Whether or not you reside in San Diego otherwise you’re simply visiting, plenty of the most effective flights depart from LAX, not SAN. It has extra airways, extra nonstops, and way more worldwide routes, typically at decrease fares.
Getting between the 2 cities is the laborious half. There’s no practice, the drive is lengthy and traffic-dependent, and the SAN to LAX flights that stay are costly for 30-odd minutes within the air. A rental provides value, resort parking, and typically one-way drop costs.
The best repair is a San Diego to LAX shuttle, and the one I preserve coming again to is reLAXsan. It runs a number of instances a day, with three pickup factors throughout the county and drop-off proper at your terminal. You guide forward, and it’s $68 per particular person every approach. I needed to know if I might suggest it, so I despatched my well-traveled daughter from Previous City to catch a midnight flight to Seoul.
Why this works
There’s nothing to handle. You skip the drive, the rental, the parking, and the query of the place to go away your automotive at LAX. You arrive in Previous City together with your baggage. The coach makes two fast stops in Sorrento Valley and Oceanside, then runs straight up I-5.
The worth is the opposite draw. At $68 a technique, it is available in properly below a automotive service or rideshare, with no surge pricing and no questioning whether or not a driver will make a journey that lengthy.
My daughter took a late-afternoon shuttle and hit some afternoon visitors, however she nonetheless reached LAX with hours to spare for check-in and safety.
The place the airport shuttle picks up in San Diego
reLAXsan has three pickup factors in San Diego County:
- Previous City San Diego, on the Previous City facet of the practice station
- Sorrento Valley / Del Mar
- Oceanside / Carlsbad
The Previous City cease is the one we used, and it’s adjoining to a beneficiant car parking zone that’s straightforward to seek out and pull into.
I parked, we noticed the shuttle, and inside a couple of minutes she was on board. The driving force took her baggage, checked her ticket, and that was that.
For Uber or Google Maps, the handle is 2728 Congress Road, San Diego. The precise nook is Congress Road and Telegraph Approach, throughout from the Previous City Transit Middle.
One native observe
If you happen to’re coming from the west facet close to Marina Boulevard, you may get held up by trolley and practice crossings. There’s development within the space proper now that blocks the same old workaround, so add 5 to 10 minutes to your timing to be protected.
What the reLAXsan shuttle is like
reLAXsan asks you to reach ten minutes earlier than departure, which is about proper. The driving force masses baggage on the again, checks your ticket, and also you board. My daughter’s was a full-size shuttle bus, two seats on both facet of a middle aisle, clear and properly saved, with the spacious seating reLAXsan advertises. The fleet appears to fluctuate by run, so the dimensions of your automobile could differ from one departure to the following.
Onboard, you’ll discover:
- Plugs in your gadgets at each seat (USB-C)
- Free Wi-Fi
- Snacks: bottled water, pretzels, Rice Krispies treats
- No rest room on board, in case that issues to you
A observe for taller vacationers: my daughter is tall and had no bother with the legroom, however it’s, I’d say, a typical pitch for a motor coach seat.
Baggage
The $68 fare contains one private merchandise, one carry-on, and one checked bag per passenger. A second checked bag runs $15, and that very same $15 covers any bag over 50 lbs or outsized (size plus width plus top over 62 inches), with a tough ceiling of 75 lbs per bag. For most individuals headed to a global flight, that included checked bag is all you want.
Touring with youngsters? There’s a automotive seat valet
reLAXsan presents a free automotive seat and booster valet. You carry your seat, they retailer it at their San Diego workplace when you journey. Guide a spherical journey, they usually’ll have it ready in your return journey. Guide one-way and also you choose it up from the workplace once you’re again. No hauling a automotive seat by way of the airport once you’re the one flying, not driving.
Reserve upfront. The favored runs promote out.
The shuttle isn’t a show-up-and-go service, and seats on probably the most handy runs go shortly. Guide forward by way of the reLAXsan reserving system, and don’t depart it till the day earlier than.
Normal tickets are exchangeable as much as 24 hours earlier than departure. A Flex ticket provides a refund possibility for a couple of {dollars} extra, and for any worldwide journey, particularly the return, it’s value taking.
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The San Diego to LAX shuttle schedule
reLAXsan runs a number of departures a day, seven days per week. The schedule is seasonal and adjustments a couple of instances a 12 months, so all the time examine the present instances on their web site.
My daughter took a late-afternoon departure for a flight leaving simply earlier than midnight. She was at LAX a bit after 7:00 pm, with time to examine in, clear safety, and settle into the Tom Bradley Worldwide Terminal. TBIT has been fantastically renovated in recent times. The eating is nice, the quiet corners are straightforward to seek out, and the additional hours go comfortably.
Most worldwide flights to Asia depart between 10:30 pm and 1:00 am, so the late-afternoon shuttle pairs naturally with them.
What the reLAXsan shuttle prices
- $68 per grownup, customary fare
- $57 per grownup when reserving two or extra passengers collectively
- $48 for kids
- Reward certificates save as much as 25%, value contemplating in the event you make this journey greater than two or thrice a 12 months
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LAJOLLAMOMfor five% off
The place you’re dropped at LAX, and the place to seek out it on the best way again
reLAXsan drops you on the decrease / arrivals stage at LAX, proper at your terminal. For the LAX to San Diego return, you’ll discover the pickup below the orange “Shared Rides” indicators at decrease / arrivals, additionally at your terminal. There’s no off-airport switch, no parking shuttle, no strolling by way of rather a lot within the rain. For a shuttle service, it’s about as clear a curb-to-curb expertise as you’ll discover.
Who I’d ship on it, and who I’d ship elsewhere
The shuttle is the fitting name when:
- You’re a solo traveler or a pair flying out of LAX
- You’re visiting San Diego and wish a journey to the airport in your flight residence
- You desire a buffer towards visitors with out spending your day behind the wheel
- You’d relatively not ask a member of the family to surrender a day for the round-trip
A personal automotive is the higher reply when:
- Your flight instances don’t line up with the shuttle schedule
- You’d relatively have the privateness and quiet of a automotive
There genuinely aren’t many different methods to get to LAX from San Diego in the event you don’t need to drive your self, and the reLAXsan shuttle is now the choice I discover myself recommending.
FAQs that land in my inbox
Is there a practice from San Diego to LAX?
No. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner runs from San Diego up the coast, however the closest it will get is downtown Los Angeles or Irvine, and neither station connects on to the airport.
How do you get from San Diego to LAX with out renting a automotive?
A shuttle like reLAXsan is the choice. Your different decisions are hiring a personal automotive, calling a rideshare, or arranging a personal driver. The shuttle is the one one which’s each reliably accessible and fairly priced.
The place does the reLAXsan shuttle choose up in San Diego?
Three factors: Previous City San Diego, Sorrento Valley / Del Mar, and Oceanside / Carlsbad. Identical reserving system and identical fares for all three.
How early ought to I arrive on the cease?
Ten minutes. That’s what they suggest, and it’s correct in our expertise.
Do I really want to guide upfront?
Sure. Seats promote out on the runs that line up with worldwide departures.
What occurs if my return flight is delayed?
Normal tickets are exchangeable as much as 24 hours out. Flex tickets provide you with a refund window. For a global return, I’d take the Flex improve.
Can I carry a automotive seat on the shuttle?
Sure, and reLAXsan has a free automotive seat and booster valet. They’ll retailer your seat at their San Diego workplace when you journey. Guide a spherical journey they usually carry it again in your return journey; guide one-way and you may choose it up from the workplace. In any other case, they don’t present automotive seats.
