Autonomous cars have come a long way since Google's self-driving car project started back in 2009.
27.07.2023 - 18:34 / smartertravel.com
The winner of the Super Bowl usually says they’re going to Disney World. But even the Magic Kingdom would have a hard time competing with the pomp and circumstance in the Bay Area during the week leading up to this year’s big game.
About 70,000 people will attend Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 7, but for the many thousands more who just want to be in town for it, the game itself is almost besides the point. Whether you want to play virtual football with a giant avatar of yourself, see Alicia Keys or Metallica in concert, or watch WWE wrestling in person, there’s an event for you.
Whether you’re a die-hard NFL fan or just in it for the party, here’s a guide for getting to and enjoying the Super Bowl festivities like a winner.
Airfare and LodgingsIf you thought the airline industry gouged college football fans before this year’s national championship game, wait till you see the fare increases as soon as this weekend’s AFC and NFC championship games are done and just two weeks remain for the winners’ fans to make their travel plans to the Bay Area.
Hipmunk conservatively estimates a 250 percent price increase in tickets for flights to the three main Bay Area airports (San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland). Factoring in the price for the eight cities whose teams remained in the playoffs before last Sunday’s games, Hipmunk calculated an average airfare of $383 before Jan. 24, and $957 afterward. Your best bet for a good deal will be to fly into Oakland, though this will also make for a longer commute to the game and to most other festivities.
What’s one possible way around this if your team is in the final four? Buy your ticket before Sunday, and seek a refund, convert it to a flight for a later date, or just fly out even if your team loses. As you’ll see further down in this article, there will be plenty of distractions in San Francisco to take the sting out of the defeat.
Related:The Perfect San Francisco Thursday Night for Under $30It should also be no surprise that local hotels are jacking up their rates as the Super Bowl approaches. As Hipmunk’s data indicates, the closer you get to the site of the game, the more you’ll pay. While San Francisco hotel rates jump 96 percent—to $403 a night for Super Bowl weekend—rates in Santa Clara and San Jose jump a whopping 317 percent, to $637 per night.
But really, you’re only going to stay in the South Bay if you’re going to the game, considering that most of the festivities are in San Francisco. So your best bet is to look for an alternative lodging there with Airbnb, or go hunting for deals using the likes of the last-minute booking app Hotel Tonight or the deals site goSeek.
Looking on goSeek, we did find a $130 nightly rate at the
Autonomous cars have come a long way since Google's self-driving car project started back in 2009.
When San Francisco is in a period of transition, which it often is, it’s the foundational places that ensure the city never strays too far from itself. The city is known for its pioneering spirit, be that modern tech innovations or progressive politics, but what keeps the engine running is the steady energy pulsing through old school places like John’s Grill, where the people of San Francisco have long come to dine.
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With its white-sand beaches and sparkling turquoise seas framed by palm trees, lush greenery and soaring mountains, there could hardly be a more romantic destination than the Caribbean. Whether you want to snorkel with spectacular sea life, indulge in a moonlit dinner á deux, have your cares massaged away or lounge together in a private cabana, the Caribbean offers the ultimate idyllic couples’ escape.
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Think overnight train trips in your own cabin cost a fortune? Not with Amtrak’s latest flash sale. Book an Amtrak roomette for one and get the companion ticket free if you buy by June 26. The deal is valid for travel this August 20 through February 15, 2019, with only a single blackout date: November 25, 2018.
Political progressives who want to make their hotel stays in Washington, D.C., alongside politically like-minded travelers will soon be able to do just that.
An airport connection (or two) is often the price you pay for service to far-off destinations. Unfortunately, a connection almost always complicates your travel planning, asking you to decide where to connect and how much time to allow for the connection. There’s no easy formula answer to those questions, but there are a few choice airports to try and avoid.
In a single lifetime, no traveler could ever be done exploring America. Even if you relegated yourself to just roaming the nation’s cities—setting aside the 50 states’ vast open, unincorporated spaces—there would still always be more to see.
Since the late 19th century, when San Francisco got its cable cars and pastel-hued Victorians, Levi Strauss and Ghirardelli Chocolate, it has been the envy of other cities. So the schadenfreude that has erupted recently over home prices and homelessness, street crime and empty office towers, is nothing new. Yes, this city has real problems, but the line at Powell and Market for the cable car, which turns 150 this year, is still long, and world-class restaurants still seem to open nightly. Boom-and-bust cycles have afflicted the City by the Bay since the Gold Rush, but as surely as the fog will roll through the spans of the Golden Gate Bridge this afternoon, San Francisco will rise again.
A United Airlines flight turned back to San Francisco International Airport because a passenger was said to be disruptive.