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Note that because the Bay Area is so spread out, just getting around within it can cost significant cash (exacerbated by the distance-based fares charged by the BART and Caltrain rail systems, and the fragmentation of the bus system between different agencies in different parts of the area). Getting from one end of the area to the other can cost $12 to $15. But at least within SF itself it's not so bad, walking between most points in the city is pretty feasible and the $2 Muni bus fare covers unlimited rides for 2-3 hours.
A note regarding Caltrain: tickets often aren't checked, but fare inspectors do come through sometimes (if you ride end-to-end you have maybe a 1/3 chance of seeing one) and if caught without a ticket the fine is nearly $300, so think twice before risking it.
If you're considering taking a bus: booking months in advance you can sometimes find Megabus tickets from San Francisco to Los Angeles for as little as $1.50, though it's usually at least $10. With less advance purchase, Megabus and Greyhound are typically in the $20-$40 range.
== Things To Do =='''Option 2'''<br>The Bay Area is a diverse placeThis route worked really well for an anonymous user in 2009: Take Caltrain south to San Jose (about $9 from downtown SF, $7 from the BART transfer at Millbrae). Take VTA bus 68 to Gilroy from there, with a long and proud history of Left1.5 hours, $2. Hitchhike east along the Pacheco Pass highway (152 east), which leads towards I-5; many cars here will be continuing south to Los Angeles on I-leaning politics and Counter Culture5. It is also If heading towards Las Vegas, get off I-5 at exit 257, as a wholeto get onto highway 58. Take that East, one of avoid getting stuck in Bakersfield. 58 goes all the wealthiest way through, past Mojave and most expensive places in the United States. The area should have something to offer for everyoneBarstow, towards Vegas.
[http://thelonghaul.org/ The Long Haul Infoshop] in Berkeley, is an anarchist library and community space which often has neat events.== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
The Bay Area is home to many book stores, and two of the best are San Francisco's [http://www.citylights.com/ City Lights Books] and Berkeley's [http://www.moesbooks.com/ Moe's Books]{{nomadwiki}}
In North Berkeley is one of the worlds best known punk rock clubs [http://www.924gilman.org/ 924 Gilman Street] with shows every Friday and Saturday, and sometimes Sunday.
The Bay Area is home to a number of great parks for relaxing and hiking in. Golden Gate Park in San Francisco is a lovely urban park. For hiking it is best to go further out to Mount Diablo State Park in the East Bay or south to Big Basin Redwoods state park (or walk across the Golden Gate Bridge [http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=37.832374,-122.480557&spn=0.0005,0.001198&t=h&z=20 turn right walk down the steps under the bridge] to the other side walking north a few more yards to Conzelman Road, walk up and West through the Marin Headlands, ). The Bay Area is also home to a number of sports teams, including two american football teams, the 49ers and The Raiders. Food Not Bombs serves free meals both in [http://sffnb.org/ San Francisco] and Monday-Friday in Berkeley (at People's Park between Dwight & Haste, above Telegraph Ave.) and is a good place to meet people. Other Free places, see : [httpCategory://chowhound.chow.com/topics/428809 ChowhoundCalifornia] or [http://www.freeprintshop.org/ Free Charts]
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[[Category:California]]
[[trash:Bay Area]]
[[nomad:Bay Area]]
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→Going South (Highway 1, towards Santa Cruz and scenic route towards Los Angeles)
The '''Bay Area''' is an area in [[California]], containing '''San Francisco''', '''Oakland''', '''San Jose''' and other urban centres. It's fairly extended, with millions of inhabitants. There's a plethora of highways, and it's probably better to see the Area as one huge city, with "The City" (San Francisco) as its cultural centre.
== Hitchhiking out ==
From San Francisco, the best place to hitch in this direction is on approach to Golden Gate Bridge from Lombard Street. Just before it reaches the Presidio, it makes an angular turn toward the bridge, and a couple blocks down that angular street (at Richardson and Lyon) is a large rarely-used bus stop area which makes a perfect hitching spot.
Immediately across the bridge is Marin County, which is mostly a rich suburban area where getting a ride is difficult, so if you're going up 101 it's best if you can get a ride from SF at least as far as Novato, and preferably beyond Santa Rosa. Between Novato and Petaluma is a stretch of non-freeway where you could hitch on the road, which is probably better than hitching on a ramp if you want a long ride north towards Humboldt/Oregon. (check the map for this spot) Alternately you can take Highway 1 from Marin County up the coast, but while very scenic this road has little traffic so be prepared for long waits. There's a [http://goldengate.org/MCMPromo/index.php promotion] offering free ferry tickets north from SF to Larkspur on weekday mornings (when commuter boats are returning mostly empty), but then you're stuck in Marin County at an onramp without much long-distance traffic, so this is unlikely to be a good option if you're going very far. (However if you were thinking of taking a bus past Marin then catching one in Larkspur instead of SF saves you $4 or so.)
=== Going Northeast (I-80) ===
You can take the BART to '''Richmond''' (about $4.50), get off, walk East, where there is the on ramp to the I-80 East. See [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Richmond,+CA&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=37.936312,-122.333064&spn=0.016044,0.05403&om=1&iwloc=A Google maps].
Waiting time at this spot was half an hour for a straight ride to Sacramento, April 2016.
You can also take BART to '''Pleasant Hill''' (about $5.25), there is an onramp next to the BART station, but the best onramp to hitchhike at in this area is about a mile north at Monument Blvd. It has a nice stop light on the on ramp itself. A sign saying "Sacramento" or wherever you are going helps.
There is a tradition of [http://sfcasualcarpool.com/ "casual carpools"] (known elsewhere as "slugging") across the Bay Bridge (check that website for further info). This is a good way to get out of the city along I-80 if you're leaving in the afternoon, but less useful in the morning as it's mainly for commuters. Some but not all drivers ask for a $1 contribution (still cheaper than BART).
You can try to follow I-80 to get to I-5 north, but if you're trying to go north you'll probably have an easier time on US-101, see above.
=== Going South (I-5, fast route towards [[Los Angeles]] or [[Las Vegas]]) ===
'''Option 1'''<br>Take the I-5 if you want to get there fast. You might want to take the BART train to '''Dublin/Pleasanton''' (about $6). The BART station is located next to a highway onramp, but you freeway entrance which has a lot of traffic and a fairly decent spot to stop (after the 'freeway entrance' sign). You might have better luck if you walk further East east to the following onrampentrance which has less traffic, but a big bus stop to pull into a couple hundred meters before the entrance itself. (You're actually hitching onto I-580 here but it merges into I-5 further out.) This route worked really well for an anonymous user in 2009: Take Caltrain south ; avoid getting a ride to San Jose (about $9 from downtown SF, $7 from the BART transfer at Millbrae). Take VTA bus 68 Tracy or Stockton if you want to Gilroy from there, 1.5 hours, $2. Hitchhike east along the Pacheco Pass highway (152 east), which leads towards I-5; many cars here will be continuing go south to Los Angeles on I-5. If heading towards Las Vegas, get off I-5 at exit 257, to get onto highway 58. Take that East, avoid getting stuck in Bakersfield. 58 goes all the way through, past Mojave and Barstow, towards Vegasit won't do you much good.
{{IsIn|California}}
