Dayle

Salt Lake City - if you want to see only the sights right in the few blocks of downtown, or are willing to bus to some of the ski resorts (infrequent in summer), yes you can walk/public trans.

However, if you want to go anywhere else - you must have a car.

There is NO public transportation between SLC and Park City.

NeoPatrick

I think the comment about "Two San Diegos" and the ones about other cities as well, will nearly always be true of ANY city.

What city will a car NOT allow you to explore more and get to more outlying areas, do scenic drives, etc. I can't think of one (although I suppose NYC might fit that description).

So obviously the original question does require a bit of "what and how much do you want to see there and how much of the surrounding area?"

d_claude_bear

The reason the "two San Diegos" idea is particularly apt for visitors to SD is because of the large distances involved (it is southern California, you know!). Many people planning to visit SD want to see the northern coastal areas or the eastern desert/mountain areas as well. Unlike most eastern and midwestern urban locales, you can easily go 20-30 miles in those directions and still consider yourself to be "in" SD. In particular, LaJolla, Del Mar, etc, even the Wild Animal Park in Escondido (25 miles north of "SD") are sometimes (but not always) part of the plan.

So it really does matter which SD (or perhaps both) one is interested in. A car is a liability (not an advantage) for the more "downtown" attractions: Zoo, baseball at Petco Park, the Gaslamp, Old Town, Little Italy, Hillcrest, even Sea World, etc.

dkopp9

Definitely need a car and a good map in Kansas City. We're spread out all over the place!

verdaddy

The availability of mass transit is very important to me in choosing a destination, and I usually exclude from consideration anyplace where I cannot get around without renting a car or hiring a taxi for every trip. I would therefore exclude from consideration the city where I live, Indianapolis. We are widely considered to have the worst public transit of any major city, and it simply is unusable outside of downtown. It is typically an hour, sometimes more, between buses on many routes, and most of the system shuts down at about 9:30 at night (before dark in the summer!). So if you take public transit to an evening event, you are stranded until morning. For those of us who want to be free of cars and driving, Indianapolis is off the list.

luvlondon

Long Beach California has great and clean public transportation. There are a lot of neat places to visit...Queen Mary, Shoreline Village, The Pike and alot of neat/nice/ elegant resataurants that are in walking distance if you are staying in the downtown area. We usually stay at the Hyatt. The Aquariam is within walking distance and also on their public transportation stops. A car would be useful if you want to see more of the beach areas and Los Angelos. Hope this helps you in planning your trip.

CRUISERTN

I live in the Memphis area and a car is definitely needed. There is not any public transport that you can rely on, and if you plan to leave the downtown area, you will need a car. Many people do not realize that Memphis, unfortunately, has a high rate of violent crime, so please be very careful. There is a downtown trolley that only runs in the immediate downtown area, but even it sometimes does not run on Sundays.

yorway

Oahu Hawaii has the greatest public transportation I've ever seen!
No need for a car, with a lot of buses covering the whole island and for one price.