Green Tortoise Adventure Travel

From Baja to Boston and from Seattle to San Francisco, the Green Tortoise is an alternative form of bus travel that must be experienced. Inspired by flower child hippie days and ideals, Green Tortoise Adventure Travel offers transportation from one place to another like an ordinary bus, but it offers a lot more too.

Travel and Adventure Too

Green Tortoise Adventure Travel offers unique and entertaining transportation cross country from the West Coast to New York and Boston. Green Tortoise Adventure Travel also offers many adventure trips cross country, to Alaska, Mexico and Central America. On all its trips Green Tortoise is a living room during the day for its 38 maximum passengers while at night it's coach is transformed into comfortable lay down horizontal beds allowing passengers to sleep normally while drivers cover long distances. Friendly companionship, great home cooked meals and the joy of stopping for picnics, swimming and sightseeing in some of America, Mexico and Central America's most beautiful spots make Green Tortoise Adventure Tavel trips irresistible.

From Costa Rica to National Parks

Some of Green Tortoise's regular adventure tours include Baja Beach Daze, Costa Rica Loop, Alaska Expedition, West Coast to East Coast, Mardi Gras, and National Park Loop. During adventure tours, days are spent hiking, swimming and exploring the natural environment. At meal times a family atmosphere prevails in which drivers and campers co-operatively create the great meals the Tortoise is known for.

History of Green Tortoise Adventure Travel

Green Tortoise Adventure Travel was founded in the mid 1970's by Gardner Kent and is still owned and operated by his son Lyle today. Gardner decided that running the family flooring and carpeting business was not for him and decided to travel to Mexico in a converted school bus. Eleven months later the bus came to a halt in Sonoma County, California at a hippie commune called Star Mountain. This same bus was later used for Tortoise's first continental crossing. By 1986 there was a great boom in alternative bus travel and adventure resulting in a six bus departure filled with Mardi Gras revelers. Deregulation of the busing industry gave Green Tortoise Adventure Travel the opportunity to become a legitimate, fully licensed and insured bus company, labeling the Tortoise as no longer a hippie bus but as alternative transportation.

Green Tortoise Bus Drivers and Travelers

Being a Green Tortoise Adventure Travel driver is a multi-sided job. It involves being able to fix the bus if it breaks down in remote places, to cooking great meals, to being open and friendly to people from all over the world who take the Tortoise to see America and Central America. There are no age limits to go on the Tortoise. But people should be fit enough to crawl around on the bus, carry their own luggage, help with food preparation and cleanup and generally be able to take care of themselves.

Hours of Operation and Location

Green Tortoise Adventure Travel is located at 494 Broadway, San Francisco, California 94133. The travel office is open Monday-Friday 9am-7pm PST and Saturday 12noon-6pm PST. Extended hours in the summer include Sunday 12noon-6pm PST. Fees are relative to the trip taken.

For more information call 1-800-TORTOISE. San Francisco Bay residents call: 415-956-7500.