LAX to San Diego by train?

[DynamicSpirit]

I have an itinerary question: I need to fly London to San Diego in a month or so's time. However, because I've not been able to find a reasonably priced flight to San Diego on any of the days I could reasonably travel, I'm considering flying instead to Los Angeles (arriving around 2pm - I can get a reasonably priced flights to do that) and then getting a train to San Diego (presumably by getting a metro from the airport to Union station, and then a train from there).

My question is: Does getting trains from LAX to San Diego make sense? It looks doable on googling maps and schedules, but I know nothing about and have no experience of trains in Southern California. Are there any likely obstacles to doing that? And would I just be able to turn up at the station(s) with my suitcase and buy a ticket?

 

[stadler]

I have an itinerary question: I need to fly London to San Diego in a month or so's time. However, because I've not been able to find a reasonably priced flight to San Diego on any of the days I could reasonably travel, I'm considering flying instead to Los Angeles (arriving around 2pm - I can get a reasonably priced flights to do that) and then getting a train to San Diego (presumably by getting a metro from the airport to Union station, and then a train from there).

My question is: Does getting trains from LAX to San Diego make sense? It looks doable on googling maps and schedules, but I know nothing about and have no experience of trains in Southern California. Are there any likely obstacles to doing that? And would I just be able to turn up at the station(s) with my suitcase and buy a ticket?

Yes that journey is perfectly doable. It is fairly simple. You are probably looking at four to five hours total from the Airport terminal building in Los Angeles to San Diego once you factor in connections and waiting time.

Firstly you have to get from Los Angeles Airport to Los Angeles Union Station in the city centre. Unfortunately it is a pretty poorly connected airport. There are not even any local buses serving the airport terminals so you have to take a free shuttle bus from the airport to a nearby station for train and bus services. Even from there two different trains are required.

You have two different options from Los Angeles Airport to Los Angeles Union Station in the city centre.

• Metro (Bus & Metro) - Firstly you need to take the free shuttle bus directly from the Airport to Aviation Metro Station which takes 15 minutes. Secondly you will need to take the Green "C" Line train from Aviation to Willowbrook which takes 15 minutes. Thirdly you will need to take the Blue "A" Line train from Willowbrook to Los Angeles Union Station which takes 40 minutes. The bus and the two trains all run frequently around every ten minutes and the total journey time from the Airport to Union Station is around 70 to 80 minutes total. The cost for this journey is just USD1.75 total for both trains so it is very cheap. Tickets can be purchased from a ticket machine at the station.

• Flyaway Coach - This is a direct coach from the Airport to Union Station in the city centre. It takes around 45 to 75 minutes depending on the time of day and traffic conditions. The peak hour traffic around Los Angeles is awful so it takes a particularly long time during these periods. The cost is USD9.75 for this journey. Tickets can be purchased onboard.

So that is the first step of getting from the Airport to Union Station in the city centre.

Once you have gotten to Los Angeles you have two options for the Los Angeles to San Diego part of your journey:

• Metrolink Train & Coaster Train - Your first option is the much cheaper option of taking the Metrolink suburban train from Los Angeles to Oceanside and then the Coaster suburban train from Oceanside to San Diego so just two trains total. The train from Los Angeles to Oceanside takes 120 minutes (two hours) and costs USD16.75 Single on a weekday or an a weekend a special USD10.00 Metrolink Day Rover exists. The train from Oceanside to San Diego takes 60 minutes (one hour) and costs USD6.50 Single on any day of the week. So the total journey time is around 180 minutes (three hours) and in total costs USD23.25 on a weekday or USD16.50 on a weekend. Tickets for both trains are just bought on the day at ticket machines at the station.

• Amtrak Pacific Surfliner Train - Your second option is the much more expensive option of taking the direct Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train. The train from Los Angeles to San Diego takes around 180 minutes (three hours) so it is pretty much the same journey time as the above cheaper option. However the Amtrak option is still slightly quicker overall as you do not have to factor in waiting around at Oceanside to change trains. It costs USD36.00 Single for this train. Tickets can be purchased on the day at the ticket office and ticket machines at the station or from the Guard onboard with a surcharge.

