Toni
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- Aug 10, 2011
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I think this is a matter about which you need to consult your son. Loren has a point: travel by bus is generally among the least expensive modes of transportation. It can be a mode of transportation for less savory people. Not always. I have never been to to California but it strikes me that you are planning to visit areas which are well known tourist destinations. There may well be excursion buses specifically for tourists. I don’t know your age but if you are 55+, there may well be exactly the sort of trips specific to seniors which would make stops at various locations along the route. It’s worth exploring.Almost every place in the US takes credit cards, including supermarkets, restaurants etc, and as Toni suggested, you can tell your credit card company that you will be traveling to avoid any problems. When we used to travel or even if we purchased something unusual, Discover sometimes notified us to make sure that we were the users of our credit card. While we also have another credit card, we like Discover the best due to its generous cash back program. I think Visa has a similar program now, if I'm not mistaken.
We don't use debit cards as you may be liable for whatever someone spends on your card if its lost or stolen. Most credit cards never make you responsible for more than about 25 dollars if its lost or stolen. We've had credit cards stolen twice, probably online. Discover never made us pay a cent for the charges, but in both cases, the charges were suspicious so Discover notified us and then gave us a new card within days. One time, Macy's called me to verify if I had purchased over 400 dollars worth of clothing to be sent to a different address. I told them to cancel the order and then I notified Discover. Another time someone tried to buy an Apple phone with our card. Again, we were asked if we ordered it. The order was canceled and we got a new card. My point is that it's pretty safe to use credit cards most anywhere. Just keep tract of what you charge. But, it is a good idea to have a second one, just in case.
Hope you have a wonderful time with your son as well as a safe trip.
I've bought cars on my Visa, in emergencies, and gotten calls from the bank to ask if it was me. I like that they keep an eye out. Did that recently and heard nothing. Don't know if they keep notes going back 20 years, or they don't care any more.
I want to see at least something of the country. San Diego - L.A. is unlikely to be representative, but I'll see a little bit, and maybe get to talk to some people on the bus.Beware that busses in the US tend to have rather seedy clientele as they are generally not competitive with airplanes on high traffic routes once you consider time. For this particular trip that might not be the case (the overhead time of the plane is higher) but it is something to be aware of. Typically, buses are for people going to little places (which is inherently low volume) or people after a rock-bottom price who don't care about time--and even then food costs can easily make the airplane the better deal.
Do bus tickets let you get off and complete the journey a day later? I've wondered if I'd be better to hire a car, but you people drive on the wrong side of the road, and I am a creature of habit. I'd like to see some countryside, but not from 1" away.
I saw this under a quick google search —I don’t know if this is what you had in mi d or not but: https://anothersideofsandiegotours.com/san-diego-to-los-angeles/
I also know there are tours of wine country, etc.