BudgetTravel

Nick Edwards: Depends what you're into. Up or down the coast (as described to Boston, MA) are beautiful trips, if you're into nature. If you're too young to hire a car, you can get to Marin Headlands from SF on bus #40 (Sundays only), to Muir Woods/Mt Tam area on bus #63 daily. If you want pure fun, there's a huge Six Flags at Vallejo, which you can get to by a ferry/bus link.

_______________________

Shreveport, La.: My husband and I (age 29) will be flying into San Francisco on our way back from our trip to Ecuador this summer (arriving in San Fran. on Friday June 6th- evening). We'll have one full day to explore the area (Sat.), then half a day of watching our friend run the Escape from Alcatraz Triathalon with the remainder of the day open for exploring (Sun.). We are thinking about renting bicycles to explore the Golden Gate bridge and the areas across the bay. Just wondering which hostel would be the best for our little trip, which bike company is the best, and some other ideas of what we might do or where we could eat. We are more interested in the outdoors, than the actual city. We love all kinds of food (ethnic or local fare), but would rather eat somewhere with character than a fancy restaurant. We will be using public transportation to get around. Thanks for your help!

Nick Edwards: Cycling in Marin is a long-established delight. The mountain bike was invented there, in fact. You can't beat the HI-Marin Headlands hostel for location. Not much right around there (that's the beauty of it) so take some provisions but Sausalito has a nice feel and plenty of good eateries. If you have the legs to make it over the southern edge of Mt Tam and via Muir Woods back to the coast, then Bolinas is a wonderful 60s throwback of a town. The bad news is that bike hire is fairly pricey around the Bay Area. Blazing Saddles has a good repution and several outlets in the city.

_______________________

Glendale, Ariz.: My friends and I are planning a trip to San Francisco this summer and would like to do a day trip to the wineries nearby. We are not picky about which resort town we go to and do not have a list of wineries that we must see, we're just looking for a safe way to do some wine tasting and get the flavor of the wineries. Where can I find a hassle free, budget friendly, company to do all the driving?

Nick Edwards: As I said before, Calistoga is my favourite town in Napa Valley, though I reckon Sonoma Valley shades it overall. There's also one real benefit in that Sonoma town has a number of wineries within walking distance. We don't list chauffeur driven tours and I think they are hard to come by. Apart from the aforementioned Gray Line and Blue & Gold tours from SF, private shuttles such as winecountrytourshuttle.com are reaaly expensive, even if you have a big group. Platypus tours do it for $75 per person.

_______________________

Hattiesburg, Miss.: What do you consider must see/must do when in the San Francisco area? My husband and I are planing our trip now for next year. We will be flying to San Francisco. Is it worth renting a car to venture across the bay and on up the coast or should we just remain in the city? We will have about a week to spend. Many thanks, Sharon

Nick Edwards: If you have a week, I definitely recommend renting a car for say three days of it and heading north to see the redwoods, the coastal highway and perhaps inland to Mt Shasta or Lassen. Of course, Yosemite is not that far in the opposite direction but it's off my patch so I don't know a lot about it. The Gold Country is another interesting area. Please refer to earlier answer to N Billerica, MA for "must see" SF sights.

_______________________

Oakland, Calif.: My mother-in-law will be visiting us in Oakland from England for two weeks in May. We can't take much time off work, but don't want her to be bored during the day. Any ideas foo activities or tours in she might enjoy solo? Thanks, Shea