San Jose Budget Travel Guide provides useful travel tips for visiting this major city in California. Through this guide, I hope to be able to help you get to know San Jose better, in preparation for any plans of visiting it. The places of interest in San Jose are also listed for your convenience.
About San Jose
San Jose, located on the southern end of San Francisco Bay, is the third largest city in California, and the tenth largest in the United States. It is also the county seat for Santa Clara County. The city, which sits on the greater San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area, with a population of 7.5 million, is a major location of high technology industries in the United States. It is often called the Capital of Silicon Valley.
San Jose was founded on 29 November, 1777, and was originally known as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe. Once a farming town, it experienced rapid growth in the 1950's. Its position as the center of Silicon Valley triggered the highest increase in real estate prices in the country. Between 1976 and 2001, property prices in San Jose rose by 936%.
Despite its importance to the U.S. economy, San Jose sits of the volatile San Andreas Fault, an area seriously prone to earthquakes. Numerous major quakes have rocked the area in the past one hundred years, the last major one happening in 1989.
As with much of the Bay Area, San Jose experiences a Mediterranean Climate. The position of mountains on three sides of the city shelters it from rain, creating a semiarid feel to the city. It gets only a third of the precipitation of the coastal parts of the Bay Areas. Warmest months are July and August, with average high temperature of 84°F (28.9°C). Coolest months are December and January, with average low reaching 41.7°F (5.4°C).
By Plane
The Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is the main airport in the Bay Area serving San Jose. It receives direct flights from major cities in the United States. Arriving at the airport, you have the option for leaving it by door-to-door shuttles, hotel shuttles, scheduled public buses, rental cars and taxis. If you plan to do a lot of exploring, I would suggest that you rent a car.
The other two airports are the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK).
Having a car at your own disposal is the most convenient way to explore San Jose. The public transportation in San Jose is mananged by VTA (Valley Transportation Authority). It comprises public buses and some Light Rail (within the Mountain View-Winchester route and Alum Rock-Santa Teresa route). You can buy the all-day pass for $5. Check the 511.org website to plan your trip in San Jose, whether by car or public transport.
Mission Santa Clara de Asis Modern replica of the Catholic mission first built in 1777.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium Museum exhibiting Ancient Egyptian artifacts.
San Jose Municipal Rose Garden Garden with 4,000 rose shrubs representing 189 varieties.
San Jose Museum of Art Museum with a renowned collection of modern art.
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles An outstanding museum - the first in the US - specialises on quilts and textiles.
Santana Row Specialty European-themed village of stores and restaurants.
Silicon Valley Home to many high-tech industries.
The Tech Museum Museum showcasing technology with lots of interactive exhibits.
Willow Glen Shopping district once a separate town from San Jose
Winchester Mystery House House of the eccentric heiress of the Winchester Rifle company who kept building her house for 38 years, to keep ghosts at bay.
Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?
The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
Our Flight Checker helps travelers compare flights and get the lowest fare for their trips. If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.
Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.
