Category: Transportation

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Los Angeles Transportation

Los Angeles side trips: San Francisco is quick and easy

carjumpRecently I discussed how quick and easy it was to combine a trip to San Diego, the Grand Canyon, or Santa Barbara with a trip to Los Angeles, and I got quite a few emails from people asking me about San Francisco. Well, yes, it is quite easy to combine those trips into one, though San Francisco is a bit farther than the others I mentioned, and also usually more expensive once you get there. Anyway, here are the details on adding San Francisco into your holiday.

A side trip to San Francisco

The cities are about 400 miles (620 km) apart, so this isn’t a drive you might do on a whim. The fastest route is the I-5 until you are almost there, but this stretch of freeway is almost scenery free, and there is a notorious speed trap in King City as well.

Flying between the two cities

The flight itself is only a bit over an hour each way, but the hassle of getting to and from both airports can make it feel like an all-day affair. There are also 5 airports in the LA area that have nonstop flights to the 3 airports in the Bay Area, so don’t just assume that LAX to SFO is your best bet. Sometimes it will be, but flights into Oakland or San Jose can be cheaper.

  • Los Angeles airports: LAX, BUR, LGB, SNA, ONT
  • San Francisco airports: SFO, OAK, SJC

One reason I didn’t mention this as an obvious side trip is that Los Angeles is fairly intense and also fairly expensive, and San Francisco is too. When I travel I like to mix and match destinations so part of my trip is a bit more relaxed and even cheaper. So with that in mind you might want to consider adding San Francisco to one of the other side trips discussed before. Cheap flights from San Diego to San Francisco are pretty easy to find, and the airport in San Diego is also very easy to reach from the tourist areas.

Going to Phoenix in between

This would be highly recommended as a way to string together a nice trip. You can rent a car in Los Angeles and then drive to the Grand Canyon on your way to Phoenix. Then you can take a quick trip to San Francisco from there, often with lower airfares. Flights from Phoenix tend to be cheap, partly due to the fact that Southwest and US Air have big hubs there. You can even pay for PHX airport parking while you are in San Francisco and the whole thing will still be far cheaper than nearly any other option. Phoenix is big and parking is plentiful and safe.

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Los Angeles Transportation

Getting From Los Angeles to New York

Los Angeles is a large city located in California that is full of traffic and mayhem. However, many people love to visit on vacation. Los Angeles is home to an estimated 3,849,378 people, some of which are celebrities. Los Angeles has a number of beaches around the area. Some of these beaches are full of people that would be fit for any Hollywood movie, definitely a sight to see. Los Angeles offers hundreds of places to shop for the top name brand products. This city is ranked very high on the places to see list.

Why would anyone want to leave Los Angeles for New York, and what is the best way to get there? The answer is this; New York really isn’t that different from Los Angeles. New York just like Los Angeles is full of Traffic and even more mayhem. The population of the New York metro area is an unbelievable 19,490,297 people, far more than Los Angeles. This city also ranks very high on the places to see list. How do you get from Los Angeles to New York?

By Plane

By far the most popular way to get between these two famous cities is to fly. Since this route is so popular, quite a few airlines have nonstop flights going between the cities all day every day. If you can find a nonstop flight then it should take about 5 hours in the air, though of course the time spent at the airports will add many more hours to that. If the best deal is a flight that connects along the way, you could be looking at 7 to 10 hours from LA to NYC.

Because these two airports are so large and so busy, it is easy to find extremely cheap direct flights. It is not uncommon to find direct, round trip tickets for around $200 at the absolute minimum, but $300 roundtrip is a more normal cheap fare, and during peak travel seasons you might have to pay $500 roundtrip even for the cheapest flights.

Search tip: Los Angeles has 5 major airports and New York has 3, and you can check all combinations if you use the codes QLA to NYC instead of LAX to JFK, but unfortunately the QLA code (for all Los Angeles airports) doesn’t work in all search engines, so if it doesn’t then search for LAX to JFK and use the “search nearby airports” button.

By Bus

Maybe flying isn’t for you, if not you could take a bus. Buses leave out of Los Angeles heading for New York regularly. However, I must warn you, taking a bus ride from Los Angeles to New York will take almost 3 full days. The bus will stop in many different locations along the way, which makes the drive much longer than if you drove straight through to New York. This is more than likely the cheapest way to get from Los Angeles to New York, the cost for a bus ticket runs about $175 each way on Greyhound’s normal fare, but they do sometimes have promotional specials. You will have to add cost for food, drinks, snacks, or anything else you may need on the long ride.

Check the official Greyhound website for all the details, but be warned that the site is confusing and hard to use.

