I need help with san pedro

[kris4842]

Please help. We are staying at the crown plaza in sand pedro on a saturday night before our cruise. The night before we will be in san diego. Here are the two options.

 

we are driving across country and will have a rental car either we drop the rental car in san diego on friday then

1)Take amtrak from san diego to san pedro ( i know we take the train to the bus) then cab it to the hotel

 

or keep the rental car another day and drive the car to la and drop it off at the lomita hertz then cab it to crown plaza.

 

 

any ideas which is nicer and more easy?

 

thanks

[nana541]

Boy that really seems complicated!! We stayed at the Crowne Plaza San Pedro in Dec the night before our cruise....

 

What you are talking about doing has so many steps....why don't you just drive to Long Beach and get ride of the car there....cab/taxi to the Crowne Plaza and breath a big sigh of relief in the swimming pool!!!

You should know that their rooms are rarely ready before the official check in time and I would just put your swim suites on in the bath room upstairs near the pool....you will need to ask the front desk to give you a key card to access the pool as you won't have your room key....

Enjoy your cruise....I am missing my ship....now I am just going to sit for my kids who sail on 4/10 on the Sapphire Princess

Happy cruising!

[kenish]

OP- Amtrak fare will be about $40 per person from SD to San Pedro. Assuming two people, a rental car ought to be about the same or even less, and will save a lot of time and hassle. Just make the drive outside rush hour and you will be fine.

 

If you're making the x-country drive in a rental car, then OW drop fees already apply so I don't see any cost difference dropping the car in Lomita except the extra day's rental.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was thinking that myself. If you're driving from the east coast, the drive from San Diego won't be much (a few hours at the most, maybe less depending on traffic). And I believe that Lomita and Long Beach aren't too far apart.

[PatriciaF]

I think it would be much easier to drive from San Diego and drop the car off either in Lomita or Long Beach. Call both the Lomita and Long Beach (downtown) car rental offices to see if perhaps one of them would drive you to the Crowne Plaza. I think the Lomita office more likely than the Long Beach location.

[Bruin Steve]

It's a no-brainer for more reasons than just the cost...

 

Amtrak is, quite simply, a rather inconvenient way of getting to San Pedro...From San Diego, you'd actually be passing San Pedro, albeit about 30 miles to the east as you pass through Santa Ana and Fullerton...and then getting off the train about 30 miles to the north at Union station...only to then wait around for a bus to take you all the way back south to Pedro...not worth the time, the inconvenience, the dealing with moving your luggage from train to bus or dealing with Union Station...

 

If you keep the car, you have all sorts of options...

You can stop on the way up ...breakfast ? lunch? visit Laguna Beach or Newport on the way up?

You can go check in at the Crowne Plaza, then take the car out again beore returning it...to run errands, do a little shopping, etc...

It may be best to drive to the CP first so you don't have to deal as much with luggage...

 

You'll also save time...even with traffic...since the change at Union Station will involve a wait...and then the bus might have to deal with traffic as well...

[kris4842]

thanks so much everyone, we decided to listen to all of you, we are keeping the car and returning it to lomita, they close at 1 pm, but we are early risers and will probably get on the road by 8 am and enjoy the ride, thanks again

[Splinter]

If you are going to drive to LA from San Diego on a week day, leaving at 8AM would be a bad idea. The traffic through north San Diego county and south Orange County will still be bad. Either leave at 5AM or after 9AM. Plan on at least 2.5 hours for your drive, with no stops, on the freeway. Add another hour if you plan to take Pacific Coast Hwy at all. Even on a Saturday or Sunday you can run into traffic in south Orange County on the freeway, and on PCH if the weather is nice.

[kenish]

Traffic comments....driving up to SP on a Saturday won't be a problem unless there's an accident. On Friday, if you leave SD after 830 you may have some traffic leaving SD...but it will be clear by the time you get to south OC. Leaving before 730 will get you to south OC before traffic dies down.

 

Agree Hwy 1 from San Juan Capistrano through Laguna Beach and Newport Beach (then Hwy 55 to 73 to 405) is a very scenic alternate if you have time. Another alternate to keep in mind is the 73 toll road from Capistrano to Costa Mesa. However the toll is about $5.50 and only worth it if traffic reports say that the northbound I-5 or I-405 is bad through south OC. Traffic is broadcast every 10 minutes "on the 5's" on 1070 AM...or use www.sigalert.com on a smartphone.