California - San Francisco to Anaheim

What is the best method in terms of ease of travel and cost to travel to Anaheim from San Francisco?

From what I have heard, a plane ticket will be approx the same in terms of cost as a plane ticket but substantially quicker and some times cheaper, although then I guess the required addition of another mode of transport to my destination would be greater from the airport than the bus station.

(I plan to stay around Knotts, if that helps)

Umm ok, clearer.

I am mainly looking for ease of travel, but obviously not hideously expensive.
I know that taking the train is a pain due to all the connections required to get from San Fran to Anahiem.

As I am a tourist, I don't know anything essentially about the transport between the two locations or the required transport from the airport into Anaheim etc

What is the best method in terms of ease of travel and cost to travel to Anaheim from San Francisco?

From what I have heard, a plane ticket will be approx the same in terms of cost as a plane ticket but substantially quicker and some times cheaper, although then I guess the required addition of another mode of transport to my destination would be greater from the airport than the bus station.

(I plan to stay around Knotts, if that helps)

You need to be more clear with this.

Fly Virgin America from SFO to SNA (John Wayne Orange County Airport). Excellent airline - reasonable fares. Depending on your plans in the area, you can either take a shuttle to the Knott's Berry Farm area or rent a car at the airport.

For ease of travel, the no-brainer answer is to fly to SNA from SFO (or whatever Bay Area airport is closest to your starting point). Be sure to do a separate search for Southwest, as most travel sites do not list them.

For lowest cost, there are plenty of other options that might be cheaper, including buses, trains, driving all the way from SFO, or flying to a different Southern California airport such as LAX. But all of these alternatives trade off dollar cost for time and frustration. If your time and (lack of) frustration mean anything to you, just book the SFO-SNA flight.

Thanks for the info, I assumed flights would be best as it is very similar in cost but from my estimates it was much much quicker and easier.

I don't want to rent a car mainly due to the road changes (different sides) and driving in an unknown massive city is well not what I enjoy.

I am just working up a budget in Excel and trying to make it as detailed as possible so thanks for the info guys.

What is the best method in terms of ease of travel and cost to travel to Anaheim from San Francisco?

Frankly, as a native Californian....I'd be apt to drive myself, unless I was under real time pressure...at which point I'd fly. While I understand that you come from a country which drives on the other side...it wasn't such a major switch for me going the other way.

I'd certainly avoid taking the bus.....since the only bus service is Greyhound, which has *terrible* service.

You could fly....although the airports (LAX, LGB, SNA) are rather distant from the Anaheim/Buena Park area, and if you don't plan to rent a car, you will need to rely on horrendously expensive taxis, somewhat pricey shared van services, or very poor public bus services.

Actually, if you have the time, taking the train is not a terrible option...although the trip will take a rather long day. (10-14 hours by schedule) The cost is comparable to flying ($60-65), and the distance from the Anaheim train station to is *less* than that of traveling from an airport. Make sure however that you take the "Coast Starlight" rather than the "San Joaquin," since the former follows the scenic Pacific Coast much of the way while the latter travels through the boring Central Valley farmlands...and requires a lengthy bus connection to LA.

For information on Southern California public transit, you should look at http://socaltransport.org/tm_pub_start.php , which will do public transport trip routing in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Another vote for fly, should only be around $50 each way.

Fly into SNA (John Wayne Orange County)

look at the Virgin America and Southwest Airline websites - often they will give special combo rates with Disney area hotels

when you search for airfare also search from the other 2 SF Bay Area airports - OAK and SJC

(I should have added that there is also excellent bus service from LAX to Anaheim) - go with the best air deal to S. California

Remember, this is S. California - made for auto travel, you will have difficulty getting around without one!

From what I have heard, a plane ticket will be approx the same in terms of cost as a plane ticket but substantially quicker and some times cheaper, although then I guess the required addition of another mode of transport to my destination would be greater from the airport than the bus station.

I think part of the confusion was the two bolded words above--I think one of them should have said "train" or "bus," rather than repeating "plane."

Frankly, as a native Californian....I'd be apt to drive myself, unless I was under real time pressure...at which point I'd fly. While I understand that you come from a country which drives on the other side...it wasn't such a major switch for me going the other way.

