Driving Directions from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The total driving distance from Los Angeles, CA to San Francisco, CA is 381 miles or 613 kilometers. Your trip begins in Los Angeles, California. So in this case, it's better to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The quickest and most popular route will be to take the Interstate 5 Freeway which would be the most boring and less hurdle route. THE BEST ROUTE — about 470 miles/12 hours, is to follow the [page's] directions to Monterey thence the Cabrillo/Big Sur Highway (1) through San Luís Obispo to Goleta (1 and 101) and Santa Barbara to Oxnard thence the Pacific Coast Highway (1) to the Santa Monica Freeway (10) to Los Angeles. The LA to San Francisco road trip is one of the coolest drives in the world – and certainly the US! You can follow the US Hwy 101 for 420 miles which often offers beautiful coastal views or take the Interstate 5, which is typically faster but not very scenic. You can actually drive straight from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a day, but we recommend spending at least 4 or 5 days to explore some of the places in between. This coast-hugging route is one of the most scenic in all of California.

The 450+ miles along the way have a lot more to offer, though than a speedy drive.

It's really only slightly better to drivein this case, so you could choose either option based on your specific needs. It ends in San Francisco, California.
10 Best Stops LA to SF Coastal Road Trip There are several routes to take when driving between Los Angeles and San Francisco depending on how much travel time you have or want to endure.

Los Angeles and San Francisco two of California’s most popular vacation destinations, are about 400 miles apart, but don’t let the distance dissuade you from driving. There are two main options for the drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
As first stops go on a drive north from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Santa Barbara is pretty agreeable. These results are based on the actual driving distance from Los Angeles to San Francisco… The drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco up Highway 1 takes about 10 hours, straight through.

This post covers everything you need to know for a 5-day itinerary including where we stopped to shop, take photos and where we stayed on this portion of California’s Pacific Coast Highway.