Travel by flights is another good idea.

This web displays the cheapest discounted airline ticket & flight information for San Francisco, California to Los Angeles, California including the cheapest seats, historical ranking, recent email alerts and airlines with flights that serve these cities.

Did you know? Some interesting details is below.
* The largest aircraft flying between San Francisco, CA and Los Angeles, CA is a 757 operating by United Airlines with 182 seats.
* The smallest aircraft flying between San Francisco, CA and Los Angeles, CA is a CRJ operating by Delta Air Lines with 50 seats.
* 27,670 seats are available per week fly between San Francisco, CA and Los Angeles, CA
* 202 flights per week fly between San Francisco, CA and Los Angeles, CA

Very interesting .Isn't it?

From Los Angeles to San Francisco on Highway One

You can Travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles on Coastal Highway One
Total Distance: 270 miles (San Luis Obispo to San Francisco)
Driving Time: All day or longer. You'll average no more than 30 to 40 miles per hour.

If have a choice when driving between Los Angeles to San Francisco, start in LA to avoid afternoon traffic jams. Going south, leave San Francisco early to avoid morning rush and have the best chance of getting to LA before backups begin.

If you plan to make the trip in one day, driving this section of Highway 1, it will take 9 to 10 hours. Available daylight varies from 10 hours in December-January to almost 15 hours in June-July.

I find a site, You can give a try: http://www.cashuttlebus.com/index.asp
They have bus from LA to SF,bus from LA to SF.

San Diego is a modern city on the Southern California seacoast known for its ideal climate, miles of beaches, and location on the Mexican border, right across from Tijuana. It has a rich heritage built around sailing and is home to the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy. It is also well known for its part in the wildlife conservation movement, being home to a SeaWorld theme park and the "world-famous" San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. San Diego is an excellent place to escape from the hustle and bustle of nearby Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County is a large region in Southern California roughly the same size as Rhode Island . Overwhelmed by the city of Los Angeles, which spreads its tentacles throughout the county, there are many other cities in this area.

Santa Barbara is located geographically less than 100 miles from hyper-metropolitan Los Angeles but feels light years away from the noise and congestion of its huge neighbor to the south, which helps explain why the upper crust of Southern California have long favored the coastal retreat as both a getaway destination and the perfect place for a second (or sometimes first) home.

With a temperate climate and lush natural environs, the "Riviera of the West" is perfect for a day trip, with its wide, perfect beaches, highly rated wineries, and a large variety of shopping and dining choices, or a much longer stay, with a highly active local culture of volunteerism and fund-raising (not to mention the very high number of wealthy people) that enables the town of just 90,000 residents to enjoy the sort of cultural and social amenities which are usually found only in much larger cities.

Although the common perception of Santa Barbara is as a playground for the rich and famous, the reality is more middle-America than you might think, with an average income only slightly higher than California as a whole, and a diverse ethnic makeup and heritage. Notable for its California Mission-style architecture (a long-standing local ordinance ensures that all commercial construction follow the Mission theme, which results in a plethora of red-tiled roofs and faux adobe supermarkets), local residents are intensely proud of their city's roots and traditions, and a number of hugely popular festivals throughout the year celebrate the many cultures found within the city limits.

The Central Coast of California is a region that remains calm and tranquil. Between the Bay Area's high-tech hassles, and the megalopolis of Southern California, the Central Coast provides nice beaches, beautiful Spanish missions, and a more peaceful way of life.

The Silicon Valley lies in the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay. Once best known for its prune orchards, the area underwent explosive growth with the creation of the high-tech industry in the 1960s. Although much of the area suffers from the suburban sprawl typical of much of the western United States, it still has some remarkable charm. The nearby Santa Cruz mountains make for a welcome respite from bustling 21st-century cyberliving.

The Bay Area (more fully, the San Francisco Bay Area), ringing San Francisco Bay in northern California, is a geographically diverse and extensive metropolitan region that is home to nearly 8 million inhabitants in cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and San Jose. Once a focus of Spanish missions and Gold Rush prospectors, the Bay Area is best known now for its lifestyle, liberal politics and high-tech industry (Silicon Valley).

Although it doesn't have any firm boundaries, the Bay Area is composed of nine counties that include Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, and Contra Costa. The southern parts of Sonoma and Napa counties are considered part of the Bay Area for this guide, since their culture and economies face towards the Bay.

The North Coast of California has beautiful redwoods and small coastal towns. It stretches along the Pacific from the Bay Area to the Oregon border. The inland valleys of Mendocino County are a significant wine-growing area, and the region is noted for organic produce and its art community. Recreation opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, boating, kayaking, fishing, horseback riding and simple sightseeing abound. For those with more urban tastes, art galleries, winetasting, and upscale restaurants are plentiful. Working harbors at Fort Bragg and Eureka offer opportunities for whale-watching, crabbing tours, ocean fishing and the chance to buy fresh salmon right from the boat. Even a simple drive along any road in this region is a refreshing experience.

Coastal California refers to the coastal regions of the US state of California. The term is not primarily geographical as it also describes an area distinguished by sociological, economical and political attributes. The coastal regions of California tend to be more liberal, affluent and expensive than other regions of the state.
The area includes the North Coast, San Francisco Bay Area (including Silicon Valley), Central Coast, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego. During the 2000 Census, roughy a third of households in coastal California had incomes exceeding $75,000, compared to 17.6% in the Central Valley and 22.5% at the national average. Nearly all congressional districts in the region are left-leaning with a mean Cook Partisan Voting Index of D +13.3,meaning that a Democratic presidential candidate will, on average, be 13.3 percentage points ahead of his Republican opponent.