Indeed, Southern California is one of the easiest places to drive in (second, perhaps, to the rural areas of the American West and Midwest). We recently successfully convinced a nervous out-of-towner to try driving in Los Angeles (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/los-angeles/1001908-taxi-cabs-la.html), and she reported back (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/california/1045039-driving-parking-la.html) that it was as easy as we had made it out to be!

I also (like mlshanks) had absolutely no issues driving on the "wrong side" in Thailand and Australia a couple of years ago, and even my aging grandfather (who has spent a lifetime driving on the right-hand side in southern California) had no issues in either of those places or even in the UK (in a left-hand-drive vehicle in London, nonetheless!). Switching sides is really not that difficult!

Actually, if you have the time, taking the train is not a terrible option...although the trip will take a rather long day. (10-14 hours by schedule) The cost is comparable to flying ($60-65), and the distance from the Anaheim train station to is *less* than that of traveling from an airport. Make sure however that you take the "Coast Starlight" rather than the "San Joaquin," since the former follows the scenic Pacific Coast much of the way while the latter travels through the boring Central Valley farmlands...and requires a lengthy bus connection to LA.

If you have the time, I'll second this. This section of the Coast Starlight is really one of the best, most scenic train trips in the country. There's not much more iconic about sightseeing in California than being along the coast as the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean. With wide, comfortable seats (more seat pitch than most domestic airlines' first class cabins), a pretty good on-board dining car, and the dome-windowed Sightseer Lounge car, the 13-hour trip on the Coast Starlight will pass far more quickly than you'd like.

As mlshanks said, avoid the faster-but-not-scenic-at-all San Joaquins train down the Central Valley, and make sure to avoid any options that bus you down to San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara. You want the Coast Starlight from Emeryville. (If you're starting in San Francisco itself, you can book a connecting Amtrak bus from one of five stops in the City to Emeryville at no extra charge.) You'll then connect at Los Angeles Union Station to a Pacific Surfliner train to Anaheim (or wherever your final destination ends up being). If you go to http://www.amtrak.com and put in a city pair of SFC to ANA and choose a departure time of 8:00am, assuming nothing is sold out, the second option down should have a bus departing SFC at 7:55am and connecting to the Coast Starlight at EMY. The low bucket cost (the earlier you book, the more likely you are to get it) should be $63 (no extra taxes) all the way to ANA. That's the option you want.

For information on Southern California public transit, you should look at http://socaltransport.org/tm_pub_start.php , which will do public transport trip routing in the Greater Los Angeles area.

You can also search directions on http://maps.google.com—make sure to choose directions by public transit. (Most of the agencies in the Los Angeles area, including OCTA [the Orange County Transportation Authority] buses, now provide data to Google Maps.

You can also read the Wikitravel articles (see specifically the "Get Around" sections) on Los Angeles (http://wikitravel.org/en/Los_Angeles), Orange County (http://wikitravel.org/en/Orange_County), Anaheim (http://wikitravel.org/en/Anaheim), and Disneyland (http://wikitravel.org/en/Disneyland) for some information on transportation.

I'm not sure I agree that Southern California is one of the easiest places to drive. I have been visiting almost monthly for the past 7 years and it still reminds me of a Nascar race. If I'm going 75 miles per hour on the open freeway, I am usually the slowest car. Lots of lane changes and just a free for all. I end up having to drive aggressively just to stay with the flow.

I would fly between SoCal and NorCal, unless I wanted the explore the in betweens.

I'm not sure I agree that Southern California is one of the easiest places to drive. I have been visiting almost monthly for the past 7 years and it still reminds me of a Nascar race. If I'm going 75 miles per hour on the open freeway, I am usually the slowest car. Lots of lane changes and just a free for all. I end up having to drive aggressively just to stay with the flow.

I would fly between SoCal and NorCal, unless I wanted the explore the in betweens.
Well, in the thread I linked to, we were predominantly discussing off-freeway travel.

But even on the freeways, I'll take Los Angeles drivers over any other major city in the U.S., including Seattle. ;)

Ahhh, thanks I did not realize that I said plane twice lol.

The more I hear from you all and the more I check the distance between locations the more I see that I might rent a car, then again with a parking fee, petrol and rental fee - traveling by other means is much more viable for a short 3 or 4 day trip.

Once again thanks, I will keep looking.