Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With low-cost carriers as relatively cheap as they are, no domestic company
operates regular commercial charter flights to San Francisco, and there are precious
few online packagers who will combine discounted hotel stays with scheduled
airfare on a regular basis. Generally, though, these packagers are not American
and they cater to the foreign market. Virgin Holidays (www.virginholidays.
co.uk) is a huge player, with lots of on-the-ground customer-service reps available
in case things go wrong. North Americans should check the major players in air-
and-hotel combinations, including (in no particular order) Travelocity.com,
Orbitz.com, and Expedia.com, as well as some of the vacation packaging wings of
major airlines like Southwest, Delta, American, and Northwest—but only after
having done their own checks for good airfare and hotel rates individually,
because the package prices offered by these sites are not always lower than what
you'd get if you booked components on your own. Remember that you won't
need a car unless you have definite plans to head out of town for the duration of
your visit.
Lastminute.com, which used to operate as Site59.com, specializes in airfare-
inclusive packages of less than 7 days that depart within the next 2 weeks. The
prices you get depend on how full the hotels are and what the whims of the air-
lines are that day, but deals along the lines of airfare from the East Coast plus 3
nights' hotel can be had for about $415 per person based on two traveling
together. (Be ready to agree to take the first flight of the day in order to get the
best rates.) And for about $100 more for the whole trip, the choice of hotel can
move from three stars to five stars—a good deal.
San Francisco is a major tourist's town, so you'll also frequently find deals at
sites such as Hotwire.com, Hotels.com, and Priceline.com. Hunt around, because
you'll find that different prices have been negotiated by different websites.
Services like Sidestep.com and Kayak.com are useful because they canvass dozens
of different sites at once for you, cutting out much of the legwork.
ARRIVING OR LEAVING BY TRAIN OR BUS
The national rail system Amtrak ( % 800/872-7245; www.amtrak.com) doesn't
stop in San Francisco; the nearest station is in Oakland, and there's also one in
Richmond, which is also across the Bay. BART is accessible to both. Even then,
the main route serves Sacramento, but you'll have to change trains to go anywhere
else in the country. So it's not a convenient option well-suited to reaching the city
on major cross-country journeys. The USA Rail Pass is the American equivalent
of the Eurail Pass in Europe—although our national rail system hardly compares
to the European system. The pass allows foreign visitors to travel extensively
within the U.S. for one set (and fairly reasonable) rate. It's only for those living
outside North America (Canadians and Mexicans are not eligible). The passes are
good for 15 or 30 days of travel, and work either within a region (Northeast, East,
or West) or, if you shell out more, throughout the entire United States. The
cheapest pass is a 15-day pass for off-peak rides along the Northeast Corridor
($299); the most expensive offers 30 days of peak-time travel throughout the U.S.
($599). The pass covering the West of the country starts at $329 for 15 days of
validity and goes to $359 for 30 days. That doesn't mean you get 15 days of travel;
it means that once you validate your pass, you'll have a little over two weeks to get
all your movements in. There is also a 30-day North American pass, the grand
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