Archive for the 'San Francisco' Category
Timing’s good, says Virgin America CEO as airline launches Fort Lauderdale service (with $99 sale fares)
November 18, 2009 10:42am
A few months ago, after Virgin America announced plans to add Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to its route map (with twice-daily nonstop flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles), Chief Executive David Cush was “cautiously optimistic” about the state of fall travel.
How’s he feeling about the timing of the launch right now, as he is, this morning, aboard one of the inaugural flights of the new service?
“The timing of this route is very good. South Florida is a warm-weather destination that does very well in the first quarter,” he said. “While we are excited about Fort Lauderdale as a destination, we are also pleased that it is giving our network a bit more seasonal balance — a warm-weather destination. While first quarter is the weakest quarter for most routes, it is the strongest for Florida.”
And yes, he’s enjoying the first flight, which is laden with WiFi and cocktails, though he added, “not as much as some of the other guests, if you know what I mean.” And the fun continues after landing in Florida (at 3:15 p.m. EST), where passengers will receive “a champagne-soaked red carpet runway welcome” by Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson, according to a news release.
Those of us who aren’t part of the party can celebrate by — how else? — shopping. To mark the official addition of its 10th destination, Virgin America has launched a 24-hour “Go Golden” sale, which ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. PST. Read the rest of this entry »
Central Valley and S.F. Bay area: Wild-salmon-viewing made easy, with new Bay Institute map
November 9, 2009 5:00pm
For a unique wildlife-watching experience, travel up to some of our state’s streams. In certain areas of the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay region in the next few months, you may get the chance to watch wild salmon and/or steelhead spawn (deposit their eggs) — a valuable opportunity, especially given the depletion of the species’ population in the West.
A new interactive map and calendar, released by the Bay Institute, a nonprofit conservation organization, gives the scoop on best viewing spots, along with best months for fish-spotting at each location. On the pdf map, you can click on your desired location to see a Google map pop up. The maps and other information on the spawning fish are also found in print brochures newly available at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco.
“Salmon spawning is the salmon’s grand-finale act of swimming upstream, most of the time to the exact stream where they were born, to lay their eggs,” said Kati Schmidt, public relations manager for Aquarium of the Bay.
Lucky visitors might also see male salmon battling one another “for the opportunity to fertilize the eggs,” said Schmidt, or female salmon creating gravel nests, called redds, where they deposit their eggs. Read the rest of this entry »
For a sane holiday, consider Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale
October 31, 2009 6:51pm
If bunking up with Cousin Lenny sounds like the worst way to spend your Thanksgiving holiday away, why not treat yourself to your own peaceful quarters this year? Booking a room close to (but not with) the family doesn’t have to break the bank, thanks in part to promotions like Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale. Through it, you can find a range of properties for up to 30% off in 100 cities.
One of those is Denver, where 30%-off rooms at the Burnsley All-Suite Hotel are attainable. In Orlando, Fla. — where, it must be said, accommodations bargains are never rare — you can get a room for $41 per night, pretax, at the Seralago Hotel, a few miles from Disney World. Up in New York, stay for 20% off at the Time Hotel, close to Broadway shows; rates here around Thanksgiving start at $183 per night (the usual average is $229).
But there are lots of options closer to home too, for instance:
Palm Springs
I stopped into Riviera Resort & Spa’s reservation system for a stay Wednesday through Friday of that week, and got a total of about $600, after taxes and fees, for the two nights. The total price I found via Hotels.com was $478. Read the rest of this entry »
San Francisco: Savings for the unfussy with Inn at the Opera’s ‘Think Green’ deal
October 30, 2009 5:54am
The Inn at the Opera doesn’t sit on the most glamorous strip of San Francisco, but when I stayed here last year, I appreciated its proximity to Hayes Valley restaurants and its central location amid a mecca of transportation options. It’s a stone’s throw from the Civic Center and a few short blocks to Market Street, one of city’s main arteries.
The hotel usually has reasonable rates, and now, aided by a truly unusual promotion, you can save even more on a stay.
Deal: If you don’t need a spic-and-span room and don’t mind picking up after yourself, the “Think Green” promotion, valid for stays of two or more nights, may work for you. With this offer, during your stay, your room will get “limited housekeeping,” which includes only trash removal and an optional towel service. In exchange, you get $20 off per night.
So you’ll save a little cash, but what’s the eco-incentive alluded to in the promo’s title? Read the rest of this entry »
Pacifica Hotels: 25% off, plus bring a toy for a bigger discount
October 29, 2009 5:51am
For a getaway up or down the coast, or in popular destinations inland, you might look into a stay with Pacifica Hotels. The company, largely rooted in California but with locations in Florida and Hawaii as well, has a great promotion going for late fall and early winter. See below for the scoop.
Deal: Under its current online winter promotion, receive 25% off regular rates at Pacifica Hotels properties over the next couple of months. Plus, if you bring along a new, unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more, you get an additional $10 per night off your bill at checkout. The hotel participates in the Toys for Tots program, so your gift will go to children in need.