By train

If you fancy the idea of crossing the country by train, just like the Ricardos and Mertzs did when Ricky had ended his Hollywood stay on “I Love Lucy,” then you might be disappointed to know that it’s slow and way more expensive than you’d imagine. First off you take one train from Union Station near Downtown Los Angeles all the way to Chicago, which takes a bit over 42 hours. Then you change there for a different train that goes the rest of the way to New York City, and this leg takes just over 20 hours. There is usually a few hours between these trains, so you are looking at almost 3 full days to get from one city to the other.

The normal fare is around $240 each way, so it’s usually more expensive than flying as well. And of course that’s just for a normal seat in coach, which might not be so comfortable after the first 18 hours or so. Still, the scenery across most of the country is great, and it can be very relaxing as well. There are occasionally good promotional fares on Amtrak, so if you are lucky you might find something cheaper than this. All the information can be found on the official Amtrak website.

By Car

Next you could just drive yourself from Los Angeles to New York. This is another cheaper way to travel, but again you will have to add in for food items as well as hotel rooms you may need, for a break along the way. Driving will take about 43 hours of drive time, the trip is 2,788 miles one way. The fuel cost for the trip in a vehicle with 20 MPG will cost around $300 or more, depending on gas prices at that moment. Most of the drive will be on I40 East, where you will pass through Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. On this drive you will also go through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

While taking this drive you will definitely want to take you’re time and enjoy the ride. With all these different states you will be driving through, there are numerous things to see on the way. The deserts of New Mexico and Arizona are actually quite beautiful, full of wild life. Just keep you’re eyes open, that way you can catch a glimpse of some natural wonders and beauty that you will definitely pass by on you’re way from Los Angeles to New York.

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Getting from Los Angeles to Anaheim

matterhornAnaheim is a suburban city located 25 miles from Los Angeles in the Orange County of California. This city is known for its theme parks, sports team and a convention center. The main attractions of the city include Disneyland resort, Adventure City Anaheim Garden walk, Angel stadium and The Grove of Anaheim. Anaheim Convention Center here is also the largest convention center on the American west coast. Anaheim is also known for its sports teams namely Anaheim Ducks in the NHL and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the MLB. Its proximity to Los Angeles attracts several tourist here. If you plan a travel from LA to Anaheim there are a lot of travel options that are available.

But in spite of all these choices, most people are probably interested in going from somewhere in Los Angeles to Disneyland, so those options are spelled out below.

By Car

The traveling distance from Los Angeles is approximately around 26 miles from Downtown Los Angeles to Anaheim, a bit over 30 miles starting from Hollywood, and around 40 miles if you start from the Santa Monica/Venice area. Even coming from one of the closer areas, it is at least a 30-minute drive by car from Los Angeles and at times it might take up to a hour and a half or two hours, depending upon the traffic. There is also a option of renting cars from Los Angeles if required. Since cars are so dominant in this area, this is definitely the most popular way to do it, but you have other options.

By Bus

One could take LUXBUS from Los Angeles. There are two daily departures from Los Angeles to Anaheim. One being at 7.30 in the morning which could be the most comfortable option. There is also another bus service available at 3:30 in the evening. In both the cases the travel takes around 1 hour approximately. The ticket prices are around $32 for one way and $52 for a round trip. Tickets can be reserved in advance.

There are LuxBus tourist packages that are available. One could say this is a slightly expensive option to get to Anaheim. But the buses are very comfortable to travel. It is also worth its price because the seats are really good and it’s a luxury bus. There are also Greyhound buses that run between Los Angeles and Anaheim. There are around 7 buses daily available. The first bus is at 5.45 in the morning and last at around 6 in the evening. The travel by Greyhound takes around a hour. Buses are available every 2 hours.Tickets can be around $8 to $15 depending on the bus you take. This Greyhound buses are much more economical when compared to the LUXBUS which is really expensive. Anaheim is also well served by two public transport systems Metro and OCTA, but using these local services could take many hours each way if you are going a longer distance.

By Airport Shuttle

There is also a option to take airport shuttle from Los Angeles airport. At around $13 this is a much cheaper option compared to the Luxbus. The bus is know as the Disneyland Resort Express could be a very good option whether you travel alone or as a group. This service, operated by the Grayline Bus Company, is also a convenient and reliable mode of travel. At around $13 per head this could be a cheaper and better option than the LuxBus. There are also Super shuttles that are available from Los Angeles International Airport to Anaheim.These shuttles need not be booked in advance. There are Super shuttles around every 15 minutes and the cost is around $15-$20.

