Cheap Eats! How to chow down while traveling on a budget.

Boston and San Francisco are bustling U.S. cities, each with a local charm and personality that escapes most highly populated metropolitan areas. Situated on harbors with chilly sea water, they have distinctive skylines and scenic bridges over bays, rivers, and deltas.

Unfortunately they both also have inexplicably high prices during this downturned economy.

So what do you do when you are traveling on a budget and want to chow down on some local food without emptying your bank account and selling off your luggage?

Cheap eats.  Many restaurant-bars run specials on weekdays -- an invitation to fill yourself with satisfying food and socialize with other patrons.  But while $2 Taco Tuesdays are a great bargain, beware of the temptation to wash them down with a couple of drinks.  Beer, wine, mixed drinks and sodas may be especially high priced to offset the food cost.  Plus you may end up spending more than you thought if those tacos are mere morsels that require a dozen to fill you.

A better option is to look further than the popular tourist areas.  Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco for example, is a must see, but eat before you go or you'll be subject to average food at above average prices.  A better bet is to visit "the mission" first where a number of locales serve burritos as big as your head for a fraction of what you'd pay on the waterfront.

Chinatown is another option -- numerous small restaurants offer amazing cuisine for just a few bucks.  Both Boston and San Francisco have a Chinatown, by the way.

If you have the time, seek out the restaurants near the colleges and universities.  Pricing and portion size will likely be scaled to fit the college-sized budget and appetite.  If your hostel or hotel has a refrigerator, save half your meal for the next day . . . unless you can eat it all on the spot, that is!  

As always a little research goes a long way.  Websites such as chowhound, Yelp, tripadvisor, and urbanspoon have numerous suggestions and reviews from users that have discovered food nirvana and want to share their knowledge.

If you don't have time to get online, try these local favorites:   Galleria Umberto (Hanover st North End, Boston) stuff yourself with divine pizza and other Italian specialties for under $5.

El Farolito (Mission district, San Francisco) for burritos as big as your head -- and other Mexican fare. 

Happy travels and Bon Apetit!

To get to Boston and San Francisco, check out our USA Expedition Cross-Country Adventure. See both coasts and everything in between on this trek across America! Happy travels ... and Bon Apetit!

Helpful Travel Tips -- Plan now to make your adventure go smoothly!

Traveling is an exciting and wondrous activity! Each day is filled with the opportunity to experience new surroundings, cultures, and people. It stimulates our minds and touches our hearts in ways that our every day life cannot.

But as with most things, there can be a downside. The logistical challenges of getting ready for your adventure can be overwhelming. This is especially true if you are combining destinations or if you are planning on participating in one or more activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking or hiking. While most outfitters provide gear rental, you will still need to pack some essential elements to make the most of your vacation.

The following are a few pointers to steer you in the right direction when faced with the daunting task of filling your empty suitcase with all the right things.

1. Identify the area(s) that you are traveling to and do a quick weather pattern search on the internet. Is it likely to rain during the time of year you are going? Will the sun be high in the sky threatening sunburn? Will it be humid and will insects be an issue? Take the answers into consideration and set aside the appropriate gear to protect yourself from the environment you are forging into.
2. Plan on filling your luggage last and making small "piles" of your things first.
3. Your first pile should be items that you cannot live without on a daily basis. Medications, nutritional supplements, etc.
4. Next up are items that you need, but can be purchased anywhere, eg toothpaste, lotion, and other toiletries. If you cannot buy these items where you are going, you'll have to put them in the "Can't live without" pile.
5. In the third pile, you'll assemble your "can't do without" wardrobe. Start with the items that are absolutely necessary to endure the success/safety of the activities during (for example: rain gear, bathing suit, hikers, sun hat, etc).
6. Your last pile will be your daily clothing. Choose items that are multi-use and can be worn in a variety of situations. A collared sun-protection shirt is a good example of this. It can be worn hiking as well as to dinner. And while jeans may be a standard dress item for you, consider bringing a lighter weight pair of pants that will dry fast, weigh less, and double as dinner wear for a night out. Apply these same multi-use principles to your footwear, too. For a longer trip try not to bring enough outfits for two weeks. Instead, pack for a week and plan on washing your clothes when needed.

