transportation
By car: San Jose is about an hour from San Francisco and Oakland, but the trip is much longer during rush hour on US-101 and Interstate 880. Take Interstate 280 to San Francisco for a scenic alternative, and consider a detour westward on Highway 92 to Half Moon Bay and the coastal Highway 1, which leads north to San Francisco and south to Santa Cruz. For Santa Cruz, take Highway 17 south from San Jose through the mountains. For an hour-and-a-half ride to Monterey, either go to Santa Cruz and take Highway 1 south or take US-101 through Gilroy to Highway 156, which connects to Highway 1.
The major San Jose stop for train and many regional bus connections is Diridon Station, located downtown at 65 Cahill Street near Santa Clara Street and the H.P. Pavilion.
By train: Commuter rail line Caltrain (http://www.caltrain.com) runs to San Francisco. Amtrak's Capitol Corridor (http://www.amtrakcapitols.com/) line runs to Oakland and Sacramento. The rush-hour commuter line Altamont Commuter Express (http://www.acerail.com/) runs to Stockton Central Valley-bound trips only in late afternoon, with return trips only in morning. A trip to San Francisco on Caltrain or to Oakland on the Capitol Corridor takes about an hour and a half. Caltrain also provides the Baby Bullet, an hour-long run with very limited stops to San Francisco, during commute hours. An alternative mode to both Oakland and San Francisco is the Valley Transportation Authority (http://www.vta.org/) bus express lines 180 (http://www.vta.org/schedu...) and 181 (http://www.vta.org/schedu...) to Fremont. From there, riders can connect to BART Bay Area Rapid Transit (http://www.bart.gov/), which serves Oakland, San Francisco, and several other San Francisco Bay Area destinations.
By bus: Amtrak California (http://www.amtrakcaliforn...) runs a bus with stops in Gilroy, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. Santa Cruz Metro (http://www.scmtd.com/) provides a bus line Highway 17 Express (http://www.scmtd.com/routes/rt17.html) to and from Santa Cruz. Valley Transportation Authority VTA runs bus lines Routes 180 (http://www.vta.org/schedules/SC_180.html and 181 (http://www.vta.org/schedu...) to Fremont and its BART station. These services leave from Diridon Station, although VTA Routes 180, 181 and the Highway 17 Express also serve Downtown San Jose directly. Greyhound (http://www.greyhound.com) runs from San Jose to several destinations. The Greyhound station is at Almaden Avenue and Post Street 70 S Almaden Avenue, not to be confused with Almaden Boulevard one block parallel.
destinations
Just east of the city lies Alum Rock Park (http://www.sjparks.org/Pa...), a canyon through which Penitencia Creek flows, which is lined by sulfurous mineral springs and several small waterfalls. Above the park stands Mount Hamilton, one of the highest peaks in the Bay Area at 4,213 feet. The telescopes of Lick Observatory (http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/), operated by the University of California, crown the summit and are open to the public during daytime hours.
Other places to see in San Jose's backyard are the Scenic Drive in Saratoga Hills, the quaint and classy town of Los Gatos, and Mission Santa Clara at Santa Clara University (http://www.scu.edu). Palo Alto and Stanford University (http://www.stanford.edu) are about half an hour's drive to the north. About 45 minutes northeast, you can visit Fremont's Mission San Jose and the Ardenwood Historic Farm (http://www.ebparks.org/pa...).
Less than an hour away over the scenic Santa Cruz Mountains, the small coastal city of Santa Cruz is a nice day trip out San Jose. Spend the day enjoying the beaches and Boardwalk, or make it the first stop on a longer coastal drive. From Santa Cruz, you can take Route 1 also known as the Pacific Coast Highway south to Capitola, Monterey, and the charming town of Carmel-by-the-Sea.