America is big. When planning a , those who have lived their lives in a country like the UK have trouble simply grasping the sheer size of the place - and no doubt many Americans have the same problem. More akin to a continent of different countries with the same laws, language and currency, rather than a country of different states; America's landmass makes up over nine million square kilometers (compared with the UK's paltry 240,000 square kilometers). That makes it just under forty times bigger. To put it bluntly, America is big.

In fact, everything's bigger over there - and that isn't merely a subtle stab at the hideous obesity problem that plagues the country. America boasts the biggest economy in the world, the biggest military force, the biggest cultural diversity.

Thus when people from other countries visit America, they often want to go on road trips. Flying from city to city is one thing, but physically driving yourself from one state to the next is something else: watching the scenery and feeling the climate gradually changing as the miles fly by, spending nights in remote motels - discovering America the old-fashioned way. However, for a successful road trip you need a car and a strict itinerary, not to mention a fallback in case something goes wrong or you find yourself lost in the wilderness.

Auto tours in the USA have become a sizeable tourist industry in the States, with agencies setting visitors up with a car, detailed travel plans including mileage, and hotel bookings along the way. A huge variety of different tours are available, from the ultimate Texas cowboy experience to a whirlwind tour of the Great Lakes; and with many companies the tours are customizable, allowing you to add additional destinations of your choice, upgrade your car to a convertible or luxury model and include sat-nave systems to assure that you don't get lost. All you need do after booking your trip is to turn up at your starting point and meet your representative, who will furnish you with your car and everything else you'll need for what American youths would term a 'killer' road trip.

America may be the biggest country in North America, but it's not the only place you can plan a road trip: auto tours in Canada are also widely available for those going on a Canada holiday.