San Diego Travel Forum

Hi..
just wanna check if there are any coach or trains that goes from LA airport to San diego and how long will it takes? Still thinking to fly straight into San D or transfer from LA.
Are there any budget hotel to recommend and safe as i will be travelling alone..

thanks for all the advise u give~~~ WOW... u make me feel worried about planning to go there at all... i heard about the immigrants in LA too and quite dangerous place to be in ... is San Diego same too? So we can't find budget hotels to stay in those areas huh?
mmmmmm... well i can't drive so i just tot of buses... :p it's common in my country.. just didn't realise it's not that good in USA... i think.. i've to seriously consider my plan on going there and which airport to arrive in...
I've been to Portland airport (transit) and to Salt lake city... it seems to me it's safe in US... or is it just that part? :p

You can see that the mods have deleted those posts. Don't listen to them, and I'm sorry that you had to read all of that garbage.

If you're going to San Diego, then try to fly into San Diego. It's just easier.
There is a train that runs from Downtown LA to Downtown San Diego, but that would require first getting from LAX to Downtown LA (over an hour via public transit), then getting from the train station in SD to your hotel.
If you do fly into SD, there are several hotels nearby the airport that have free shuttles, but not many are under $100.
Per budget hotels, it depends on "budget." The area around San Diego airport (Mission Bay, Old Town) is generally very safe, but also relatively expensive. The only hotels under $100 are in the far-off suburbs, or in the area known as "Hotel Circle" just to the east, which is, unfortunately, not overly accessible by public transit. There are some exceptions though like the Old Town Inn and Point Loma Inn, as well as a couple of others. It just depends on your budget.
In Southern California, you're just generally going to be better off with a car. Neither LA nor San Diego has a very good public transit system and, in both towns, you'd be missing out on seeing a lot if you're going there just to go and visit.
hth

I think you should measure the advice of the now deleted poster with a pinch of salt. I have family in San Diego County, been there several times, ridden on buses, commuter trains and never encounteredany problems. There are social problems, and crime in all big cities but most tourists go home safely. Just take common sense care of yourself and your belongings.
Enjoy your trip.

Hi,

I didn't see the replies that were deleted, but from your response they must have been posted by someone who has problems in general. So, I'd suggest that you overlook what ever they had to say.

As to your questions:

Bocmaxima addressed the issue of trains.

There are bus shuttles from LAX to San Diego, such as Cloud 9 that you could take, but the cost of the shuttle plus the time it would take--between 2 1/2 to 3 hours, because the roads between LA and SD are usually full of traffic--makes the idea of a quick flight, about a half hour, down here a better option. The airport in San Diego is in the downtown area and though there is a bus stop at the airport, taking a hotel shuttle or a taxi might be most comfortable when you first get here.

Most of the places in all of SD county, not only the city, where you would find a hotel or motel are relatively safe.

As Bocmaxima said, Hotel Circle is several miles outside of the downtown area, and there you will find many hotels/motels at various rates. Budget hotels would run about $70.00 a night on average and though they are "budget" there is still a basic standard that you can expect. In this area there are lots of restaurants to choose from and shopping on the north side of the freeway. There are bus stops near most of the hotel that will take you to the San Diego Trolley station and from there you can get to all the major transfer statations which makes it easy to use the public transportation system. Our system is not nearly as convenient as you'd find in Paris or other European cities, but it is adequate to get to almost any place you might want to go.

If you want to stay closer to the downtown area there are a couple of places you might check out. La Pensione in Little Italy was about $80.00 per night the last time I noticed and it is located a couple of miles north of the Gaslamp Quarter. Also, near the Harbor area there is the Paradise Inn and Suites which offers great deals almost year round. I've seen their rooms rates at about $50.00 per night. You can read more about those and others on my San Diego page.

I don't know what was written earlier about immigrants, but you have nothing to fear by that issue. At the moment there is quite a controversy about the lack of border control and the vast numbers of people entering the USA illegally. It is more of a policy issue than a "person" issue and would not affect a tourist at all. We have always had immigrants living here and it is one of the things that makes this area so vibrant and diverse.

San Diego is a pretty safe city and as long as you are reasonably cautious you should have no problems on that front.

A safe, easy and cheap way to get from LAX to San Diego is to take the Flyaway shuttle to Union Station in downtown LA, then take Amtrak into SD. It will cost about 40 USD total, and take about 3 to 3.5 hours.

But if you can do it, I recommend renting a car for southern California.

And ignore the nonsense about immigrants. They are less dangerous than the natives because they know that they get deported if they get caught.

Sorry to all... my badz for listening to just one side of the story...
and thank you all so much for assuring me on the immigrant issue...
Hmmmm from the way you mention it... it seems it's easier to take the plane directly to San diego huh?
Is LAX to downtown LA easy to go? I believe i would have a luggage to carry along... so..
The little italia place sounds so interesting ... i guess for me... as i can't drive... it's better for me to stay around the shopping area or where somewhere i can get to by just walking..
Hmmm... but i've another question now is... because i've only been to Utah in USA... and i really have good impression of it as it's so safe and quiet..i tried walking out on the streets alone about 2am and no ones bothers you at all...and so different from what i watch from TV about USA.. So is San Diego something similiar to there too?

Cheryl after our flight from Europe into LAX we wanted a night before going on down to San Diego and we prebooked a shuttle - what we call a mini-bus - to Anaheim where we stayed the night and took the Amtrak train from there next morning.That worked very well for us.

