san diego

Turkish airlines is very expensive for me. i have some american friends living in the usa and they will buy return tickets for me from the usa. because the fares are much cheapher in the usa. i dont know whether this is possible but its worth asking an agent?
do you have an opinion?

by the way, i asked the L.A option because the fares to L.A are cheapher than to fly San Diego. what i was thinking to do is flying to L.A and then take a train to San Diego. i have checked the fares of Amtrak L.A to SD and it costs 34$ for students...

i am still looking for the cheapest way to get to San Diego in june!!!

To all who read this: I'm going to make this a FAQ item, but I wanted to give everyone an opportunity to poke holes in it first.

LAX to San Diego Via Public Transit</b>

I’m landing at LAX. What’s the cheapest way to get to San Diego? Okay, I say the thing to do is rent a car and drive. It will take a couple hours, and the car will cost 50 bucks or so. But for one of a zillion different reasons, some of which might even be valid, you’ve decided you don’t want to do that. What are your alternatives?

They boil down to this: Bus, train or plane. We can dispense with flying, because if you don’t want to rent a car it’s probably because it costs too much money. The cheapest one-way flight from LAX to San Diego I could find on the day that I did this research cost $84 with an advance-purchase restriction. Airlines often run sales, but it’s unlikely you’ll beat the price of renting a car. Even if you can do it, you wind up at San Diego’s airport, which is a lot less convenient than winding up downtown via bus or train.

So let’s look at the ways to do this by bus and train.

The simplest, most comfortable way

Step 1</i>: Take Shuttle Bus G (free) to L.A.'s light rail. Take the Green Line to the Blue Line, and the Blue Line to Union Station. Fare: $1.25. Time: 1 hour.

(or)

Step 1</i>: Take "Flyaway Bus" from Tom Bradley Terminal at LAX to Union Station. Fare: $3. Time: 45 minutes.

Step 2</i>: Take Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner train to San Diego. Fare: $30. Time :2 hours, 40 minutes.

Total fares: $31.24-$34.25. Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes to 3 hours, 45 minutes. (Note: This does not include connection time between light rail/bus and Amtrak.)

This will save you some money, at the expense of comfort

Step 1</i>: As above.

Step 2</i>: Take a Greyhound Bus to San Diego. Fare: $16.50. Time: 3 hours

Total fares: $17.75-$19.50. Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes to 4 hours. (Note: This does not include connection time between light rail/bus and Greyhound.)

This is the cheapest but most complicated

Step 1</i>: As above.

Step 2</i>: Take Metrolink's Orange County line to Oceanside.

Step 3</i>: At Oceanside, transfer to the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System's Coaster train. Fare: $18 weekday/$11.75 weekend Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes. (Note: This does not include waiting time for connection at Oceanside; be sure to check timetables!)

Total fares: $13-$21. Total time: 3 hours to 3 hours, 15 minutes. (Note: This does not include connection time between light rail/bus and Metrolink, or between Metrolink and Coaster.)

You will be able to go to the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Race track. For you it will be VERY different, so check it out.

A quick check of flights from Turkey to California, shows that the extra cost to San Diego Vs. LA will probably be less than the cost of train or bus round trip from LA, and a lot less hassel. Unless there is more than $100 in it, it probably isn't worth the hassel.

Thanks alot for your useful suggestions!!!

Willy, you can take the Flyaway from any terminal at LAX, not just Tom Bradley. They stop at the green "Flyaway, buses and long-distance vans" at the concrete islands that divide the inner and outer traffic rings.

Also, the Greyhound option is missing a step - you have to find a way to get from Union Station to the Greyhound station (it's a couple of miles in a non-walkable area). I'd estimate cab fare to cover that distance at about $10.

Everything else looks good to me.

#12, the Amtrak fare on the days I checked is $29, a minor change.

The most helpful link for the Flyaway service seems to be http://www.lawa.org/flyAwayInfo2.cfm<BR><BR>Please note #15's advice: Walking between LA Union Station and the Greyhound station is a no go. In another tread, you mentioned that you have visited San Francisco. Imagine then a place as bad as the Tenderloin district, but much larger. That's what you walk through between these two terminals.

There's also the issue of the route via the Green line, Blue line, and the LAX shuttle bus, which saves $1.75 over the Flyaway service. Please don't include this.

For two years, I lived in a Washington, DC, neighbourhood that was 99.9% black. This mostly owner occupied home area had a crime rate as low as any predominately white DC suburb.

Unfortunately, the area around the station where you connect from the Green to the Blue line has the reputation of having one of the highest crime rates in the LA area, as well as being a centre of gang activity.

The $1.75 savings isn't worth the stress this route might bring, especially to those international travellers not used to urban America.

Thanks very much, #15 and #16. I have incorporated your revisions into the FAQ posting.

Bus transportation around San Diego is facilitated by on-line sdcommute.com

Working at the Zoo puts you in Balboa Park. Museums and The Old Globe Theatre. Out to La Jolla across the street from the University of California, San Diego is the Birch Aquarium and down the grade from there is the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The Zoo will no doubt take you up to the Wild Aniimal Park. I have a friend I haven't seen for years who works at the Zoo. She is from Mazatlan. Lots of nice people work there and making friends to trek up to the Mountains to the Casinos and the town of Julian with its little gold mine should be no problem. The Gaslamp Quarter downtown has jazz. You won't run out of things to do in San Diego!

Just outside the Zoo to the North is a high density residential neighborhood. Some rented rooms and studios and a number of apartment buildings. I doubt very much that the Zoo people expect you to fend for yourself. More than likely they will help you find a place.

Before you go to Mexico from San Diego, be sure about your visa (for some visas, if you leave the US and go to Canada or to Mexico, they won't let you back in again), your employer should be able to fill you in on the do's and don'ts. If you can go to Mexico, it's better to skip Tijuana and head to Rosarito Beach or farther south. If you can go with one of the locals so much the better.

I have no warnings about San Diego, we always have a great time there and we go at least twice a year. The locals will be able to fill you in on where to keep your wits about you at night time. It is a nice city. Enjoy your stay.