How to get to Los Angeles

If you’re arriving in LA from overseas, you’ll be flying into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the city’s main airport. Located in the Westchester neighborhood of LA, around an hour’s drive from Hollywood (depending on the traffic), the airport is a noisy, crowded, bustling hive of activity that’s always busy, no matter what time you arrive or depart. Hardly surprising, considering it’s the fourth-busiest airport in the world and the second-busiest in the United States.

The majority of passengers arriving at LAX usually stay in the city itself or nearby Southern Californian spots, but it is also used as a stopover hub for carriers from around the world, including Qantas and Air New Zealand. Domestic flights are served by the main US carriers, including American Airlines, Delta, and United, but with around 70 carriers serving LAX, you’ll find almost all international airlines at this airport.

There are also several smaller airports dotted around the city, including Ontario International Airport (ONT), to the east of LA, Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), which is used mainly by actors and movie executives due to its proximity to the film studios, John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, and Long Beach Airport (LGB) to the south, the smallest and most limited of all the airports.

If you’d rather bypass the hectic hustle and bustle at LAX, arriving by train can be a great way to get to the City of Angels. LA’s main railway station is Union Station in Downtown, around four miles from the center. Despite being the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States, the building itself is surprisingly beautiful, and is known for its blend of Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival design topped off with Art Deco flourishes.

The main operators that service trains to LA are Amtrak and Metrolink. Those traveling from further afield should hop on an Amtrak train, which has routes running from Chicago, New Orleans, and Seattle. Those traveling more locally can go via Metrolink, which runs down to Carlsbad in the south and Ventura in the north.

America’s iconic Greyhound buses operate across California and beyond – with LA being the second most popular destination on its network, there are plenty of buses in and out of the City of Angels daily. The main bus station is located at 1716 E. 7th Street in Downtown LA, where buses arrive from locations like Phoenix, Sacramento, and Indio. Tickets for shorter journeys – like San Diego to LA – cost around $19.

Thanks to its enviable location on the coast, LA is home to a number of ports, with the most famous being Long Beach in the south. Despite its size, it doesn’t operate many passenger boats, though anyone looking to catch a boat to LA from Catalina Island can do so via the Catalina Express ferry from Long Beach, which takes about an hour and costs around $80 round trip. It’s also possible to travel from San Francisco to LA by boat, but you’d have to charter one yourself as there’s no public transport between the two cities by water.

Embarking on a road trip is one of the great all-American pastimes, and there are plenty of scenic routes that will bring you into LA. Perhaps the most famous of them all is the historic Route 66 through California. While it originally starts in Chicago and ends in Santa Monica, the California portion of the route begins in the Mojave Desert and takes around four hours to reach LA.

Other popular driving routes include Las Vegas to LA, which takes around four hours, and the scenic route down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco. Sure, you could take the most direct route via the I-5 South, which would save you around three hours of driving time, but if you did that, you’d be missing out on one of the most beautiful drives in the US. Take the wiggling, winding PCH (or Highway 1), and over around nine hours you’ll be able to take in stunning sights like Half Moon Bay and Big Sur, accessed via the Bixby Bridge, which is one of the most photographed bridges on the West Coast.

You can also drive across the border from Mexico, with a trip from Tijuana to central LA taking around two and a half hours, but bear in mind you’ll need to consider the relevant border entry requirements.

The type of visa and passport required to enter LA varies depending on where you’re coming from. Virtually every air traveler entering LA must show a valid passport. In terms of visas, there are various visa waiver programs available, like the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), which needs to be organized online before your trip and allows travelers to stay in the US for a maximum of 90 days. Numerous countries use this system, including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and many European countries. Those traveling to LA from elsewhere should check with their state department about the local visa requirements and any travel restrictions.