By Train

Finally, if you’re going by train there are two rail systems namely Amtrak and Metrolink available in Anaheim. One could take a Amtrak train from Los Angeles. This is more flexible because there are a lot of trains that are available. The journey by train is also very quick at 39 minutes. There are around 10 trains daily and we can travel in the time that suits us the most. The tickets are also very easy to get. The first train is around 6:00am and trains are available all around the day. The trains depart from the station almost every hour. The last train is around 7:15 in the night. The cost of the ticket is usually around $12. This could be the cheapest option to get to Anaheim from Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles Transportation

Getting from Los Angeles to San Diego

San Diego, the second largest city in California, is almost always a sunny 72 degrees. With 70 miles of beaches, you can visit it for a day of fun surfing, sailing or lying on the clean sand. Others come to the warm city to see the many family attractions including the world famous San Diego Zoo, home to the giant panda, or to visit Sea World where the famous whale Shamu will put on a spectacular show. Whatever the reason for a visit, thousands of people migrate from Los Angeles to San Diego every week.

By Plane

There are a few ways to get to San Diego from Los Angeles. While the two cities are only 116 miles apart there are airlines that offer flights between them. Alaskan Air has a 45-minute flight that is around $330. American Airlines also offers a similarly priced flight, which is about the same flying time. Finally, United offers a flight for $350, which is also about 40 minutes. In other words, unless you are rich and crazy, you are probably going to want to find another way of getting between these two cities. When you factor the flight time along with the airport check-in and security time, plus getting to and from each airport, this method will take longer than driving almost every time.

By Bus

A bus is a more economical way to get to San Diego. The LuxBus offers an $88 dollar roundtrip ticket from Los Angeles to San Diego and takes approximately 3 hours each way. The bus departs from many major hotels within both cities at regularly scheduled times, giving a door-to-door non-stop service. It is a large coach bus referred to as “airline on the ground” due to it’s snack and drink service, leather seating, on bus movies and a restroom facility. The Greyhound bus is very inexpensive, around $35, and departs frequently every day. Buses depart and arrive at Greyhound terminals of which there is only one in both Los Angeles and San Diego.

By Train

The train is a cheap, hassle free way to travel from Los Angeles to San Diego, avoiding traffic en route while leaving from central locations in each city. Amtrak offers a $68 roundtrip ticket which leaves Union Station in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, arriving approximately 3 hours later at the marina in San Diego. The train has a snack car, a baggage check in, and a selection of seating classes, which vary in price. With beautiful views along the route from each city, the train has the ease of flying without the price.

By Car

Finally the most popular way to travel between the two cities is by car. Whether renting a car from your local rent-a-car location or using your own automobile, this is the cheapest way to get to San Diego. The ride is about 2 hours but can be upwards of 3 hours or more if there is heavy congestion on the freeways, which is true much of the time. You begin by taking the San Diego Freeway Interstate 405 going South. You then take the exit towards California 73/California 55/San Diego merging onto the California 73/Corona Del Mar Freeway. After about 17 miles you will take the Interstate 5 South freeway where you will hit a partial toll.

The I-5 S. Freeway is beautiful, running right along the Pacific Ocean. Along route I -5 S. as you get closer to the city you will pass the Marine Base Camp Pendleton, a base located right on the Ocean, started in 1942 and a major training location for the Marine Corps. Once you have passed Pendleton you will take exit 17 which will put you directly into downtown San Diego, home to the famous Gas Lamp quarter. From here you can easily find a place to stay, restaurants to eat in and things to see and do.

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Los Angeles Transportation

Getting from Los Angeles to San Francisco

San Francisco is one of the largest cities in California, settled in 1776 by the Spanish. The Gold Rush in 1848 caused thousands of people to rush into the city, making it the largest city on the whole West coast at the time. The 1906 earthquake had a huge impact on the city, although it was rebuilt. Today, San Francisco serves as a tourist destination for millions thanks to its cable cars, Chinatown and the famous Golden Gate Bridge.

By Plane

Traveling to San Francisco by plane from Los Angeles is about the easiest way to get there. Surprisingly, flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco doesn’t cost much more than a train ride, plus you’ll get there in an hour and a half. There are four places to fly out of in the Los Angeles area. Jet Blue Airways is the best choice, offering the best prices. You can also use Southwest Airlines at LAX, flying straight to San Francisco. You’ll need to check their website directly for fares. You can compare fares at online travel sites to find the best prices using the airline code LAX for Los Angeles and SFO for San Francisco. Flights range from $75 to $150 each way, and if you find a good promotional fare it might be as little as $99 roundtrip.

By Train

Most people don’t think of travel by train these days but it’s still affordable and easy. The Amtrak Coast Starlight line will take you from the Union Station in Los Angeles all the way to Oakland, California, taking about 11 hours. It costs $52 one way. The train won’t take you all the way to San Francisco but offers a great way to see the sights and experience a train ride. You can easily rent a car once in Oakland and finish the drive to San Francisco, giving you a car while you’re there, or take a bus to San Francisco. You can also take the train to San Jose and transfer to Caltrain which will take you all the way to San Francisco. Both of these options give you the experience of a train ride which fewer and fewer people try these days.