So there are two different option from the Airport to Union Station in Los Angeles and then two different options from Los Angeles to San Diego by train.

I would recommend the cheaper option of the free bus and two Metro trains from the Airport to Union Station and then the Metrolink and Coaster trains but there is also the more expensive Flyaway Coach and Amtrak train options if you want a slightly quicker journey.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Two things to bear in mind:

1. Immigration is a LOT quicker and nicer at San Diego airport
2. The Metrolink/Coaster train option needs to be fully investigated as it doesn’t seem to operate much at weekends and even during the week it’s not as good as it used to be

 

[richardderby]

I have done this several times, flyaway to LA Union station, which is beautiful and well worth a look, https://www.unionstationla.com/history/
Then Amtrak to San Diego along the coast, a beautiful ride on double decker trains, upgrade to business class with free snacks and wine included, and a more private roomy seat. 55 dollars total fare. The metro is still a construction site at LA airport, eventually it will be a quicker option..

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Amtrak.com

Explore the SoCal Coast by Train | Pacific Surfliner

Book a ticket online and travel by train along the Southern California coast to destinations like San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo.

www.pacificsurfliner.com

 

[stadler]

Two things to bear in mind:

1. Immigration is a LOT quicker and nicer at San Diego airport
2. The Metrolink/Coaster train option needs to be fully investigated as it doesn’t seem to operate much at weekends and even during the week it’s not as good as it used to be

That is a good point. It is not that frequent. It seems to be mainly the Metrolink train that is not as frequent as Coaster seems to be fairly decent.

With the Metrolink train (Los Angeles to Oceanside) it runs 6 times a day in each direction on weekdays and 4 times a day in each direction on weekends. So it is certainly not the most frequent. Although there is an additional 2 trains a day in each direction on both weekdays and weekends if you change at Corona West or Riverside Downtown or San Bernardino Depot but of course this takes longer.

With the Coaster train (Oceanside to San Diego) it runs 16 times a day in each direction on weekdays and 11 times a day in each direction on weekends. So this is certainly far more frequent. At least one train every two hours.

For comparison Amtrak have 10 trains a day in each direction on the Los Angeles to San Diego route. So certainly more frequent. About one train every two hours.

I have attached the current Coaster timetable and Metrolink timetable. I have also attached the Amtrak timetable. Also a Los Angeles map showing the local routes to the airport.

Looking at the timetable it seems it can still work okay. DynamicSpirit says he will be arriving at the airport around 14:00 in the afternoon. Metrolink is very heavily based on trains in to the city in the morning and trains out of the city in the afternoon and evening so this works out well. In the afternoon there are Metrolink trains at 15:23 / 16:30 / 17:40 / 18:31 if he arrives on a Weekday or at 14:00 / 16:27 if he arrives on a weekend. Then at Oceanside there are plenty of connecting Coaster services with waiting times at Oceanside for your connection of around 10 minutes to around 50 minutes depending on which train you take.

So the option of Metrolink and Coaster seems doable to me. It is a shame it is not more frequent. But looking at the times it seems perfectly doable.

 

[ac6000cw]

Does getting trains from LAX to San Diego make sense?

Yes.

'stadler' has listed the options above in some detail.

In the past I've used both the Metro and Flyaway bus options between LAX and Union Station - the Flyaway bus is much less hassle if you have significant luggage than using the shuttle bus - Metro line 'C' - Metro line 'A' option.

As mentioned above, the Metrolink + Coaster commuter rail option is much more limited at weekends (as is typical of US commuter rail operations).

