Help! I'm off to San Fran at the end of April departing three weeks later from LA.

Problem is I never realsied the trouble I would have getting from one place to the other without use of a car. So:
(1) if I went via Amtrak, instead of having to change several times, is there anywhere you could recommend stopping over for the night (although as a solo traveller I'm on a tight budget)
(2) Greyhound - is it really that bad? and if I did use it to get to LA are taxis easily accessible from the station and how much would one cost on average to Santa Monica?
(3) Should I fly direct?
or finally
(4) are there any other alternatives eg private coach firms

Many thanks in advance!

Anna K

Amtrak - I believe you can take the Coast Starlight directly from Oakland or Emeryville to LA.

Greyhound - it can definitely be bad and I would use it as a last resort.

Given the choice of alternatives, if I had the time and could get a direct route, I'd take the train. If not, I would fly.

I just checked Southwest.com and they have roundtrip fares from Oakland to LAX for $75 for the end of April. Amtrak is about $50 each way. Given the cheap airfare, and the fact that the train takes 12 hours versus about an 1 hour flying, definitely take the plane.

Thanks for the quick responses guys. Looks like the plane's the best option.

Anna

If you want quick and convenient, the plane is your best choice. Since you have 3 weeks, I'd consider AMTRAK. The Coast Starlight leaves Oakland at a civilized time in the morning and gets into downtown LA about 12 hours later (if it's on-time). Along the way, you'll see a lot of California you might not otherwise be able to see. Between the Oakland and LA, about 80% of the route is quite scenic and includes golden rolling hills, miles and miles of beaches, and a crossing of the coastal mountains. If you can sit back, relax, enjoy the scenery, and not worry too much if you are late, I think it's worth considering.

greyhound is not that bad between the 2 cities...however...departures from san fran are few and far between...whereas from la to san fran ..they leave regularly. i never understood that except maybe noone wants to leave san fran, which i can understand..it is quite pretty.
the station in la is in a no mans land with a distinctive third world atmosphere...but a short hop in a taxi will get you to a nice area of downtown where you can grab an express bus to santa monica.
just giving you this because you did say you were on a budget in your post..but if you can..do take the plane.

If you're on a tight budget - don't take Coast Starlight, there is a faster and cheaper way. Take a connecting bus from Embarcadero to Emeryville at 7.05 am, train from Emy to Bakersfield, and another connecting bus awaits at the station to take you to LA arriving 4.15. Not as picturesque as Starlight maybe, but faster and usually on time. These days Amtrak offers 25% discount. With the code H305 you will pay only $34.50, just checked.

faina has provided a great idea...and once at the la station..you can take a subway there to the wilshire and western station and grab a red express bus there to santa monica. i havent been in la in over a year but i think thats the best way.

You asked about private coaches?

if you're on a tight budget, take one of the Chinatown buses from SF to LA, it's $40 and you don't have to fuss with changing in Bakersfield.
www.ivymedia.com/usasia - this one drops you off in Chinatown in Los Angeles.

from there you can walk to Grand Central Station and take a Blue Bus to Santa Monica.

Thanks for everyone's responses. Think I'll opt for the plane. However

re Amtrak as there are a number of changes to make if one part of the journey is delayed does that mean you could miss the next part and therefore be seriously delayed

re Greyhound Station in LA - how long would a cab take to get to Santa monica and how much would it cost? Are the cab drivers safe?

Anna, question: why not rent a car? Granted, you won't need one in San Francisco, but after that it would definitely make life easier and more fun, IMO. You're only going to be there for three weeks, all of your travel and connection times will eat into your sightseeing time.

I've mentioned here before as well that if you take a plane from SF to LA, I think you're missing the thing that makes California so great -- its natural beauty. With a car you can travel down the coast or go inland to the Sierras.

If you're traveling alone there are some places you may want to avoid, and most of those center around city Greyhound stations.

Here's an idea for you. Jet Blue flys from Oakland to Long Beach for $29. You can then take the Metro Blue Line to Los Angeles and then connect to the Red Line to Hollywood (get off on a stop on Santa Monica Blvd. and take the number 4 bus to Santa Monica). Cheapest way I can think of to get you to Santa Monica. The only thing I'm not sure of is how far the Long Beach airport is to the train station. This is only if you are determined to go by public transportation. Here's the MTA's website:

http://www.mta.net

Anna, if a train is late the bus will be waiting as long as needed to pick you up. And if you don't want to carry your luggage you can check it in once and receive it at your destination.

And yes, I lost my first registration

Southwest flies $29 each way LAX to Oakland. There is a Blue Bus from Santa Monica that goes directly to LAX. As far as Oakland to San Francisco, there is an Airbus that takes you to the BART which will take you into the city.

FYI even though the actual flight to LA takes only 1 hour it can take upto 6 hours to get from downtown SF to Santa Monica when you take into accout getting to and from the airports and having to check in way ahead of time because of security issues. This was my experience two eekends ago anyway.

nope.

Don't drive. Fly. Go for the Southwest flights into LAX. LAX is surprisingly close to Santa Monica, though I don't know of any public transportation that will connect the two.

My recollection is that it was a 15-20 minute drive to central Santa Monica from LAX, so it can't be that far.

Just general info: LAX to Santa Monica on public transportation will take about an hour. It involves taking an airport bus to the LAX Bus Terminal (just offsite), then taking the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus (#3) up into SM (something I had to do once when my car was totalled). This is a VERY crowded bus-- frankly, I would hop Super Shuttle instead.