Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Drivers expect a 10% to 15% tip, rounded up to the next dollar.
Taxis cruise the streets of the busiest areas in large cities, but elsewhere you may need
to call a cab company.
Tours
Green Tortoise
( 800-867-8647, 415-956-7500;
www.greentortoise.com
)
Youthful budget-backpacker trips utilize converted sleeping-bunk buses for adventure
tours of California's national parks, northern redwood forests, southern deserts and Pacific
Coast.
BUS TOUR
Road Scholar
( 800-454-5768;
www.roadscholar.org
)
Formerly Elderhostel, this nonprofit organization offers educational trips - including bus
and walking tours and outdoor activities like hiking and birding - for older adults.
GUIDED TOUR
Train
Amtrak
runs comfortable, if occasionally tardy, trains to major California cities and limited
towns. At some stations Thruway buses provide onward connections. Smoking is prohibited
on board trains and buses.
Amtrak routes within California:
California Zephyr
Daily service from Emeryville (near San Francisco) via Davis and Sacra-
mento to Truckee (near Lake Tahoe) and Reno, NV.
Capitol Corridor
Links San Francisco's East Bay (including Oakland, Emeryville and
Berkeley) and San Jose with Davis and Sacramento several times daily; on-board wi-fi
available. Thruway buses connect to San Francisco, Auburn in the Gold Country, Truckee
and Reno, NV.
Coast Starlight
Chugs roughly north-south almost the entire length of the state. Daily
stops include LA, Burbank, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Salinas, San
Jose, Oakland, Emeryville, Davis, Sacramento, Chico, Redding and Dunsmuir.
Pacific Surfliner
Eight daily trains ply the San Diego-LA route, stopping at San Diego's
North County beach towns and San Juan Capistrano and Anaheim in Orange County. Five
trains continue north to Santa Barbara via Burbank, Ventura and Carpinteria, with three go-
