California Travel Forum

Hello,
I am planning a trip to california in May (basically starting next!).
Therefor I am looking for travelpüartners on the route from San Francisco to San Diego (public transport, hitchhiking...).
What places have to be visited on this route? What are good jumping-off hostels in San Francisco?
Thanks for your answers!
Cheers
Chris

You might look at the following site for pretty cheap trans[port between San Francisco and Los Angeles: www.megabus.com/us. For San Francisco area hostels: http://norcalhostels.org. My personal suggestions would be the Fisherman's Wharf/Ft. Mason Hostel: www.sfhostels.com/fishermans-wharf, the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel: http://norcalhostels.org/montara, which is located about 25 miles south of San Francisco, and the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel: http://norcalhostels.org/pigeon, which is about 50 miles south of San Francisco. They used to have a shuttle that ran between the Ft.Mason hostel, and one of the LA hostels. Gary

Hopefully, you will come to Los Angeles as well?! I have quite a bit of info on LA. Enjoy your visit! We'll have spectacular weather in May here!

Hey!

Is renting a car out of the question?

I honestly wouldn't want to visit Los Angeles and San Diego without a car. It will make your trip much more enjoyable and you will be able to see a lot more than traveling by public transportation, Greyhound, or Amtrak.

In San Francisco, I'd recommend staying at the Green Tortoise Hostel, USA Hostels San Francisco, or Hostelling International Fisherman's Wharf.

www.tripadvisor.com is a good website that has numerous traveler reviews.

Hey Grace!
Thanks for your fast response!
Actually I am pretty sure, that I will come to LA. People are telling me, that there a car would be very helpfull, what´s your opinion about?
Which recommendations do you have in terms of places to visit, hostels to stay and
things to do?
Do you know nice beachy places on the costline outside town, where I can enjoy a couple of days with doing "nothing"?
Regards
Chris!

Hey Grace!
Thanks for your fast response!
Actually I am pretty sure, that I will come to LA. People are telling me, that there a car would be very helpfull, what´s your opinion about?
Which recommendations do you have in terms of places to visit, hostels to stay and
things to do?
Do you know nice beachy places on the costline outside town, where I can enjoy a couple of days with doing "nothing"?
Regards
Chris!

Thanks for your response!
I will have a look at the hostels you mentioned, perhaps first fisherman´s warf, and afterwards for one or two days at one of the lighthouses!
A car is possible of course, and I think about renting a car, when I stay in town.
But because I am travelling alone, my suggestion was to overland by public transport or hitchhiking, so I get more easy contact to locals and travellers!

Which are good places to stay for a while?
Greetings
Chris!

Most Americans know the dangers of picking up hitch-hikers, so the only ones if any that would pick you up, probally have something else in mind.

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You can get around San Francisco without a car, but the rest of California I'd recommend one. If you rent a car from San Francisco, I'd drive down the Pacific Coast Highway to Pismo Beach. Spend the night, the next morning rent an atv and ride on the massive sand dunes, then continue driving South to Los Angeles. Santa Barbara is a nice city to stop for lunch or dinner along the way. If the sun is still out by the time you get to Ventura, you can get back on the Pacific Coast Highway and take it to Santa Monica where I'd recommend to stay in Los Angeles. If that becomes to expensive, Venice and Marina Del Rey are cheaper alternatives. Newport Beach and Laguna Beach are nice areas to relax outside of Los Angeles and La Jolla is a nice area of San Diego to stay.

www.yelp.com is a good website to look for restaurants, bars, clubs etc

About meeting locals on public transportation, I'd look elsewhere. Most people here drive and if they don't it's usually because they can't afford it, so you will see many homeless, degenerates, etc on buses. If you want to meet some cool people, clubs/bars/lounges would be the best areas.