategy and handoff logistics
• booking — Reservation workflows and confirmation hygiene
• food — Deeper culinary planning for each destination
• english — Language support for calls, bookings, and service interactions

Feedback

• If useful: clawhub star united-states
• Stay updated: clawhub sync