By Bus

You can also get to San Francisco by bus, which is a very easy way to get there. You can take a GotoBus from Monterrey Park, which is near downtown Los Angeles, all the way to San Francisco. You’ll need to leave early in the morning because only one bus trip is done per day; don’t miss it. The cost is about $50 one way, making it a good option for many people. The trip on Gotobus will take about seven and a half hours.

You can also take the California Shuttle Bus, which will pick you up in Los Angeles and take you straight to San Francisco. The shuttle bus leaves only at noon and midnight, or every 12 hours. The trip takes seven and a half hours, just like the GotoBus, although the shuttle bus is cheaper. Fares start at $5 but you’ll usually pay around $40 roundtrip for a shuttle bus to San Francisco.

By Car

Driving is the way most people get from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The trip begins where the I-10 meets the I-405, ending up at the Golden Gate Bridge into the city. The fastest way to drive there is to take the I-405 to the I-5 North toward Sacramento. From there, continue to the I-580 and then the I-80 into San Francisco. You can also take the coastal route, although it can be difficult and time consuming. To do this, take the US 101 to the CA 1, following the coast. You can also take the back way to San Francisco by taking the I-405 to the CA 14, continuing on the US 395 North. Follow the 395 east to the Sierras, crossing Yosemite National Park and heading west into the city. When you’re traveling to San Francisco by car make sure you avoid afternoon traffic and allow yourself time for stops.

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Los Angeles Transportation

Getting from Los Angeles to Las Vegas

Every year millions of people travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Located about 228 miles from Los Angeles, Las Vegas is considered to be the entertainment capital of the world offering visitors a wide a variety of gambling activities, shows and many different events for the whole family. Founded in 1905 the city experienced its largest amounts of growth towards the end of the 20th century as this was the first major American city to offer legalized gambling.

Known for its dry desert climate Las Vegas is a city that is filled with lights and entertainment while sitting right in the middle of the dessert. Its close proximity to Los Angeles makes it an ideal spot for many people who live there to have the chance to have a nice short term get away. For the residents of Los Angeles this means that they can be able to travel a short distance to be able to enjoy what this oasis in the desert has to offer. While the distance between the two cities is not that far there are many different options that you have available when traveling between Los Angeles and Las Vegas such as:

By Car

This is one of the most common ways to travel between the two cities, depending on where you live the entire trip could take approximately fours and should connect you to Interstate 15 that will take you in a northeast direction to Las Vegas. In general you can be able to a rent a car from any of the major car rental agencies with a credit card in addition to being at least 25 years old. If you are leaving at a heavy traffic time (which is most of the time in many parts of Los Angeles) then the first 30 miles could take you 90 minutes or even more. So if you left at 4am then you could be in Las Vegas by 8am or maybe 8:30, but if you leave Los Angeles at 4pm, then you might not arrive in Vegas until 10pm or so. In other words, plan your exit time carefully.

By Train

While there once was a train that ran from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, it is a thing of the past. There is no longer a passenger train that runs from state to state. There had once been talk of building a super train between the two major cities, but they are nothing but whispers at this point in time. So be clear that there is no train and no plans to be a train between the cities any time soon.

By Bus

There are two bus lines that offer regular service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Greyhound and Go To Bus. Greyhound usually takes about five to seven hours and it costs approximately $60.00 one way. While Go To Bus leaves once a day from several different commuter locations, the trip takes about five hours and it costs between $30.00 to $88.00 one way or $45.00 to $133.00 round trip.

By Shuttle

Viator offer luxury shuttle service between the two cities to include: movies, snacks, beverages, reclining seat and an on board attendant for just $80.00 each way. These shuttles leave once a day from pick up points in Los Angeles at: downtown, Hollywood, LAX Airport, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills hotels. Form Las Vegas these shuttles have pick up and drop off points at: the Flamingo, Golden Nugget as well as Harrah’s.

By Air

When you are traveling the between the two cities by air the cost is about the same as the other forms of travel, in addition you can arrive at your destination within about an hour and ten minutes. Southwest is generally the cheapest carrier offering discounted air fares between the two cities and they have service to the following airports with in the Greater Los Angeles area: Los Angeles International, Burbank, Orange County or Ontario in addition to Las Vegas. However, the major airlines also fly between the two cities and have various specials from the different Los Angeles airports.

Clearly there are many different options available for traveling between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Some of the different options that you have available when traveling between the two cities include: traveling by car, traveling by plane, traveling by bus and traveling by shuttle. All will allow you to easily be at either destination within a few hours and the cost for traveling to them is not that expensive. This means that you can be able to have any enjoyable trip that everyone will remember while at the same time not having to worry about how much money you are spending to go to either destination.