Flyaway bus schedules - https://www.flylax.com/flyaway-bus/union-station

Amtrak Surfliner info, LA Union Station - San Diego: https://www.pacificsurfliner.com/plan-your-trip/schedules/

Metrolink 'Orange County Line' commuter rail schedule, LA Union Station - Oceanside (which also includes the Amtrak train times) - https://metrolinktrains.com/globala...-2023-oc-line---updated-nov-2023.pdf/download or https://metrolinktrains.com/schedules/?type=line&lineName=Orange+County+Line

Oceanside - San Diego 'Coaster' commuter rail schedule - https://d4lp5oxce4dvw.cloudfront.ne...ER-Platform-Schedules-June-2024-for-Web-1.pdf (note the last southbound train from Oceanside Sunday - Thursday is at 7:36PM)

 

[Royston Vasey]

I've done the Surfliner before but as part of a wider business trip around Los Angeles so didn't have to get to Union station directly from LAX! It's an absolutely painful journey from LAX to pretty much anywhere, especially by public transport. I'd be tempted to just get an Uber.

Remember that the Surfliner arrives heading south so everyone already on it is on the right hand side of the train for the coast view. At LA Union Station the train reverses and takes a long 180 degree right hand turn through the suburbs back towards the coast with the other side on the coast! Bear this in mind when seating yourself! Lots are caught out by this and knowing this will get you a great oceanside seat!

It's a gorgeous trip.

By the way I've also flown the 20 minute connection from LAX to SAN as part of longer itineraries many times. LAX is not exactly fun to connect at but its easy enough, all terminals are connected landside by buses and walkways. United and Delta have frequent service and obviously connections to London on UA VS and DL. But I can see why you'd want to make the trip on the rails!

 

[ac6000cw]

Remember that the Surfliner arrives heading south so everyone already on it is on the right hand side of the train for the coast view. At LA Union Station the train reverses and takes a long 180 degree right hand turn through the suburbs back towards the coast with the other side on the coast! Bear this in mind when seating yourself! Lots are caught out by this and knowing this will get you a great oceanside seat!

It's a gorgeous trip.

Yes, it's nice, interesting, varied train ride.

If you've got time for a side trip, a ride on the 'Sprinter' line from Oceanside to Escondido is also quite interesting - especially the twisty modern viaduct/bridge that takes the line from one side of a valley across and the down to the opposite side (modern Siemens DMUs every 30 minutes, just under an hour each way).

 

[Royston Vasey]

I missed the Flyaway coach, definitely worth a look at that as an Uber won't be cheap!

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I missed the Flyaway coach, definitely worth a look at that as an Uber won't be cheap!

Agreed about Uber. Since the whole point of getting the train from Los Angeles is to circumvent the much higher air fares for flying to San Diego, getting an Uber would rather defeat the purpose

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Sep 2024 ==

Yes that journey is perfectly doable. It is fairly simple. You are probably looking at four to five hours total from the Airport terminal building in Los Angeles to San Diego once you factor in connections and waiting time.

Firstly you have to get from Los Angeles Airport to Los Angeles Union Station in the city centre. Unfortunately it is a pretty poorly connected airport. There are not even any local buses serving the airport terminals so you have to take a free shuttle bus from the airport to a nearby station for train and bus services. Even from there two different trains are required.

You have two different options from Los Angeles Airport to Los Angeles Union Station in the city centre.

• Metro (Bus & Metro) - Firstly you need to take the free shuttle bus directly from the Airport to Aviation Metro Station which takes 15 minutes. Secondly you will need to take the Green "C" Line train from Aviation to Willowbrook which takes 15 minutes. Thirdly you will need to take the Blue "A" Line train from Willowbrook to Los Angeles Union Station which takes 40 minutes. The bus and the two trains all run frequently around every ten minutes and the total journey time from the Airport to Union Station is around 70 to 80 minutes total. The cost for this journey is just USD1.75 total for both trains so it is very cheap. Tickets can be purchased from a ticket machine at the station.

• Flyaway Coach - This is a direct coach from the Airport to Union Station in the city centre. It takes around 45 to 75 minutes depending on the time of day and traffic conditions. The peak hour traffic around Los Angeles is awful so it takes a particularly long time during these periods. The cost is USD9.75 for this journey. Tickets can be purchased onboard.

So that is the first step of getting from the Airport to Union Station in the city centre.

