Frugal SF State students traveling between Los Angeles and the Bay Area can avail of a more dignified and personal mode of transportation and the opportunity to experience California history.

The unforgettable, 11-hour, mostly daytime trip from Los Angeles to Oakland via Amtrak's Coast Starlight offers a leisurely alternative to driving or flying.

"I am in school right now, so taking the train is cheaper than flying," said Sarah Chambers, a 20-year-old Central Oregon Community College sophomore from Bend, Ore., who took the train to southern California for spring break.

"Train travel in general is a good way for students to get around," said Amtrak spokesperson Vernae Graham. "It's environmentally friendly and they don't have to deal with the hassle of driving."

The Coast Starlight features comfortable and spacious coach seating, friendly staff, numerous amenities and the opportunity for social interaction with complete strangers.

Delectable meals are provided in the dining car and the trip is sufficiently long enough to offer lunch and dinner. Mealtime reservations are made with Amtrak onboard staff and seating is communal.

Students on a budget are advised to have one meal in the dining car and bring snacks onboard for the rest of the journey.

But snacks and beverages -- including those of the alcoholic variety -- can also be acquired from the attendant in the sightseer lounge car.

Featuring panoramic windows, the sightseer lounge car allows passengers to maximize the unparalleled scenery along the route. Table seating there is a good place to play board games, surf the Internet on a laptop, socialize with fellow passengers or watch the world go by.

Amtrak conductor Ben Pechner said, "There has always been a high quantity of students on Amtrak. The train is a good place for students to relax or get that work done they have been putting off."

SF State students destined for San Francisco can ride a connecting Amtrak Thruway bus from Oakland's Jack London Square station to the Ferry Building, where transfers can be made to BART and Muni.

The scenic climax of the 465-mile journey can be found along the Pacific Ocean between Ventura and Pismo Beach, where passengers witness the surf smacking the beaches and jagged coastline below. Other highlights include passage through curvy Cuesta Pass above San Luis Obispo and the quaint, agrarian Salinas Valley north of Paso Robles, immortalized by the works of author John Steinbeck.

The Coast Starlight also follows two historic routes dating from the time of the Spanish occupation of California.

One is the trail Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza blazed during a 1775-1776 colonizing expedition to identify an overland route from Mexico to settlements along the California coast, according to a National Park Service brochure.

With the aid of Father Junipero Serra, Spain built 21 missions along the California coast between 1769 and 1823 and linked them with a primitive road dubbed the El Camino Real, according to the book "The California Missions" edited by Dorothy Krell. The railroad follows significant portions of this route.

Prior to Amtrak and the popularity of air travel and interstate highways, Southern Pacific Railroad's sleek Daylight streamliners plied the line, which was completed as a through route between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 1900, according to John Signor's book, "Southern Pacific's Coast Line."

Information about schedules, fares, reservations and baggage policies can be found on Amtrak's Web site, www.amtrak.com, or by telephoning (800) USA-RAIL.