Main airports: Los Angeles International (LAX) (website: www.lawa.org/lax) serves more than 80 passenger airlines. Located on Santa Monica Bay, 24km (15 miles) from the city centre, it is the world’s fifth-busiest airport and third-busiest in the USA (2003 total passenger rankings), handling all international arrivals (some 14.8 million) and three-quarters of domestic arrivals to the Southern California region. To/from the airport: The airport is located 26km (16 miles) southwest of downtown Los Angeles; a free 24-hour shuttle service is available to the LAX Transit Center, where there are local buses to the city center (travel time - 30 to 45 minutes). Coaches provide reasonably priced services to all major locations in the city centre, as well as many surrounding areas such as Hollywood. Various door-to-door shuttle services are also available.
San Francisco International (SFO) (website: www.sfoairport.com) is 25km (15 miles) southeast of the city (travel time – 30 minutes). The airport handles over 7 million international arrivals per year and is ranked 11th busiest in the USA (2002 2003 total passenger rankings). To/from the airport: SamTrans buses leave every 30 minutes (travel time - 30 minutes to 1 one hour). The SFO Airporter bus departs every 15 minutes. Limousine, taxi and various shuttle services are also available. Oakland International (OAK) (website: www.flyoakland.com) is located across the Bay 32km (20 miles) from central San Francisco and receives international charter flights and US domestic flights. To/from the airport: Airporter buses link the airport with central Oakland and San Francisco International Airport. AirBART buses connect with the BART rapid transit (underground) system at Coliseum/Oakland International Airport station every 15 minutes, giving access to central San Francisco.

The Bob Hope Airport in Burbank (BUR) (website: www.burbankairport.com) is about 20km (13 miles) from central Los Angeles, and receives US domestic services only. Burbank is the nearest airport for access to Hollywood.
San Diego International (SAN) (website: www.san.org), 5km (3 miles) west of San Diego city centre, is primarily a gateway to southern California for domestic traffic.

From Los Angeles to Anchorage is five hours 40 minutes, to Honolulu is five hours 40 minutes, and to London is 10 hours 15 minutes. From San Francisco to Miami is five hours, to New York is five hours 15 minutes, and to Washington, DC is four hours 50 minutes.

A ferry service links San Francisco with the Bay communities of Sausalito, Larkspur (in Marin County), Tiburon, 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. In the Los Angeles area, there is a daily, low-fare cruise service from Long Beach to Catalina Island.

The Amtrak 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 Terminal, at 425 Mission Street, are used only for limited suburban services. The Amtrak Terminal at Oakland, 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 a station located downtown, on 4005 Taylor Street. For information on train schedules and reservations, contact Amtrak (tel: (800) 872 7245 (toll-free); website: www.amtrak.com).

From Los Angeles to Phoenix is eight hours, to Dallas is 39 hours, and to Chicago is 61 hours.
From Oakland to Reno is six hours, to Salt Lake City is 16 hours, and to Denver is 31 hours

Greyhound (tel: (800) 231 2222 (toll-free); website: www.greyhound.com), runs a reliable and frequent service to and from every major city in the USA, as well as locations in Canada and Mexico. There are six Greyhound bus stations in Los Angeles; the main station is at 1716 East Seventh Street. In San Francisco, Greyhound buses use the Transbay Terminal (see above), while San Diego has a downtown terminal at Broadway and First Avenue 120 West Broadway. Approximate driving times: From Los Angeles to Las Vegas is six hours, to Dallas is 29 hours, and to Miami is 58 hours. From San Francisco to Reno is four hours, to Seattle is 16 hours, and to New York is 61 hours. All times are based on non-stop driving at or below the applicable speed limits.

From Los Angeles to San Diego is two hours 30 minutes, to Las Vegas is five hours 30 minutes, to San Francisco is seven hours 30 minutes, to Phoenix is eight hours 30 minutes, to Yosemite is 10 hours 15 minutes, to Sacramento is 12 hours 30 minutes, to Albuquerque is 17 hours 30 minutes and to Portland (Oregon) is 22 hours.
From San Francisco to Sacramento is two hours, to Lake Tahoe is five hours, to Reno is five hours 30 minutes, to Los Angeles is seven hours 30 minutes, to Yosemite is seven hours 30 minutes and to Portland (Oregon) is 16 hours.

The distances between the city’s various attractions can be intimidating at first but it is a relatively easy city to get around quickly, provided the visitor has a car. The freeways are well marked, though congested during rush hours. Leading car hire and motor camper rental agencies have offices at the airport and in the city centre. Local radio stations broadcast frequent traffic reports from 0600-1000 and 1500-1900. Many southern Californian freeways have designated car-pool lanes, known as HOVs. Do not merge into an HOV lane if your car is not carrying the specified number of passengers as fines are levied. LA County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) buses run approximately every 15 minutes (0500-0200) on major routes, with a reduced service at night. Express buses are also available. The Metrorail train system covers three routes: downtown to Long Beach (blue); between Union Station to North Hollywood (red); and Hawthorne to Norwalk (green).

Within Los Angeles County, the Southern California Rapid Transit District (RTD) provides a good bus service. For trips beyond Los Angeles, the Orange County Transit District accepts transfers from RTD for services throughout suburban Orange County. Buses are reasonably priced but travellers may have to wait some time to catch one. Though taxis are readily available, the large size of Los Angeles makes them expensive and impractical.

The Metropolitan Transit System is operated by San Diego Transit Corporation, a consortium of companies providing a good and extensive bus service at moderate prices. The San Diego Trolley runs a 26km (16 mile) route from the Santa Fe Depot to San Ysidro, on the Mexican border (travel time - 45 minutes). Taxis are expensive. Car hire is readily available.

Public transport, operated by MUNI, is excellent. The network of buses (including night buses), streetcars and cable cars is the most economical way to get to destinations beyond walking distance. The basic fare includes transfers between the different forms of transport, except for cable cars, which have a separate fare structure. Passengers must have exact change when they board as drivers carry no change; the MUNI Passport travel passes (one-, three- or seven-day) are available and allow for travel on all MUNI and BART systems within the city. Taxis are readily available in most of the central area and other major streets. Because San Francisco occupies a comparatively small area, taxi fares tend to be lower than in most other major cities. All major national car hire agencies are represented in San Francisco; motor campers may also be hired. For information on local companies, look in the San Francisco Classified Telephone Directory. Buses and streetcars also provide services from the centre to more distant points in the city, including Golden Gate Park, Twin Peaks, Seal Rocks, Mission Dolores, the Presidio and Golden Gate Bridge. The clean and efficient Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) subway and surface-rail system links San Francisco with communities on the east side of sprawling San Francisco Bay, including Oakland, Alameda, Fremont, Richmond and Berkeley, site of the prestigious University of California campus.