Now that you have assembled your piles, it's time to start loading your luggage. You should have a scale handy to weigh your checked bag. Nobody wants to be the person on the floor at the airport re-organizing their life at the check-in counter. Weigh as you pack and allow 0.5 lbs for a variation in scale weight. If you are using older luggage or have overstuffed your bag, consider securing a strap around it to help the poor zippers hold in the contents. It's a small investment of your time that might prevent your bag from bursting during transit and spilling all of your things onto the conveyor belt at baggage claim. You also will want to place some identifier on the outside of your bag such as a brightly colored ribbon, some colored tape, etc. This will help you spot your luggage in the sea of black bags at the luggage carousel.

Hopefully these tips have broken down the daunting task of packing for an adventure trip into small, easy to manage sections. While packing for a trip still remains a chore, using these easy steps will ensure that your pre-trip preparations go more smoothly.

Travel safely and have a blast!

Spring Break Vacation in Baja California, Mexico

Green Tortoise Adventure travel offers spring break trips to a remote beach camp in Baja California, Mexico. There you can enjoy kayaking, snorkeling, horseback trips and fishing excursions - all led by locals from the area with generations of experience! A truly magical beach offers solitude and relaxation that's a short walk away from the exciting activities.

Click here for Baja trip details!

For more than 35 years, The Green Tortoise has traveled to unique vacation destinations with adventure, fun and friendship at the core of every trip at a fraction of the price you'd pay for other "all inclusive" tours.

New lifelong friends on an incredible journey!

Fantastic gourmet food, transportation and camping expenses are included in each and every trek!

The coach interiors are custom built into a lounge style setting - single travelers and families alike interact with each other since they are seated facing each other. While the destination is the highlight of the trip, the journey becomes an unforgettable experience as well!

You'll have the trip of a lifetime, and will come away from your spring break refreshed and ready for the next adventure - plus you'll have a whole group of new friends!

Reserve your spot by calling Mac at 415 956 7500.  See you on the beach!

Whale Watching in Baja Mexico!

Sit back, stretch out, and watch the the cactus-covered landscape go by! Perfect for Baja lovers, whale enthusiasts, and all Green Tortoise adventurers alike, this once-a-year special tour combines all the highlights of our 9- and 15-day trips plus the best spots for mind-blowing whale watching!

This affordable Baja adventure is a whale of a deal! It's also spacious! We're limiting this unique south-of-the-border tour to 25 people, which means a lot more room for you! It also means there's limited space, so why not book today?



Get all the details on the Baja Whale Watching Special page on our website. And be sure to check out some up-close video footage from this unforgettable camping trek on our You Tube channel!

Give us a call at 415 956 7500 (ext 1) for questions or to reserve your space today.

Can't join us in February? Check out our selection of Baja California Adventures happening on or around Spring Break

Looking for a unique Valentine's day idea?

I used to dread traveling on buses travel and viewed it as just a mode of transportation until I took a trip that would forever change the way I felt about bus travel. It was on a Green Tortoise "Western Trail" trip that went from San Francisco, down the coast to Los Angeles, over to Las Vegas and back to San Francisco.

The insides of the Tortoise buses have all been custom built and instead of conventional bus seating there are couches, dinettes and even overhead bunks to sleep in. The style of travel is different - it's social, activity oriented, alternative . . .and incredible fun! You share a trip on a bus where you can sit next to and across from other travelers . . .well, that creates a unique group dynamic - in a very short amount of time you feel like you've been hanging out with your new friends for ages.

Since it's not a "point a to b" type of trip you end up in "off the beaten track" areas that you've never heard of. Camping and cooking outdoors are the norm in beautiful settings by the ocean . . . in the mountains . . . in a national park. And when we stop there are choices of optional activities like backpacking, horseback riding, hiking, whitewater rafting, jeep tours, kayaking . . . or just plain ol' relaxing!

On the Western Trail trip we toured the gorgeous coastline of California, got serenaded by the bus driver who sang and played blues guitar by the campfire, kayaked in San Simeon cove, watched the bronzed beach bunnies in Santa Monica, scrambled rocks in Joshua Tree National Park, then hiked in Zion after partying all night in Las Vegas. WOW. My muscles (and liver) still ache from the memory of it all!

The trips are nothing short of amazing - the camaraderie, exotic and stunning scenery, the physical exertion of a hike in a magical setting . . . somehow it all feels like I'm home when I'm on a trip, like I was meant to be there traveling among my new friends. And yes, in a magical moment that was created 7 years ago on a Green Tortoise trip . . . I met the love of my life! (who happens to be snoring right now as I romantically envision our meeting) In the travels I've done on these trips, I've met many people who I now consider to be lifelong friends - and I have met couples who have fallen deeply in love, become engaged, gotten married and some who have had children - all after meeting on a Green Tortoise bus!

