The
City of Los Angeles welcomes you with a wide open arms and provides multiple ways of transport for visitors to reach conveniently, whether by land, sea or air. The city's love of cars is a well known fact to everyone, but Angelenos are a bit fed up with traffic, smog and high gas prices. So the city which is famous for its car culture is now adopting an alternative, cheaper and convenient public transportation culture. There are vast network of freeways and highways that serve the city and other LA metropolitan area.
Travel to Los Angeles by Air
There are two notable airports that serve LA and its metropolitan areas.
Image by Fergus McNeill/https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo/2298860Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is one of the world's busiest airport and is the city's significant gateway hub. LAX encompasses 9 terminals, which are connected on the arrivals by free shuttle bus A. There are also many car-rental
and hotel shuttles that provide services to and from the airport. The major airlines that is served by LAX, include American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, Great Lakes Airlines, Horizon Air and Virgin America.
Address:Los Angeles International Airport
1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Phone: (855) 463-5252, 310-646-5252 FREE
For TTY, please call California Relay Service at (800)735-2929
Website: www.lawa.org/lax
Long Beach Airport
Long Beach Airport (LGB) is a public airport, owned by the City of Long Beach. LGB handles domestic flights and serve as a major hub for American Eagle, Delta Connection and JetBlue Airways.
Address:4100 Donald Douglas Dr.
Long Beach, CA 90808
Phone: 562-570-2600
Website: www.lgb.org
Bob Hope Airport
Bob Hope Airport (BUR) is a domestic airport, owned and operated by Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. BUR provides services to the northern Greater LA area, including Pasadena, Glendale and the San Fernando Valley.
Address:2627 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505
Phone: (818) 840-8840 - TTY (818) 565-1355
Website: www.bobhopeairport.com
Getting Around - TO/FROM the Airport
Prime Time: A shared-ride vans operated by Prime Time, provides door to door pick ups and get you to the airport.
Phone: 800-733-8267
Website: www.primetime.shuttle.com
Super Shuttle: The shuttle starts from the lower level of LAX terminals and serves destinations, including include Santa Monica ($19), Hollywood ($25) and Downtown LA ($16).
Phone: 800-258-3826
Website: www.supershuttle.comDisneyland Express: The Disneyland Express provides services at least hourly between LAX and Disneyland-area
hotels. The costs for a round-trip family pass is $99.
Phone: 714-978-8855
714-978-885Website: www.graylineanaheim.com Service available: 7:30am-10:30pm
Cost of one way/round-trip: $22/32
Curbside taxis at LAX: The general cab's metered fares include extra $4 airport surcharge on top of the meter fare.
A flat fare is charged, if you want to travel - From LAX to Downtown - $46.50
From LAX to Santa $30 to $35
Otherwise, taxi fare from LAX to Hollywood is approximately $45 to $55 and up to $95 to Disneyland, excluding tip.
LAX FlyAway Buses: The LAX FlyAway buses departs LAX terminals every 30 minutes.
One way fare: $7
Fare for Westwood: $10, 25 to 45 minutes between 6am and 11pm daily
Fare for Downtown LA’s Union Station: $7, 30 to 50 minutes and 24 hours service.
Phone: 866-435-9529
866-435-9529Website: www.lawa.org There are many other cheaper public transportation that provides services to and from LAX, but they are slower and less convenient. A free shuttle bus C operates from the lower level outside any LAX terminal to the Metro Bus Center. From the metro bus center serves as the hub for buses and will connect you to all of LA. Another alternative is shuttle bus G, that links from LAX terminals to Aviation Station on the Metro Green Line light rail.
Discover Los Angeles in 24 hours
Travel to Los Angeles by Train
Amtrak: It is inter-city passenger trains long-distance passenger trains. The main Amtrak's rail station in LA is Downtown LA’s historic Union Station.
Address:Los Angeles Union Station
800 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone:800-872-7245
800-872-7245Website: www.amtrak.com
Pacific Surfliner regional trains: The routes it serve are-
Southwards to San Diego - Fare is $37 and takes approximately 2$ hours
Northwards to Santa Barbara - Fare is $25 to $30 and takes approximately three hours
San Luis Obispo - Fare is $40 and takes approximately 5$ hours
Travel to Los Angeles by Road
Los Angeles and the rest of its metropolitan area are connected by a comprehensive network of freeways and highways. LA's major interstate highways such as US 101, Interstate 10 and Interstate 5 link the city with the rest of the country
Interstate 5: In the south, I-5 passes links from San Diego to Tijuana in Mexico and in the north, links Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle to the Canadian border.
