What age do you have to be to travel to the USA and stay in a hotel?

Me and my Girlfriend are planning to go to San Francisco next summer,
we're from England.

We will both be 17, but i was wondering whether it would be okay for just the two of us to travel and stay in a hotel by ourselves.
We would have parental permission if we needed it.

Will we be alright doing this, or will there be no way we could go by ourselves?
We won't be trying to hire a car because neither of us are planning on learning to drive between now and then.

We do both have cards though that we can pay with,
i'm not sure if they're accepted?
Solo or maestro i think they are.

prolly at least 18

it will be ok but maybe you need to have your ids with you and your drivers licen and birth sortificut

I would suggest looking up a few of the major hotel chains in the area and calling and asking about their specific policies. I've seen some that say 18+, I've seen others that are 21+.

If the hotel chains themselves will not work with you, try hostels and family owned bed & breakfasts.

Consider also American car rental policies, if you plan to travel by vehicle you may find it prohibitively expensive, if not outright impossible, to rent a vehicle.

It is going to be hard to get a hotel room. You will need to be 18 and have a credit card in your name or hers. Even if you pay by cash they will want a credit card for security. You will be considered underage here, some areas have curfews times. to rent a car you must be 25.

I think the greatest problem you will have is that most things get paid for by credit card and I think you have to be 18 to get one of those and probably in full-time work too. If you are determined to go sooner than when you're 18 I'd recommend you travel on an organised tour. I regularly see companies advertising trips like this in my local paper. Maybe google 'coach tour USA'.
San Francisco is a great place to visit but could be a bit risky if the 2 of you went unaccompanied.
I don't think you'd have much difficulty from the airline but hotels may be reluctant to put up 17 year olds travelling alone. Remember the US culture is different to UK regarding coming of age. Everyone stays in school till 18 and in California no alcohol till 21. Basically they see you as kids for longer.

Cool place to visit though so hope you make it happen!

I would check hotel websites. Alot of hotels require you to be 21. I know the ones around the beaches usually do.

Have you thought about staying in hostels instead? I met a 15 year old in a hostel in Asheville, North Carolina. He was American but still he was on his own!

If you can open an account with Nationwide as they don't charge for using your card abroad.

I think you will be able to go by yourselves.

Enjoy!

Most hotels only let people who are 18+ or 21+ to check in as in make a reservation for a room out in the States so if you plan on travelling there you would need to find an ancestor in america to stay with. That probably means you would need to relocate if not in SF or going with an ancestor/friend who is over 18 or 21 to check into hotels. Otherwise you can fly to the States alone if you are over 14 with a visa waiver but not be able to find accomodation as easily until youre 18. With the cash cards yes they are accepted in america, maestro are familiar dunno about solo, better off with a visa card;)