Green Tortoise Hostel San Francisco

Here at the Green Tortoise we understand that the world economy is suffering. Yesterday in Union Square an aristocratic looking fellow sporting a three hundred dollar suit and shiny comb-over asked to use my lighter. I handed him my fake-gold encrusted zippo, which he promptly ran away with...

An abundance of unbeatable, world-class events rock Northern California each summer.  On top of the manifold permanent wonders and attractions that San Francisco is renown for, a series of mind-blowing fairs and festivals -- churned up by the pacific summer breeze -- carry revelers happily into...

Every once in a while we who work here at the Green Tortoise are privileged to meet truly kind and exceptional people...

The world’s largest DIY festival. In other words a collection of people that have decided why wait for the next new invention to make our lives more easy when we could be making it ourselves. There will be all sorts of crazy happenings, from battle bots to Victorian steam punks...

As it is for most people who encounter the Green Tortoise, my initial exposure was magically serendipitous. All boiling down to cosmic timing...

The Green Tortoise will have its very own art car for this years Burning Man event. In keeping with this year's theme, Evolution, we'll be crawling around the Playa inside a giant Galapagos Tortoise...

Did you catch a glimpse of our Green Tortoise Adventure Travel team? Shaunna, Dennielle, Yelda and Sarah ran this year's event at a speed slightly faster than the average tortoise, so you may have missed us this time...

BOREDOM AND ENNUI proliferate more quickly then the bubonic plague. Even faster than swine flu. That's why we need entertainment, constant, swift, and clumsy. So go eat, drink, and be merry. Just whatever you do, don't spread the sickness, don't be bored...

Hello!  The Bay Area is going on a rampage this weekend.  As happens often on summer weekends, San Francisco and it's neighboring towns are offering some wonderful and free prospects for your entertainment and money.  Saturday, May 9th - Free Museums!If you need to get out of the sun today,...

When it comes to summer festivals, fairs, and parties, the San Francisco Bay Area blows most U.S regions out of the water.  On top of all the wonderful fixtures that abound within the Bay Area (see our great blogs below) there comes a summer explosion of creative energy and celebration which...

What would one of the most pretentious cities in the world be without a plethora of fantastic, independently owned bookstores? Well it wouldn’t be San Francisco, dammit. Here in the city by the bay we take our coffee with conversations about geopolitics and James Joyce...

Do you know what Tom Jonesing is? No? Why the hell not? Well here’s your opportunity to get enlightened. Don’t mess it up. There’s a great little restaurant in North Beach called Joey and Eddies...

Most residents of San Francisco don't often feel like venturing as far as Oakland. But the truth is, there are great things to do there! Oakland has a lot of great art, music, and nightlife...

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For the next two weeks the San Francisco International Film Festival will boast a huge array of films from across the world.  For visitors and locals alike, watching a solid, independent film in a world-class city is a great way to shed $20 (the SF Int'l Film Society loves to suck you dry) and...

San Francisco has a little sister, and her name is Oakland. Oakland is sort of Jan Brady to San Francisco’s prettier, more popular Marica. Popular perception is sometimes misleading, as Oakland has a lot to offer besides its proximity to Berkeley...

Bay to Breakers is an annual footrace that spans across the entire San Francisco penninsula. It starts at the edge of the bay and ends at Ocean Beach. Hence the name, Bay to Breakers. The race was started in 1912, as a way to lift citizens spirits after the earthquake of 1906...

So too long it has been since the last concert updates so lets just jump right into it shall we...

San Francisco is preparing to host of the the largest Cherry Blossom Festivals in the world (outside of Asia)...

It's possible to tire of visiting the multiple and congested tourists attractions in San Francisco, and as summer nears, such places will only grow more infested, thereby restricting the opportunity for travelers to observe and mingle with local residents.  Luckily, it's easy to escape to one of...

NightLife - Yuri's Night April 9th, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm Music, cocktails, seahorses, space travel, and a general broadening of the mind...

An appealing aspect of San Francisco is the ease with which one can travel to other Bay Area locations.  For those having exhausted the many highlights of San Francisco or just wanting to get a break from the city, you may want to give the East Bay a shot.  Overall, the East Bay is an exciting...

Spring is here, and we've got a great deal on a couple of upcoming trips.  Grab a friend and take advantage of two-for-one on the fare for either our April 3-6 Yosemite National Park trip, or our April 12-18 Western Roadrunner adventure...

On just about every day during the first week of each month in the Bay Area, a different world-class museum opens its doors for free to visitors.  Though most museums are normally reasonably priced and several (The SFMOMA, Asian Art Museum, and California Academy of the Sciences) offer...