LAX or SNA?

[palolake]

We're flying in for a cruise in San Pedro.  I'm wondering if it would be better all around to fly into John Wayne airport vs. LAX.  The hotels around seem much cheaper and maybe it would be easier after the cruise to get to SNA vs LAX. Can anyone tell me?  And any recomendations on hotels around SNA or even midway to the port from SNA.  TIA

[SCX22]

The closest airport to the World Cruise Port in San Pedro is Long Beach (LGB), if you can get a flight there.  It's only 15 minutes by car with no traffic.  

 

If LGB isn't an option, LAX is still a better choice than SNA.  SNA is further out and traffic in the morning on weekdays on the 405 of locals commuting to and from LA will make the trip longer.  LAX is around 20 miles from San Pedro.  SNA is around 35 miles.  Again it's LA, so factor in bumper to bumper traffic on some portions of the freeway; rarely is it driving 65 mph on the freeway all the way to the destination.

[Meander Ingwa]

You can sort , using Google Flight, the compare and contrast flights for LAX and SNA.  Factor in the arrival and depart times as they pertain to your ship on / off.  I would consider the schedule first over the $ difference for the same hotel in the different locations. 

 

Personally I have strong fidelity to IHG and Hilton hotels.  Holiday Inn Express is usually a reliable basic economical place to stay.  The challenge of being south-ish of Long Beach is the traffic flow restriction due to the Large Seal Beach NWR.  The route down from LAX has more options for a Uber / Lyft / Taxi driver to work around if things go really bad on the freeways

 

see also the thread on Booking Hotels San Pedro.  There might be some near the port.  Here is a  quote from that thread.....

 

There is free shuttle from hotel to cruise port. We just did this in April. They also will shuttle you around a 5 mile area to store or restaurants for free. This is for the Double tree in San Pedro. 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Meander Ingwa

[Bruin Steve]

There are several airports serving the Los Angeles area--

LGB (16 miles from the port in San Pedro)

LAX (20 miles)

SNA (35 miles)

Burbank (36.5 miles)

Ontario (58 miles)

 

LAX is, by far, the largest.  Sixth busiest airport in the world (per Wikipedia and other sources, though some sources who may use different criteria show it anywhere from #5 to #10).  SNA and Ontario are more medirm sized airports, Burbank a little smaller, LGB the smallest.  You can get a flight, often several flights a day, from most places nonstop, to LAX from almost anywhere.  As the airports get smaller flight availability becomes more limited--fewer flights on fewer airlines from fewer places.

 

What makes some people avoid LAX is they find it sort of intimidating, mostly due to the size and large volume of passengers.  Personally, I don't think it's all that bad--as long as you don't have to change planes there with different carriers--the options for getting around the airport are not good.  But, if you are merely arriving and departing from LAX, it's only a matter of getting from the curb to the gate or the gate to your ground transportation.  Departing is easier since Ubers, taxis, etc. can drop off right in front of your terminal.  Arrivals a little trickier--if you are using UberX, Lyft or a taxi as you have to walk or shuttle to a specified pick-up lot (still not all that difficult).  Some people think check-in and security require long lines but, personally, I have never found this the case and I travel through LAX quite a lot.  Lines are no better or worse than most other airports.

 

As to ground transportation to and from the cruise port, LAX is actually the most convenient (aside form the added issue of the Uber/taxi lot).  Distances are closer so costs are lower.  There are far more options for transportation services and far more available vehicles...and the trip is virtually all freeway.

 

For me, the main reason to use SNA would be if you are visiting Disney or some other Orange County attraction before or after the cruise.  The main reason to use Burbank would be if you're spending time at Hollywood or Universal Studios or other attractions north of LA.  There is no advantage to ever using Ontario-unless you have family to visit in the Inland Empire.  Use LGB only if you have convenient low price nonstop flights from wherever you are.

 

As to hotels near the airport, I really wouldn't advise staying near any of the airports--unless you had an exceptionally eary flight out.  I'd much rather leave whichever airport immediately upon arrival and head right to the port (if flying in the day before).  Makes for a far less stressful embarkation day.  If flying in multiple days ahead, I'd opt for a much better location--Santa Monica (by far my #1 choice)...or Marina del Rey/Venice Beach...Hollywood/Universal...Redondo/Manhattan, etc.  Any decent well located hotel in the LA area will be expensive...Don't look for low priced bargains--they are usually selling at a lo price for a reason. Pay a few dollars more to stay in a nice well-recommended hotel in an attractive and convenient location.

