In search of eco-travel in San Diego

Passengers arriving in San Diego get a glimpse of the city’s past at the Spanish-mission-evoking Santa Fe Depot, opened in 1915. The station is centrally located near the city’s downtown attractions.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Although it doesn’t do well on the environmentally friendly scale, the downtown Holiday Inn does offer a port-side view from its balconies.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

The setting sun casts a rosy glow on the city and its busy harbor, unfolding beneath the Manchester Grand Hyatt’s 40th-floor lounge, the Top of the Hyatt.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

San Diego gets a green-thumbs-up for the Metropolitan Transit System’s trolley lines that make getting around the city, and south to Tijuana, a car-free cinch. Here it glides north along West Harbor Drive where it bisects a circular fountain between Front Street and 1st Avenue.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Many of the city’s sights are within a compact area. Tourists along the Embarcadero, for instance, can stop for some impromptu sidewalk shopping or tour the tall ship Star of India, seen in the background, and other old-time sailing vessels at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)