It’s always such a big to-do when you can manage to actually round up a decent sized group of friends for a night in Gaslamp.

First comes the “What do I wear?” followed by “What do we pre-drink?” – and after a couple cocktails, it turns into “Where should we go?” followed by the dreaded: “How do we get there?”

I swear it happens exactly like that every weekend, and we’re all college students on tight budgets that can’t afford the expensive outfits and pricey drinks on top of cab rides from home in Pacific Beach to our party destinations Downtown.

Thankfully, the party gods are shining down on us, bringing free party bus rides from Pacific Beach to Gaslamp every week.

Take notes PB locals: On Thursdays and Fridays, free party buses run from Thrusters in Pacific Beach straight to San Diego’s premiere Gaslamp nightclubs, and on Sunday nights, Firehouse is your pick-up headquarters for free party bus rides downtown.

Local promotion companies Encore Entertainment, Night Access, Sfinx, 3Dlife and DJhere have teamed up with local limo and party bus guru Cali Party Bus to bring the masses downtown. Head to 207 at Hard Rock every Thursday and Stingaree every Friday night. Buses leave Thrusters at 10:00pm so have your crew all dressed in downtown attire, ready for a wild night on the town.

The non-descript exterior of the party buses always seems like a trick to me because once you’re on board, it’s a whole other story. They’re always jam packed with people back to back holding beers and bottles in their hands dancing and jumping around enjoying the music. The lights bounce back and forth around the bus moving to the beat and there always seems to be a small crowd around the stripper pole cheering on the first round of girls who have the guts to give it a go. It’s like the nightclub has been brought to you…and you better be ready to party!

It’s almost too good to be true that something this fun and exciting can take you downtown to different clubs every weekend for free. With buses running to either 207, Stingaree, Voyeur or On Broadway most Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, you would be silly to not take advantage of this PB local’s perk. Why pay for a cab when you can ride in a party bus for free?

And between you and me, the ride to and from the club is by far the highlight of my night. That saying: “it’s about the journey not the destination” rings way more true to me now!

So, how do you find the schedule? Stay connected with our party blog and Facebook updates to find out about when and where the free party bus rides will be leaving from and what clubs they will be going to each weekend.

Cali Party Bus is the local leader for luxury limo and party buses in San Diego. You’ve seen the buses outside your favorite clubs, and now you know how to hop on for free...

Lauren Baird is part of the Cali Party Bus team. Learn more about these San Diego party buses at CaliPartyBus.com.