Interstate 10: I-10 is the cuntry's southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway. Its routes runs from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1, in Santa Monica to I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida.
U.S. Route 101: This is a major north-south U.S. highway. The route leads to California Central Coast, San Francisco, the Redwood Empire, and the Oregon and Washington coasts.
Public Transportation in Los Angeles
Public transportation serves as a very important travel option for the locals as well as visitors. in LA. It is a cheaper and easier means to travel in adn around the city, but public transportation system suffers some drawbacks in LA’s most-touristed areas.
Local DASH minibuses: It serves areas around Downtown LA, Hollywood and Los Feliz.
Phone: 323-808-2273, 213-808-2273
Website: www.ladottransit.com
Fare: 50$
Operational Hurs: 6am-7pm
Big Blue Bus: This bus service is based in Santa Monica. Its serve almost te entirity of West LA, including Westwood, Venice and LAX. It also has another service called, Rapid 10 Freeway Express, that links Santa Monica with Downtown LA and it will cost you $2, one hour.
Phone:310-451-5444 310-451-5444
Website: www.bigbluebus.com
Fares from $1
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority overviews the functioning of the public transportation system for the County of Los Angeles. LACMTA and other agencies operate a comprehensive network of Rapid transit (subway), Light rail, Bus, Bus rapid transit across Los Angeles County. LA's subway system is the 9t busiest in USA.
Address:One Gateway Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952
Transit Information: 323.GO.METRO (323.466.3876)
323.GO.METROWebsite: www.metro.net
LA's Subway and Light-rail System
The light rail system of Los Angeles is the country's second busiest. LA subway and rail lines include-
- Blue Line: Downtown to Long Beach
- Expo Line: Downtown to Culver City, via Exposition Park
- Gold Line: Union Station to Pasadena and east LA
- Green Line: Norwalk to Redondo Beach
- Purple Line: Downtown to Koreatown
- Red Line: Downtown (Union Station) to North Hollywood, via Hollywood and Universal City
Metrolink: This rail conveniently connects LA to all neighboring counties, including many suburbs.
Bus rapid transit lines: Metro Orange and Silver lines - These lines have similar stops and frequency to those of light rail.
Metro train or bus fares - $1.50
Metro ‘TAP card’ unlimited ride passes cost - $5/20/75 per day/week/month.
You can buy train tickets and TAP cards at vending machines which are available in all train stations, or refer online at www.metro.net for other locations.
Taxi/Cab Service: If you need to quickly drop by somewhere in the city, it is best to phone for a cab. The fares applied to all metered taxis is $2.85 at flagfall, and then $2.70 per mile. All taxis in LA accept major
credit cards, but you need to push a little bit.
CheckerPhone: 800-300-500
Website: www.ineedtaxi.comIndependentPhone: 800-521-8294
Website: www.taxi4u.comGreyhound Bus Service: This is one of the most efficient bus services in LA that provide inter-city connectivity.
Address:1716 E7th St
Phone: l213-629-8401
Website: www.greyhound.comCar and Motorcycle: Its not so diificult to drive and navigate the city, but covering the city's distance is a ginormous task. Even worst is the city's traffic, probably the worst in the country. If you have an imporatant appointment to atten, be prepared to fight a horrible traffic and keep lots of time aside for your travel. During weekday rush hours, it will take seriously test your endurance level.
Parking fees in most hotels - Between $10 to $35.
Valet parking rates - Between $3 to $10
For your complete travel guide in and around Los Angeles, refer www.metro.net
Our insider's guide to the best things to do when you're in LA
Seaports in Los Angeles
Los Angeles has two main seaports, namely the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Both these ports combine together, make the world's fifth busiest container port and serve as a major gateway for US
trade.
Port of Los Angeles: The Port of Los Angeles is the nation's busiest container port. And for the US Western Coast, it serves as the largest cruise ship center. The Port of Los Angeles' World Cruise Center serves large number of passengers annually.
Also read more on, The Port of Los Angeles' World Cruise Center.
Address:425 South Palos Verdes Street
San Pedro, California, USA 90731
Phone:(310) 732-7678
(310) 732-7678 Website: www.portoflosangeles.orgPort of Long Beach: It is United States' second-busiest container port, after the Port of Los Angeles. It is a major hub for US and Asian trade.
Address:4801 Airport Plaza Drive
Long Beach, CA 90815
Phone: (562) 283-7000
(562) 283-7000Website: www.polb.comCatalina Express: It provides passenger ferry service, starting from San Pedro to the city of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island.
A map guide on getting in-and-around LA
