Travel to California

Flying to California

The majority of flights to California are operated by US carriers JetBlue Airlines (www.jetblue.com), American Airlines (www.aa.com), Delta Airlines (www.delta.com) and United Airlines (www.united.com).

Major airports are: Los Angeles International Airport, San Diego International Airport, Oakland International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Burbank Bob Hope Airport, Ontario international Airport, Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport, John Wayne Airport, Palm Springs International Airport and Sacramento International Airport.

Notes

Rules and regulations for flights in the United States are more strict than those in Europe. Check the TSA website (www.tsa.gov) for specific advice on what is and isn’t allowed onboard.

Airport Guides

Flight times

From London to Los Angeles is 11 hours 15 minutes. To San Francisco from New York is 5 hours 50 minutes.

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to California by Rail

The Amtrak (tel: +1 800 872 7245; www.amtrak.com) terminal in Los Angeles is Union Station, at 800 North Alameda Street, on the edge of the business district. It is at the western end of several major routes across the southern Rockies, is the southern terminus of the West Coast line to Seattle (although there are frequent shuttle services heading further south to San Diego), and at the western end of east-west routes from Chicago, St Louis and New Orleans.

In San Francisco, the Embarcadero BART station and the Transbay Transit Terminal, at 200 Folsom Street, are used only for limited suburban services. The Amtrak Terminal at Emeryville, across the Bay, is the central node on the West Coast line and also the western terminus of a line running across the high Rockies to Salt Lake City and beyond. Amtrak provides free shuttles between their Oakland station and the Transbay Terminal.

San Diego is served by Amtrak trains from Los Angeles, with its Santa Fe Depot station located downtown on 1050 Kettner Boulevard and its Old Town Transit Center situated on 4005 Taylor Street.

Rail note

Approximate rail journey times:
From Phoenix to Los Angeles is 8 hours, from Dallas is 39 hours, and from Chicago is 61 hours.
From Reno to Oakland is 6 hours, from Salt Lake City is 16 hours, and from Denver is 31 hours.

Driving to California

California is easily accessed by road from surrounding states and Mexico via the John J. Mongtomery freeway (Interstate 5). Greyhound bus service (tel: +1 214 849 8100; www.greyhound.com) has several daily departures.

Driving note

Drivers with international licenses are legally allowed to drive in California.

Getting to California by boat

Water note

California’s entire western border is the Pacific Ocean with major ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and San Diego. See www.portoflosangeles.org for further information.

Cruise ships

In the Los Angeles area, there is a daily, low-fare cruise service from Long Beach to Catalina Island. Carnival Cruise ships depart from San Diego to Mexico regularly.

Ferry operators

Golden Gate Ferry (www.goldengateferry.org) operate three regular ferry routes to the San Francisco Ferry Building from Larkspur (in Marin County), Sausalito, and Tiburon. A ferry service also links San Francisco with the Bay communities of Vallejo, Oakland and Alameda. San Francisco departure is from Pier 1, adjoining the Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street, or from Fisherman's Wharf.