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, Bruin Steve said:

You can get a flight, often several flights a day, from most places nonstop, to LAX from almost anywhere.  As the airports get smaller flight availability becomes more limited--fewer flights on fewer airlines from fewer places.

I'm with Steve on this. I go to LA nearly once a month for work and would sometimes fly into the smaller airports to mix things up if there was a good deal or to get closer to where I was staying.

 

With all of the issues surrounding airline delays etc right now I only use LAX. Having multiple options from most places daily into LAX is a huge plus vs small, perceived benefits of using a smaller airport. I had a bad experience with Burbank a few months ago and that was enough to convince me that the breadth of options when something goes wrong at LAX far outweighs anything else. 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Any airport applicable will have pro's and con's.  I would go with whatever seems to have the best cost and schedule for you.  I'm not a fan of LAX just because of all the traffic and current (never ending) airport construction.  BUR is small and easy to navigate, but fewer flight options same for LGB.  SNA is my fav for southern CA flights if the schedule and costs work for you.  There's a nice Hilton right across the street that you can walk to.  SNA has flight restrictions for noise reduction so they have a smaller window of operation than the other airports.  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

LAX is a miserable, awful, badly managed airport made worse by construction projects getting ready for the 2028 Summer Olympics and beyond. LA is about the only major city that did not build a newer, larger airport when the city's original airport got too crowded. It isn't "intimidating", it is flat out bad.

 

SNA is an easier airport to navigate on every level.

 

Distance isn't really an issue, it is drive time that matters. Transportation using the car pool lanes out of SNA can be just as fast as getting to San Pedro from LAX.

[palolake]

Thank you everyone!

[SCX22]

On 7/1/2023 at 3:16 PM, palolake said:

We're flying in for a cruise in San Pedro.  I'm wondering if it would be better all around to fly into John Wayne airport vs. LAX.  The hotels around seem much cheaper and maybe it would be easier after the cruise to get to SNA vs LAX. Can anyone tell me?  And any recomendations on hotels around SNA or even midway to the port from SNA.  TIA

 

Not sure how luxurious of a place you're requiring, but I've had relatives on a tight budget say at the Best Western Los Angeles World Port.  I dropped them off here before a cruise, and despite the 2 star rating, it's a fine hotel for 1 night.  There's a Denny's next door.  You can book an Uber to take you to San Pedro, which is a 10 minute drive from here.

[Grimix]

SNA has cooler take-offs than LAX. Noise restrictions require them to use a higher climb rate than normal to stop making the rich peoples houses so loud.

[CrabbyQ]

This post has some great info, but still need some advice. I have never sailed from west coast. Will be flying in from east coast.  

 

The best flights home (cost, arrival time, duration) I can find are from LAX at 12:25 or 1:10.  This seems tight to me.  This would be on a Sunday, not a holiday weekend. Long Beach sadly is not an option, flights are either 7AM or late night that arrive next day.

 

Will there be enough time to get off ship, through customs, to airport, through security and to the gate? 

 

I know you can't predict traffic or airport congestion, just looking for opinion from some one who has done this before. (I have been stuck in LA traffic and that is making me think this won't work)

[CruiserBruce]

You can make 12:25 at LAX. Yes, it can make it through,  just plan to move with a purpose. 

 

Immigration might slow you down. Unlikely Customs will...its not very strictly followed. But  Immigration is.

[calbred01]

To the OP: I live in Los Angeles and unless I am leaving first thing in the morning (I mean around 5am) I HATE LAX, it is poorly run, traffic is horrible and if there is ANY backup you will be late! Since I live here and have the luxury of driving to an airport I always search SNA (john Wayne), Burbank, Ontario (which I love, one of the easiest into and out of!), Palm Springs (have found some great deals from there) and I even drove to Las Vegas once or twice! If you are renting a car I would suggest checking those out, if not, I would see about flying into SNA and getting a hotel close to port or checking to see if any of the hotels near SNA has a shuttle taking you to the port. Also, depending on how many of you are traveling check into a private car to pick you up and drive you to either the port or hotel from airport (if traveling from one other than LAX), I did this Florida going from Ft. Lauderdale to Maimi and it was only $60.00 but that was pre covid.