We here in San Francisco always groan a little when visitors rent a car. After all, Fog City is one of the few destinations in the U.S. where it's not necessary to have a car to see the sights. Why pay all that money just to leave the rental in the hotel's parking garage?

Often in the U.S. when we think about "car-free destinations," we think of big cities like New York City, Boston, and San Francisco. But what should you do if you want to go car-free and get away from the hubbub of urban life? I now have an answer for you: visit Santa Barbara.

When people hear that I'm the manager of Travelocity's Green Hotel Directory, they often ask, What makes a green hotel green? Well, I'm glad you asked. There's a fair amount of skepticism about green certification programs and confusion about what it means to be eco-friendly. For instance, it takes a lot more than not washing the linens every day for a hotel to make it into our Directory.

That's why I thought it'd be interesting to profile one of our green hotel partners for a case study. The Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California is making incredible strides on their path to going green and these measures add up to a big impact.

After two visits to New Zealand, I am very familiar with travelers' number-one question: just how long does it take to get there? The answer: about 18 hours’ flight time from the U.S. East Coast, or three in-air viewings of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But here’s why Down Under is worth the long haul: once you land in New Zealand—no matter where you touch down—some of the world’s most varied and striking landscapes are a stone’s throw away. In fact, you can visit half a dozen pristine national parks in the time it took you to fly from New York to New Zealand; big on beauty and small on space, New Zealand’s geography favors travelers tight on time. Plus, all Kiwi national parks welcome visitors with free entry and hospitable overnight huts.

Last week, we celebrated Earth Week on the blog. Pamela Wolff, the Director of Strategic Alliances and Industry Partnerships for the Motorcoach Council, reached out to share the environmental benefits of traveling by motorcoach.

Today she's stopping by our blog to answer a few questions about motorcoach travel and how to go green on the road.

1)    What’s the environmental impact of traveling by motorcoach?

Motorcoach travel is the most environmentally friendly form of transportation available, the greenest way to travel in North America.  Motorcoaches currently provide over 206 passenger miles per gallon of fuel compared to 92 passenger MPG for commuter rail, 44 passenger MPG for domestic air carrier, and 27 MPG for single passenger automobiles.  Each motorcoach has the potential to take 55 cars from the road reducing congestion, saving fuel, and cutting emissions.

Trains are iconic. They punctuate our history and our pulp novels, and our films are rife with them--from The Great Train Robbery's gold-bearing locomotive to the now-infamous Hogwarts Express train of Harry Potter fame. Ah, but don’t start mourning the lost days of train travel just yet! While you may have trouble finding platform 9 ¾, there are plenty of trains still churning through America's vast and gorgeous countryside, just waiting for a rider.

Perhaps the most famous of U.S. sightseeing train routes is the one taken by the Grand Canyon Railroad. Chugging recycled vegetable oil instead of coal (how green!), this rail-riding beast makes regular trips from Williams, AZ to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.

I knew I could make the move from New York City to San Francisco the moment I first laid eyes on Napa Valley. It felt like a wonderland to me, a spot of much-needed European charm and pastoral quietude just a quick hour down the road from the hustle and bustle of the city.

And now three years into my great California adventure, I have developed my way of enjoying Napa and Sonoma. Much like how Coloradans debate the relative merits of competing ski resorts, we here in the Bay Area enjoy holding forth about the "right way" to explore the wine country. There are two valleys to choose from, at least 10 quaint towns, and a huge variety of activities, including hiking, biking, wine tasting, gourmet dining, air ballooning, spa going, and more.

I'm all about getting sporty on my trips. When I was training for the NYC marathon, I had to visit Washington, D.C. at a crucial point of my training. Instead of halting training or spending hours running on the hotel treadmill, I hired a running guide through City Running Tours who took me on a sightseeing run through our nation's capital.

So when I heard about a physical fitness event  -- again, in Washington, DC -- coming up on October 11, I thought I would share it with you. Bike for the Heart is a day-long event put on by the Sister to Sister organization, a group dedicated to educating women about heart health and risk prevention and providing free heart health checkups.

The day consists of four events:

 - a family-friendly five-mile bike ride around our nation's capital (this would be my choice)

Jim: Dwight, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Dwight: I can travel anywhere, except Cuba, and I will travel to New Zealand and walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor and I will hike Mount Doom.

Even though Dwight may dream of traveling down under to bond with his Hobbit friends, there are plenty of sights to see right in his own backyard. In honor of The Office being back, I thought I'd do a round-up of the must-see (cough, cough) sights of the greater Scranton area.

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In San Francisco, we experience two seasons: pretty nice and not-as-nice. In fact, if I never left this city, I would be led to believe that our global climate was a moderate one, void of extremes, surprises or change of any kind. I'm quite fond of change, and I miss the about-face that Mother Nature commands every few months, which is why the traveler in me makes it a point to get out of San Francisco when each season calls.

Having already begun research on an easy fall getaway from the Bay Area, a request from a local TV show further fueled my motivation to get out of the city and off the beaten path. I was invited to be a guest on ABC's View from the Bay to talk about destinations where travelers can experience nature's vibrant display of changing leaves. (See video from the show below.) The show had just one request; they wanted to highlight fall foliage destinations not in the Northeast.

Here’s a secret: the two main reasons I spent a college semester in Paris were nine years of French lessons and National Lampoon’s European Vacation. I saw it when I was very young and could not wait to explore Europe…by car, of course.

In a classic case of careful-what-you-wish-for, that first spring-break road trip—through Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic—was indeed decidedly Griswoldesque.

But I’ve rented cars in Europe since then, and each trip goes more smoothly than the last. So as I prepare for another European road trip next week and ponder past hits and misses, I’ve come up with my top five tips for seeing Europe through the windshield. If you follow these guidelines, I'm confident you'll discover the joys of renting a car abroad.