Huntington Beach Travel Forum

Hi, all.

Question .. I am heading to Huntington Beach for the marathon in Feb and will be flying into the L.A. airport. I'd like to avoid renting a car if possible, since I'd only need it to get to and from the airport.

Is there is a bus route or similar from the airport to HB? Or if not, how much can I expect to pay for a taxi ride?

thanks! --Elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth,

Check out Scandic's detailed directions from LAX to HB. I suggest you verify these directions to make sure the routes still exist as the tip was made a couple of years ago. Also, the drop off point may or may not be close to the marathon start site, so definitely refer to a map of the area.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4deae/b7e3b/9/

I live in Orange County where the marathon is taking place on February 2, 2007. Your best bet is to take an airport shuttle service from LAX to your destination in Huntington Beach. I went online at www.primetimeshuttle.com and typed in your arrival date as 02/01/07, departure date as 02/04/07 and your hotel destination as the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, which located on Pacific Coast Highway across the street from the beach and just down from the pier by Beach Boulevard. I don't know where you are staying or your dates that you'll be here, but needed to enter something in order to get a free quote. The price given to me was $35.00 each way if you select a shared van with other people riding with you. It's the cheapest way to travel as Huntington Beach is located off the beaten path from any train lines. It's located 34 miles from LAX (too bad you aren't flying into John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, which is only 10 miles away from Huntington Beach). A taxi will cost you so much you might as well buy the taxi!
The map services provided on-line are amazingly convoluted. I plugged in LAX to my daughter's address in Huntington Beach and it gave 37 STEPS on how to get there!!! I'm a native and I couldn't even understand what they were tellling me, it's ridiculous!
If you drive, you come out of LAX, down Century Blvd to Aviation, where you turn right then go up to the freeway entrance of the 405 freeway going South and exit at Beach Blvd, going South (right), to PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and you're there! Botton line, takes 3 steps, not 37! The freeway on-ramp is only about a mile or so once you leave the airport. This is an area where you need a car to get around but it can be done without one. In your case, if you take the shuttle and plan on just staying in the Huntington Beach area, you'll be fine.
If you need any more info, please let me know: kidsolly@dslextreme.com
Good luck to you in the marathon!

I would have to agree with gereegons suggestion to take a shuttle. It is not the cheapest. But the door-to-door convienence you gain would be worth it, especially if you are bringing more than 1 or 2 bags.

Thanks, all, for your help. The shuttle looks like a great option; I never even thought of that. :-)

Appreciate the info!

--Elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth...

if you really want to sight see and take an adventure with public trans, you can head to do this route to the coast of Huntington Beach:

1. Head from your LAX terminal (on the lower level termainals) on a free airport shuttle to "Aviation Station".
2. From Aviation St, go on the Green Line(rail) heading west to the last stop, "Norwalk Station". Pay $1.25.
3. Catch the 460 MTA (Disneyland) bus at the Norwalk St area. (sign is posted, pay $1.25)
4. Take 460 bus (pay $1.25), exit along Beach Blvd (first stop Beach/ Manchester Blvd in Orange county-Buena Park)
5. Take 29 OCTA bus South (pay $1.25) all the way to the end where Huntington Beach coastline along Pacific Coast Highway.

I have done trips like this between counties often for beach adventures. I would recommenend this route if you're travelling from early morning (from 5 or 6AM to early afternoon any day and if you want to pay as cheap as possible...and also if you have time to kill. The time for the route is long, about 3 hours but this way you could do some serious sight-seeing.

Of course, it's better and more comfortable to do the shuttle all the way!

You can go to mta.net and put in "Aviation Station" and "PCH/1st" (Huntington Beach intersection steps from the ocean) for destinations in the Trip Planner section of the site. Select day and time you want for the travel and you should come up with route...looks like they are 2 and a half to 3 hours long....
:-)