San Francisco to LA

This has been asked a lot, so you can probably find info in the FAQs. You can get from SF to Yosemite (via Merced), and on to San Diego (via L.A), fairly easily by bus (www.greyhound.com) or a combination of train and bus (www.amtrak.com). Interestingly, Yosemite appears on the list of destinations on the Amtrak Web site, though Merced-Yosemite is by bus, but Greyhound does not list it (you can go to Merced via Greyhound and find the bus to Yosemite from there easily). Las Vegas is a bit trickier. You might consider flying. Otherwise, from Yosemite you can take the bus to Merced, then bus or train to Bakersfield, and bus from there to Las Vegas, then bus to San Diego. The Greyhound Web site can book you straight through from Merced to Vegas, via the short way (via Bakersfield, Mojave and Boron) or the longer way (Bakersfield, El Monte, San Bernardino). However, the latter may be your only option unless you want to overnight in Merced or Bakersfield (you may get to Merced too late for the shorter route). Amtrak Web site can book you bus/train from Yosemit to Bakersfield and then bus to Las Vegas, but looks like it cannot be done in one day. Would need to overnight in Bakersfield.

This page from the Yosemite Bug Hostel tells you how ot get to Yosemite by bus or train. If you do not stay at the Bug (which many people here highly recommend) you would continue on into the park by YARTS, the local bus company. Do NOT even think of going ot Yosemite without lodging already firmly booked.

You will find that there are not a lot of "coach companies." There is Greyhound and there are local bus companies. That's about it. Flying is indeed a much better option. The quickest Greyhound from Merced to Vegas takes about 10 hours. There is only one bus a day. There are other buses from Merced you can take, but they all go through LA, so you might as well just stay in LA for a while. There is no Greyhound service in Merced on Sunday. Merced to Vegas one way is $51 if you buy 7 days in advance. An hour & a half flight from Oakland (near SF) to Vegas runs around $100 on Southwest, with advance online purchase. Is saving $50 worth all day on a bus?

Here's another potential option - http://www.greentortoise.com/

See FAQ posts 131, 206, 207 and 214. They won't answer all of your questions but they'll point you in the right direction. I think you will have a pretty tough time doing all of this in two weeks by bus.

If OP is in Yosemite, they would need to get back to Oakland/SF to fly to Vegas. Or skip Yosemite. Flying from Fresno is an option but may cost more. Could always take the bus or train from Yosemite to L.A., catch a cheap flight to Vegas from there, and then bus or fly to San Diego and bus or train back to LA.

www.greyhound.com (Bus)
www.amtrak.com (train)

You should really look into renting a car, will cost you more than a greyhound ticket but you'll get alot more out of the experience. I am not a big fan of Greyhound and they will take you from San Fran down south on interstate 5 and there is absolutely nothing but dead grass and farmland to see. Rent a car and drive down Highway 1 on the coast and take in the beautiful coastline, stop in Monterrey at the wold famous aquarium, Pismo Beach, Carmel, Ano Nuevo.........

Two weeks is kinda cuttin your itin. close......... esepcially if this is your first trip. San Diego is lovely, I live in L.A. and its cool, Vegas is INSANITY.......... guess it depends on who you go with and what your into but if you've never been before and you love to party look no further. The drive from L.A. to Vegas can be taxing though, avoid driving back from Vegas on Sunday, you will sit in traffic the whole way.

Anything else you wanna know just pm me, I can give you alot of good info. on L.A.

California native here. I recommend renting a car. That is really the only way to see CA. Public transport is terrible, distances are long. Flying is an option, but then you will miss places like Yosemite. Also the coast and deserts are some to the beautiful things to see and you will miss those flying. Trying to rely on Greyhound and Amtrak will be a lesson in frustation (or patience).

If you want some specifics in SF or LA, let me know; post here or PM me.

= my 2 centavos

I have often ridden the train, Amtrak. It is a great ride. The bus is not a great ride. Driving is boring on this road. The train is usually a half hour late arriving. From Bakersfield to LA the train is actually a connecting bus. I hate this drive, and always take the train when I can, sipping wine in the club car watching the traffic jams along the way. Don't take the bus, the train has twice the space, and costs the same.

I agree with the above in that long drives like Hwy 5 or 99 through the Central Valley are long and boring. But driving the Coast Hwy, Hwy 1 from, say, Santa Cruz to San Luis Obispo has to be one of the truly great drives of the world. Also in the summertime you can drive over the Sierras, through Yosemite Park, to the Owens Valley on the other side. This, too, is a truly beautiful drive. There are many other places in CA that can only be reached by car.

I agree that the train may be the way to go for some long distances given if schedule and stops fit with your plans and if those plans only involve going from one city center to another. For those who have never been to CA or the US before, it may be a surprise to find out that the train system here is not anything like that of Europe.

Just for the record, I advocate and use public transport when in Europe. When I lived in Barcelona I didn't own a car but used public transport for my daily commute as well as weekend trips. Its just that in CA the car is the best way to go. San Francisco is about the only CA city where I regularly use public transport. For visiting the city for the day, I sometimes take BART to the center then use the buses to get around. Or I'll drive in and park my car and use the buses for the rest of the day.

Badger