The deal is good only in California, where Pacifica runs hotels in in Sonoma, San Francisco, Cambria, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Marina del Rey, Redondo Beach, Laguna Beach and San Diego, among other locations. [Corrected at 10:15 a.m. Oct. 29: An earlier version of this post did not make it clear that this deal is good only at Pacifica hotels in California, not in Florida or Hawaii.] Read the rest of this entry »
Bay Bridge closure travel guide: Detour routes, traffic and current info for getting to SFO and OAK
October 28, 2009 3:46pm
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is closed in both directions—indefinitely—after two rods and a 5,000-pound crossbeam fell during rush hour traffic at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, as reported on L.A. Now. Traffic was backed up during the morning rush hour on Wednesday and is expected to add delays to the evening commute Wednesday as well. Here are some resources for Bay Bridge updates and alternative travel means, plus maps for traffic statuses on routes to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK).
Bay Area transit info: 511.org is the best place to find alternative transit options in the Bay Area.
The page on transit options shows a full grid of status updates for Bay Area transportation services such as BART, MUNI, SF and East Bay ferry service and more. Use this 511.org “Detour Routes” page for alternative routes that use the Dumbarton Bridge, San Mateo Bridge and other options.
Airport commute: 511.org offers these directions to San Francisco International Airport from the East Bay: “Take Interstate 880, the San Mateo Bridge, and U.S. 101 north. Or, use the 511 Transit Trip planner to plan your trip to the airport on BART.” However, the trip planner does not account for adjusted schedules due to the bridge closure. If you are in San Francisco trying to get to the Oakland airport, MapQuest asks that you drag your route map down to the San Mateo bridge due to the closure. Here is a map link for travel between San Francisco and the Oakland airport.
SuperShuttle: If you are using the Super Shuttle 800 BLUE-VAN (258-3826), note that officials say that driving time is about 1 hour, 45 minutes between downtown San Francisco and OAK. They ask that you allow three hours from your departure time for domestic flights and four hours for international flights.
Tour the San Francisco Bay — and often— with Red and White Fleet pass
October 24, 2009 5:55am
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This one’s for frequent visitors to the San Francisco Bay area. If you like to take to the waters when you’re in town, check out the following deal by the Red and White Fleet, which offers unlimited tours on one of its popular cruises for over a year, if purchased in 2009.
Deal: Buy a Red and White Fleet season pass and board the one-hour Golden Gate Bay Cruise as many times as you like. If you purchase it this year, you get an especially good deal, as the pass is valid from the date you purchase the pass to Dec. 31, 2010. It costs $50 per adult, $30 per child (age 5-17). Without the pass, you’d pay $22 per adult, $16 per child, for a one-time cruise ticket.
Having launched in 1939, the Golden Gate Bay Cruise is a classic tour around the bay, now narrated in 12 languages through headphones. It goes under the Golden Gate Bridge and circuits Alcatraz Island, leaving Pier 43-1/2 eight or more times daily. Read the rest of this entry »
San Francisco: Exhibition planned for Golden Gate Bridge, recipient of $3 million grant
October 22, 2009 4:29pm
Sure, the Golden Gate Bridge is awe-inspiring, but what is it really all about? If you’re interested in the inner and outer works of the bridge, as well as its past, you will soon—well, in a couple years or so—be able to indulge your curiosities through an outdoor exhibit planned for the tourist landmark.
Earlier this week, the National Science Foundation granted the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District $3 million to build educational exhibits related to the San Francisco icon’s history and engineering.
At the south side visitor area, which sees over 10 million annual visitors, a central feature of the exhibit will be a 92-foot-long scale model of the bridge. Next to that will be 24 interactive satellite exhibits, where you might learn, among other facts and figures, that 250 pairs of vertical suspender ropes hold up the roadway that you see. Read the rest of this entry »
Get a third night for free at 35 California hotels
October 21, 2009 5:59am
Buy two, get one free. That’s the idea behind the Third Night Free offer at 35 California hotels run by Joie de Vivre, a boutique chain based in San Francisco. Launched to promote the company’s new “Joie of Life” micro-site that focuses on social networking, the deal isn’t being advertised on the chain’s main website. But you can book it there anyway — if you know the code.
The deal is worth hunting up because Joie de Vivre runs a lot of fun and well-located hotels in a range of prices, such as San Francisco’s Hotel Rex and Hotel Vitale, Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles and Hotel Erwin at Venice Beach. The 411:
Deal: Pretty straightforward. You book a room for three nights in a row, and the third night is free. There are two ways to get the deal: You can book it through the Third Night Free section of the Joie of Life micro-site or go to the regular Joie de Vivre website and enter the code “JOIE” in the “Promo Code” window when making a reservation. The micro-site lists the participating hotels, with nightly rates that start at $79 to $459, depending on the hotel.
JetBlue 1-day sale: $24 to $49 one-way fares from Long Beach (LGB)
October 15, 2009 6:20am
If you thought Wednesday’s $44 airfare sale wasn’t cheap enough, you weren’t alone. Apparently, JetBlue also thought that was hardly impressive. The JetBlue Sample Sale has fares as low as $24 one way, pre-tax. Even better, of the seven flights on sale from Long Beach, none of the fares are over $49 each way. So, what will it be, a quickie getaway to San Francisco for $29 each way, or how about Seattle for $10 more?
Starting fares in the JetBlue Sample Sale from Long Beach, CA (LGB) :
$29 to Oakland, CA (OAK)
$49 to Portland, OR (PDX)
$39 to Sacramento (SMF)
$49 to Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)
$39 to Seattle, WA (SEA)
$29 to San Francisco, CA (SFO)
$24 to San Jose, CA (SJC)
When: Book by 10:59 p.m. Oct. 15 for travel between Oct. 22 and Dec. 16 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
