Is there a bus that you can take down the coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles instead of driving?

No. There is Greyhound service, but it takes an inland route. There is also a Monterey county bus that goes into Big Sur, but not all the way through.

There may be some sort of coach tour you can take - I don't know.

I know it's not cheap to rent a car, but if you can swing it, don't miss this drive. It's worth sacrificing other things for. Think of it like going to the movies without popcorn. The drive down Route 1 is the movie. There's nothing that I saw in SF or in LA that was better than this drive. So, to coninue the analogy--if you can find the popcorn in your itinerary, cut that out instead I think you may be happy you did.

How about the Amtrak Coast Starlight train?

Hello Jerseygurl. Here is the website for the California Shuttle Bus that you might want to review to see if their service would fit in with your plans. They travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles and in reverse of course.


http://www.cashuttlebus.com/

Have a fun time in California!

LoveItaly-Nice to know about California Shuttle Bus as people are always asking about transportation between SF and LA. However it looks like the route is the inland one.

I would suggest you rent a car. Are you staying in LA when you get there because if you are, you'll need in a car in LA anyway. The drive is amazing and with a car, you can get out and take pictures and see the sights especially through Big Sur.

The coast starlight only goes along the coast as far as about Santa Barbara, maybe a bit farther north. Then it heads inland. There definitely aren't any train tracks through Big Sur - barely enough room for a 2 lane highway.

There is no bus that travels the coast. And as mentioned - the train isn't on the coast for most of its journey either.

do you want to sightsee or just get from SF to LA as quick/cheap as possible?

It depends on how long you want it to be, one-way or round-trip. While I cannot recommend any as I haven't done them, there are some tours if you Google.

for example, this one
http://search.gotobus.com/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?depart=San Francisco, CA&keywords=Coast Castle&days=2-3

or this:
http://www.calpartours.com/Californi...ours%20new.htm