California
Quick Glance At California
Travel Cost : ★★★★★
Population
39.78 million people as of 2018. California is the 3rd largest state by area in USA. The state is composed of 61.3% Caucasians, 13.9% Asian, 13.3% identify as 'other race', 5.9% African American, 4.6% identify as multiple races, and 1.1% identify as a Native American, Native Alaskan, or Native Islander.
Language
English is the most widely spoken language in California while Spanish is very commonly used as well. There are 220 languages spoken in California alone!
Currency
US Dollars.
Electricity
Type A & B socket. Standard voltage in USA is 110V, standard frequency is 60Hz.
Transport
Cars remain the kings in USA. Even though Tesla started up in California, electric vehicles are not common in this state. Gas is incredibly cheap, so are the cars.
Public transports in both San Francisco and Los Angeles are up to par but definitely not the best. A train (BART) trip from Oakland to San Francisco costed around $4-5 one-way.
Long distance buses are very packed and poorly ventilated. I only tried Greyhound buses and none of them left me with good impressions.
Accommodation
It's very difficult to find a backpackers hostel in California especially when you're out of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Most of the accommodations in California are family motels or inns. If you're traveling alone, you're probably going to have a hard time getting fair-priced hostels.
I've noticed AirBnB is much better at finding affordable and decent accommodations in California compared to any other hotel booking websites.
Festivals
I found a website which listed the festivals in California much better than I could.
So here you go.
California Festivals and Festival Events List
Things to Do
San Francisco
Learn Science in California Academy of Sciences. Take a selfie at Golden Gate Bridge. Spend a half-day in Golden Gate Park. Be a tourist in Pier 39. Take a tour to Alcatraz Island.
Los Angeles
Have fun in Disneyland or Universal Studio. Visit Griffith Observatory. Admire the Hollywood sign. Spend a half-day in Santa Monica Pier.
Santa Cruz
Spend a day in Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (where I spent my 2018 summer working!). Cycle to Wilder Ranch State Park. Sunbathing in Natural Bridges State Beach. Take a day trip to Monterey.
Yosemite National Park
Take a short walk to see Yosemite Falls. Drive up to Glacier Point to see the Yosemite Valley with the Half Dome. Simply be impressed by the natural artwork.
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