When I was on a recent business trip to San Diego, and not having much time to have a look around I decided that the best way to see some of the town was on the trolley tour. Old Town Trolley Tours has provided sightseeing tours since 1989, and they try to highlight the best of San Diego.
I Got on the trolley at the Old Town having bought my ticket from Barbie at one of the stalls. The ticket was $32 and with this I got information about the trolley ride and the stops, and discount tickets for restaurants.
The trolleys themselves run on a circuit and if you were to just sit on the trolley and not get off, then the whole circuit would take about 2 hours. I had already looked at the Old Town , and when I had a look through the various stops, it was easy to decide where I wanted to hop on and hop off. The trolleys are actually small trams which seat about 20 people, with the back area being open. I thought that the open area would be best for the tan until we got to some decidedly windy parts of the tour!
The trolley stops at the Old Town, San Francisco Bay where you can get off and tour the Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum, Seaport Village, Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado, Balboa Park and San Diego Zoo.
Inside the free information leaflet there is information about the different stops and the drivers are great at making suggestions based on what your interests are. So, obviously, I was going to get off at the shopping place- Seaport Village and I also got off at Coronado, which features a very famous hotel and a great beach, and Balboa Park.
As you drive round the areas, the driver is very informative and gives lots of information, but not just staid information. For example, we saw the bar where they filmed Top Gun (I love it!) and even the road where there was a bit of an argument and a car chase. Based on what the people on the tour wants, I believe they change their chat. Before you hop off at any stop, I found that I was quite well armed with a lot of the facts of the place and knew where I wanted to go and what each place was about.
As well as information about the stops, there is also a quite detailed timetable showing what time the trolleys will be at each place. Because of the way they run, this is usually every half hour, but if on a tight schedule, allow plenty of time to look round the museums and get to the trolley on time because there is no room for people standing so if you miss it, then it's a half hour wait.
I think they do these trolley tours in several places in the United States and certainly if the one at San Diego is anything to go by, they are well worth going on. The drivers are amusing and helpful as well as being very informative. Even if you don't get of at any stops, you learn a lot by just listening.
The whole tour is well organised so you know exactly where you can be picked up and the various times, so you can plan stops.
Lovely to read... Found the same sort of experience in Dublin... The Irish tram drivers are full of interesting and very funny information regarding the whole of Dublin....The one that had me laughing for a long time after my visit was when we passed the statue of Molly Malone and the driver referred to her as ' The tart with the cart ' Thanks J.x
SweetTooth93 05.10.2008 18:13
Would love to visit here or in the area, i'd spend my whole time swimming and sunbathing though xx
View beautiful Bath, the Iron Age fort site of Salisbury Hill?or Roman roads cut into the ... more
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