Once you have gotten to Los Angeles you have two options for the Los Angeles to San Diego part of your journey:

• Metrolink Train & Coaster Train - Your first option is the much cheaper option of taking the Metrolink suburban train from Los Angeles to Oceanside and then the Coaster suburban train from Oceanside to San Diego so just two trains total. The train from Los Angeles to Oceanside takes 120 minutes (two hours) and costs USD16.75 Single on a weekday or an a weekend a special USD10.00 Metrolink Day Rover exists. The train from Oceanside to San Diego takes 60 minutes (one hour) and costs USD6.50 Single on any day of the week. So the total journey time is around 180 minutes (three hours) and in total costs USD23.25 on a weekday or USD16.50 on a weekend. Tickets for both trains are just bought on the day at ticket machines at the station.

• Amtrak Pacific Surfliner Train - Your second option is the much more expensive option of taking the direct Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train. The train from Los Angeles to San Diego takes around 180 minutes (three hours) so it is pretty much the same journey time as the above cheaper option. However the Amtrak option is still slightly quicker overall as you do not have to factor in waiting around at Oceanside to change trains. It costs USD36.00 Single for this train. Tickets can be purchased on the day at the ticket office and ticket machines at the station or from the Guard onboard with a surcharge.

So there are two different option from the Airport to Union Station in Los Angeles and then two different options from Los Angeles to San Diego by train.

I would recommend the cheaper option of the free bus and two Metro trains from the Airport to Union Station and then the Metrolink and Coaster trains but there is also the more expensive Flyaway Coach and Amtrak train options if you want a slightly quicker journey.

Thanks, that's really useful and exactly the kind of stuff I needed to know.

 

[richardderby]

Agreed about Uber. Since the whole point of getting the train from Los Angeles is to circumvent the much higher air fares for flying to San Diego, getting an Uber would rather defeat the purpose

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Sep 2024 ==



Thanks, that's really useful and exactly the kind of stuff I needed to know.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Sep 2024 ==

I would definitely prefer the direct Amtrak rather than changing in oceanside, unless the timetable works better. There is 20% off if you book through this link and no need to visit the zoo, once again I recommend business class (the discount should work too) as coach class gets busy, probably aim for the 510pm train arriving downtown San Diego just after 8pm https://www.pacificsurfliner.com/offers/promotions/san-diego-zoo/
Oh and the complementary California wines on board are excellent, it is the only Amtrak route to serve free wine, lovely watching the sea passing alongside..

 

[gordonthemoron]

The other thing to bear in mind is where in San Diego you are going to, Amtrak doesn't stop in that many places before San Diego Old Town, whereas the Coaster stops in more places

 

[DelW]

I did it the other way a few years ago for exactly the same reason, San Diego to London was well into four figures vs under £500 from LA. I used the Surfliner and direct bus link between LA Union Station and the airport.

It was very painless and easy. I would certainly choose the Surfliner again (rather than Metrolink and Coaster), as the last thing you want after a long flight is unnecessary changes. The Surfliner coaches (basically Superliners with extra doors) are very comfortable and spacious by British or European standards, and I thought the fares were reasonable enough that I went for business class.

The only thing I regretted was not taking the time to look round LA Union Station before catching the airport bus!

Inside views of a business class Surfliner top deck attached below:



(Edit to add) re ticketing, in the past I've found it easy to book Amtrak tickets from here before travelling. I think the first time I bought any train tickets via the internet was for travel from New York Penn Station to Boston as far back as 2008.

 

[Backroom_boy]

Yes I'm going echo what everyone says here. I did the reverse journey (SD to LAX) about 15 years ago and by far the most awkward part is getting from LA Union Station to LAX. You'd think that there'd be a turn up and go option but I think I had to book onto a particular moter coach in the end.

(LA Union is worth at least half an hour just to soak up the ambiance and feel into the classic Hollywood train films)

Not 100% but i think i took a direct train which suggests it was an amtrak but pretty sure it was operated by someone else (Caltrain?) On their behalf. Even if I'm remembering this correctly it has probably all changed now.

Once in SD it's imminently do-able by transit and can recommend the blue line trolly to Mexico (check visa requirements as its very easy to find yourself in Mexico after walking through a maze of brutalist walkways)