Of course there are the spontaneous "vacation romances" that are pretty regular, too. . .

Over the Valentine's day weekend, the budget-priced adventure will be from San Francisco to Death Valley (and back of course!) It's a perfect alternative for single folks and couples alike . . . where else can you be guaranteed to sleep with someone on the first night, after all!

http://www.greentortoise.com/adventures/death.valley.national.park.html

The Green Tortoise is based in San Francisco, California and has been in business for over 35 years. They operate 9 full size, customized coaches on budget adventure camping trips to Alaska, all through the United States, in Mexico and Central America.

http://www.greentortoise.com/adventure.travel.html

415 956 7500 ext 1

Call and get on the next adventure!

Traveling on a budget in Baja California, Mexico

Foodie on the Road says "Try the Comida Corrida in Loreto!"

Once again it's the season for Baja travel, eating, and enjoying life with friends and family! There's no better way to explore local Mexican traditions than a comedor (restaurant or eatery) that offers comida corrida -- a small meal of several courses. Generally the menu varies from day to day and there are usually only three or four choices.

Our pick in Loreto, Baja Sur Mexico is La Vina, near the center of town on Colegio. The food is always fresh and lively and is prepared with a homemade style by Senor Angel. The portions are generous and at 50 pesos per meal (about 4.50 USD). You'll leave feeling full without emptying your wallet!

How to Write for a Blog, E-newsletter, and the Internet

When was the last time someone send you a link to their travel blog . . . and you actually enjoyed reading it? Did you read it to the finish?

While there are many good blogs out there - and a few really great ones, the truth of the matter is that the internet is innundated with wordy, difficult to read blogs that fail to capture attention.

Here are a few tips on writing for the internet that will make your blog, newsletter or internet article stand out, drive traffic ro your site, and ease the eyestrain of your readers:

Content on the Internet has to be easily scannable. Thanks to the Internet and broadcast media, people have far less patience and tolerance for large blocks of narrative text. When you create new Web text, make sure it's "chunked out" (broken into smaller blocks of text separated by a break) or "chunked down" (shortened).

Explain your points in short paragraphs. Short paragraphs are easier for the reader to follow. No one likes to look at a long block of solid text. Three, four or five sentences are usually enough for one paragraph.


Use the traditional newspaper structure of "inverted pyramid" writing. Like newspapers, the Internet should be a fast read, involve a lot of content and catch the reader's attention. Make sure your five W's (who, what, when, where, why, and also how) are close to the top. Details of lesser importance should follow, from general to specific (that's why the pyramid is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom). The idea is this: Even if the reader only reads the headline, they should have a good idea of what the article is about. And if they read only the first few lines, they should have a very good idea of the main points in the article

Here is an example of our Green Tortoise Adventure travel newsletter: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs053/1101592235017/archive/1102949516783.html

Try to use keywords so the search engines can find the article. Also link to our own website with the proper landing page - the page that contains more information. The more keywords, the better. That's because search engines – the “publishers” of the internet - have “spider bots,” which crawl all over the internet looking for just the right websites to recommend to every person who enters a word or phrase in a Search box. The best keywords are ones that are most likely to be used in a search engine and picked up by a "spider bot."


So now, cute and catchy titles are out because the "spiders" don't recognize cute and catchy; they want short and precise titles using those keywords that also must appear over and over in an internet article. Synonyms are out - it's now all about keywords! This is how the people who are out searching for articles on the internet are matched up with the articles an author wants them to read.


When designing the layout, keep in mind the "f shaped" eye pattern that internet users utilize. Click here for examples of this study:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

The F pattern's implications for Web design show the importance of following guidelines for writing on the web:

Users won't read your text thoroughly in a word-by-word manner. Exhaustive reading is rare, especially when prospective customers are conducting their initial research to compile a shortlist of vendors. Yes, some people will read more, but most won't.


The first two paragraphs must state the most important information. There's some hope that users will actually read this material, though they'll probably read more of the first paragraph than the second.


Start subheads, paragraphs, and bullet points with information-carrying words that users will notice when scanning down the left side of your content in the final stem of their F-behavior. They'll read the third word on a line much less often than the first two words.


So now what are you waiting for? Start composing your blog and live your dream!

Shaunna
http://www.greentortoise.com/adventure.travel.html