>>>The little italia place sounds so interesting ... i guess for me... as i can't drive... it's better for me to stay around the shopping area or where somewhere i can get to by just walking..

Little Italy, where La Pension is located, is a very small area and there are only a few restaurants and a pub or two, no real shopping near by. So, if shopping is what you are interested in you'd be disappointed. Hotel Circle does have a large shopping mall near, but still, it's not a short walk, as there is a major freeway dividing one side of Hotel Circle from the other and you would have to take a bus--or a pretty long walk--if your hotel was on the south side of the freeway. There are places were you'd find a hotel near a little shopping area with restaurants, El Cordova in Coronado comes to mind or La Valencia in La Jolla, but those hotels are definately not budget. In Ocean Beach there is a hotel across from the beach on Newport Avenue which is a compact shopping street with restaurants, and the price of a room is not as expensive at the other two mentioned. However, it is a beach community and a bit funky so you may not like it as much. The Gaslamp Quarter offers a bit of shopping as well as restaurants and bars, but the only "budget" place I can think of in the Gaslamp is the Youth Hostel and I'm not sure that is what you want.

>>>...because i've only been to Utah in USA...and so different from what i watch from TV about USA.. So is San Diego something similiar to there too?

No.

San Diego is nothing like any town in Utah. Most of Utah is more like much of the middle part of the country, rural in nature. The towns are smaller, and not nearly as posh or pretentious as in the coastal areas of the country. However, to some extent, San Diego has a "small town" feel in many ways, even though it is a city with almost as many people as the whole state of Utah.

As for feeling safe, being out after 2:00 am, that is a hard thing to say. I usually feel safe any time I'm out, but late at night when most people are home and tourists are in bed asleep, you'd have to be a pretty confident person and be more alert, depending on where you were and there isn't much to do at that time of night.

Hello,
Another affordable hotel option in San Diego is the Sunburst Court Inn located near the Hill Crest Area, here is the website www.sunburstcourtinn.com . I personally know the owners, have stayed there myself, it would be more convenient if you had a car but Hill Crest is walkable I'd say a good 1/2 to 3/4 mile away, located in a residential neighborhood but very safe. You would need to take a cab from the Airport/Train station since they do not offer a courtesy pickup. Their prices are very reasonable. I have also written a review on my stay, see "My Pages" section under San Diego. For the record, I am a travel agent always looking for affordable, clean, safe properties for my clients.

Good luck and enjoy San Diego, it is a beautiful city!

David

thank you all so much for the good advices.... i'll only plan to go in May.. so still long way for me to slowly plan and see which one is the best way :p
Seems like hotel Circle is a nice place to stay in and gimpsa street... i would prefer to stay around some shopping ... so it'll be more noisy :p
Shall look at those hotels you all have recommend... thanks so much once again!!

Hotel circle is good only if you have a car, or if the hotel has regular shuttle service to the public transportation hub on Taylor street. It is not fit for walking visitors.

I couldn't agree more with Harmonious, if you don't have a car then stay in the area between the new ballpark stadium and the waterfront. Yes, the hotels are going to cost more but the location is great. Also, you are near the Red Trams that can take you to all the tourist sights or very near at least.

hmmm... will cost abit more huh... think i'll research for the hotel in those areas ... wow there's tram in there?? like SFC??? niceeeeeee!

The tram (locally referred as the "trolley") isn't really that convenient.
Almost every point of interest in San Diego, outside of Downtown, requires a bus ride to get to it.
It is better to stay Downtown. Failing that, probably Old Town (although there aren't that many hotels there). Or, another option is to stay in Mission Valley. There are a few hotels south of Friars Road that would put you within walking distance of the trolley, as well as a couple of shopping malls, including a fairly large one. But it's otherwise pretty sparse and there's not much else out there.
It depends on what you want for shopping though. There are malls, boutique shopping like you get in Hillcrest, tourist shopping at Seaport Village or Mission Beach, or upscale stuff like in La Jolla.

hmmmm... that's really not so convinent when i can't drive huh... are taxi cheap in there then?
how about in LA? is it better than San Diego? I might just change plans and not go there at all.. or maybe go to San Fransico?

San Francisco you do not need a car, good shopping here, very pretty and the city is perfect for walking or talking a bus and plenty of taxis.

that's nice to know ... hmm then how far is it by car from SFC to San Diego? or plane will be better?

SFO is at least 8 hours by car. Better to fly, but you could always take the train up the coast.
I don't think you should give up San Diego just because it's car-oriented. San Francisco is certainly a great town, but San Diego is often overlooked by tourists in favor of the more well-known California destinations, and has just as much to offer. Plus, the weather's a lot better.
You can get around by bus in San Diego to almost anything worth seeing.

San Diego or San Francisco, both great cities in my opinion. The train up the coast is beautiful but takes all day and into the evening, plan on a good 12 hours. A flight from San/L.A. is just over an hour, plenty of inexpensive flights up here. Have you bought any travel books on San Diego? That might be another alternative for your research. Go to Amazon.com and do a search on books for San Diego, make sure they are current.

hmmmm seems like both cities are worth visiting then.... i've not bought any guidebooks as yet....shall go to borders this wkend to check it out... hmmm guess i need to search for those budget airlines too..

Yes, they both are great cities. For Airfare, I like to use www.kayak.com

thank thanks!!!!