For those of you barbarians who haven’t learned how to teleport yet (I refer to you as less-thans…lovingly of course), the recommended mode of transportation to Bay09 is through flight.  Since Kristen posted the Summit details up, you should be aware that in order to catch the full extent of sticky Summit goodness, you’ll want to arrive before Thursday (generally, that would be Wednesday) and head out on Sunday or even later, depending on whether you’re trying to make it home in time for Desperate Housewives. And with the Summit less than two months away, flight prices to Oakland/San Francisco aren’t getting any cheaper! So unless you’ve got the hookup on a ride from Falkor the Luckdragon, the time to book your flight is NOW!

Need some hints on finding the best flight prices and knowing which airport to fly into?  Why look no further than the Details Section!

Also, if you fly a lot anyway, here’s a trick that I use:

1. Book your flight on Southwest if it’s decently priced.

2. Sign up for Southwest Ding, which isn’t as perverted as it sounds.  It’s a program that updates you on new Southwest deals everyday, and if between now and the Summit a good deal pops up, you can always change your flight to the cheaper one, or refund it completely if you find a better deal on another airline.  The money you save or refund will be stored as credit that you can use on future flights, and there’s no fee to change or cancel!

Also:

- When comparing prices, check out Kayak which checks all major airlines (except Southwest for some reason?) and also lets you tap into the other big sites like Orbitz and Expedia.

- Before you book any flight, check the luggage policies on the airline because sometimes they charge.  For example, United and American charge for all check-in luggage, JetBlue lets you bring one, and Southwest lets you bring two.  It’s important to keep this in mind because for example if you book a flight that’s $20 cheaper than another, but the cheaper one charges you like $50 for all the luggage you need to bring, you might save more money in the long run with an airline that’s a bit more expensive but nicer with their luggage policy.  Also, if an airline even charges you to check in one bag, you can safely assume that you’re going to starve and dehydrate you unless you’re willing to drop even more dough.

Bonus: Car rentals & Ground transportation!

You’ll only really need a car if you’re planning to drive into the Bay from somewhere else.  Once you’re in the San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley area though, you’ll be fine with BART/bus/shuttles and rides that we provide, and you won’t have to worry about that until you get here.

Just make sure you ARE in the San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley area (Daly City should be fine too).  CHECK THE BAY AREA MAP before you book a flight or lodging if it’s not in one of those cities.  Because if you somehow end up in Cupertino, that’ll probably be too far for someone to pick you up, and you’ll have to spend your weekend at Dave & Busters instead.

If you’re driving into the Bay from somewhere and you don’t want to borrow your sister’s Civic because it smells like cigarettes and strawberries, I highly recommend you book on Hotwire (if you’re 25+ and plan to return the car in the same spot).  With Hotwire you can land a pretty good rate at around $30-50/day FLAT and saves you from extra charges in case you return the car an hour or two late.  My experience renting directly from companies is at least an extra $75 in fees that come out of nowhere.  Last time iLL-Lit was in NYC we returned our car 15 minutes past the due time and were charged an extra $160.  G-g-g-gangsta!!

Wooooord.  That should be good.  Don’t procrastinate!  Book your flight RIGHT NOW!!  If you’re unsure of what your flight schedule should be, come early and leave late!  There’s plenty to do in the Bay and you won’t be bored.  Unless you like boredom.  And if that’s the case, I recommend this summit instead.

Hey hey HEY!  I like socks as much as the next guy.  I’m just sayin.  Imagine walking into a sock workshop on a hot summer day.  Ewwwww.

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The drizzletron has spoken.
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