San Francisco Travel Answers

G_ I've not taken the trip although I've considered it so I'll be watching for your reports. I believe however based on the Amtrak sites you'll need to change in San Jose to avoid ending up in Jack London Square, Oakland. Last time I used it, the SF terminial was at 4th and Townsand which is very close to the light rail and MUNI to get you "in town." The trip is about 9.5 hours according to Amtrak.

Hi Gia; The train that goes all the way through to the San Francisco area from Los Angeles is the Coast Starlight. It continues to Seattle, and as there is no track directly north of San Francisco (it is on a peninsula) the Coast Starlight actually stops in Oakland. From there you can take BART or a connector bus into San Francisco. In the comment I recently posted in the MISC forum about the trains to Seattle in August already selling out, Fugu wanted to know about the sleeping car compartments. There are several different types available. My response there talked about how to get to that part of Amtrak's web site. The route is along the coast from Oxnard until it gets to San Luis Obispo. The route then goes inland somewhat and heads to San Jose, then Oakland. Some of the areas are quite scenic, and it goes through part of the Vandenberg Air Force Base that is otherwise closed to visitors and is essentially natural California before development. As to getting on and off, it is certainly possible. However, there is only one through train per day LA to Oakland, and two other trains per day LA to San Luis Obispo. You have to plan very carefully, and as the prices go up as the train sells out it is best to purchase tickets ahead of time as a general rule (I don't know how much these particular trains sell out in that section but I know here in the northwest it is very unusual to find any seats available during some months of the year). As there is only the one through train per day it may be necessary to stop overnight if you decide to stop over. There are approximately six or seven or so trains per day that operate Oakland to San Jose (the Coast Starlight stops there too) so that is another location where you can stop over. Also, San Jose is the southern end of CalTrain commuter rail service to San Francisco, and that might be an alternative but the equipment is not going to be as comfortable or equipped for luggage. It is slow because of the many stops, but it is somewhat faster than going to Oakland and then getting the connecting bus in Oakland to San Franciso. As the CalTrain trains are operated by someone other than Amtrak, there is no guarnateed connection in San Jose, so you could wind up waiting a while on the platform if you miss a connection there. Without any stops anywhere, the entire trip takes about 12 hours. I don't have anything about that particular route, but I do have some photos and other stuff about the Coast Starlight as it appears here in Oregon and Washington (which is the same Los Angeles to Seattle train you would use for getting to Oakland): "Amtrak Long Distance Trains in Washington & Oregon" - Washington State Transportation Tip by glabah

Agraichen posted his response before mine had a chance to post: The time does depend on where you start from and which direction you are going. Examples: Leave Oakland at 8:50 am. Arrive Los Angeles at 9 pm. Leave Los Angeles at 10:20 am, arrive in Oakland at 9:32 pm. There is also the choice of a 5 hour bus ride from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo, where you connect to one of the San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles trains that doesn't go all the way north. However, 5 hours is an awful long time to be cooped up in something as compact as a bus. At least on the Coast Starlight you can go down to the dining car or lounge car or otherwise walk around if you feel the need.

Another alternative is to know the dates of your travel. There is a "limo" transporting from San Diego to SF in the next couple months that could provide accomodations. We could catch up and the Scotch can be accounted.

Thank you both for great advice and info! I'm going to share with the traveling companion and see what we think. The logistics sound a little difficult for going to SF but not that big of a deal. I know the central coast fairly well, just would love to have it be most scenic if we do it...