Traveling to Anaheim

If you just typed “Los Angeles” into Google Flights or Expedia and got back 500 options, yeah… we get it. It’s because “Los Angeles” and “airport” are going to return not one, not two, not three… but five possible airports. And let us assure you – those airports are not created equally.

But the good news is that, at least theoretically, you’re not traveling to LA, you’re traveling to Anaheim. So while you could fly into all of those airports, the reality is that you’re only going to want to seriously consider a few of them – or take another transit option entirely, which we’ll discuss below. 

In this chapter, we’ll explain your options so you can make the best choice for your baseball trip.

In this chapter we’ll cover the following:

• Flying to Anaheim
• Taking Public Transportation
• Renting a Car
• Rideshares
• Getting to Anaheim by train

Flying to Anaheim

John Wayne Airport (SNA)

John Wayne Airport (SNA) is, without question, the most convenient airport to Angel Stadium, and to all of Anaheim for that matter. In a perfect world, if you were just coming for Angels baseball and other attractions in Orange County, this is where you’d fly into. The airport is 12 miles from Angel Stadium, 14 miles to Disneyland, and seven miles from the closest beach (Newport).

But here’s the thing: booking a flight to SNA isn’t always easy, depending on where you’re coming from.

If you’re traveling from points along the west coast, then it’s fairly easy: there are plenty of flights that will fly direct. Southwest flies eight domestic nonstop routes to SNA, five of which are on the west coast. Alaska has 16 nonstop routes, and all of them are west of the Rockies. United, American, Delta, Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant … they all have regional flights into SNA from other west coast cities.

But if you’re flying from points east, it gets a lot more difficult. Direct flights into and out of SNA will be limited, and mostly from the hubs of those larger airlines. If you do happen to live someplace where you can fly direct to SNA, you should definitely do that, even if it costs a little more. But if you can’t, that leaves you with an important question: would you rather take a connecting flight into SNA, or fly direct into a different airport and then drive?

Listen… this is really important for you to know. Just because the Angels are now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and just because Anaheim and Los Angeles look like they’re really close to each other on a map, please believe us: these two cities are two different cities. To get from LAX to Angel Stadium, for example, is just 40 miles, and will take you just 45-60 minutes when there is no traffic. But if there is traffic, you could potentially be in that car for 2+ hours. In traffic. Lots of aggravating, soul crushing, why-do-I-have-to-be-here traffic. And that doesn’t even account for the fact that you’ll have to spend time at LAX picking up a rental car and just getting out of LAX, which can be another hour or more.

All of this is to say: we believe, in most instances, that taking a connecting flight into SNA is better than taking a direct flight into LAX and driving to Anaheim, as long as that connection isn’t too crazy. With a connecting flight, at least you’re stretching your legs at an airport, grabbing some food, having a drink, checking your email, going to an airport lounge… whatever. We think it’s better than suffering through bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Of course if you’re going to Anaheim as part of a bigger Southern California trip, that’s a different story. The great thing about Southern California is that there are so many different options if you need them. Including …

Flying into Long Beach Airport (LGB)

If SNA doesn’t work, then your next best option will be Long Beach Airport (LGB), which is only 20 miles from Anaheim. Long Beach is a far smaller and simpler airport than LAX, which means that grabbing a rental car is easier and faster (and even a rideshare from LGB to Anaheim isn’t completely out of the question).

There are only three airlines that fly into Long Beach: Hawaiian, Delta, and Southwest. But while Hawaiian and Delta only fly to LGB from three combined airports, Southwest has flights from 24 cities, including as far east as Orlando, New Orleans, and Nashville.

So all things considered, this is a decent option if you can find a flight that works.

Flying into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

So… If you can’t do Anaheim, and you can’t do Long Beach, your remaining choices will be few, and the most obvious one will be LAX. 

Like we said, getting from LAX to Anaheim can be annoying and very long if you hit freeway traffic. But if you are able to travel late at night or on the weekend, then it’s really not that bad. And to be sure, getting a flight to LAX will be far easier than finding one into LGB or SNA, and possibly much less expensive as well.

So if you have to do it … and you just might … you can fly into LAX and make the best of it.

Flying into San Diego International Airport (SAN)

Your final airport choice may seem really out of the way, and… it is. But San Diego, although 95 miles away, could be a much nicer (and less trafficked) drive than the one from LA. Even if it’s more than twice as far, it may still only take the same amount of driving time. But SAN tends to be more expensive to fly to than the other airports, so make sure you’re not overpaying yet still having to drive for two hours.

Once you’re in Anaheim, should you use public transportation?

We wish the answer to this could be “yes,” but it isn’t. Southern California is a driving place, and trying to get around without a car is just not efficient or effective. There’s no rapid transit, no subway system, no people mover, no monorail. We do have a bus system, and if push came to shove, you might be able to take it. But, honestly, the bus system here is pretty much for people who don’t have cars.

If you’re staying in any of our hotel zones, you’re going to want to get there by car. Now, if you’re just hanging around at the ballpark and perhaps Disneyland, they are close enough to each other that you could use rideshares and be all set. But if you’re staying at, or traveling to, the beach, that will make rideshares that much more expensive and less convenient.

And you should also consider luggage storage. If you plan to head to the airport or leave town directly from the ballpark, there are no luggage storage facilities either at the stadium or anywhere nearby. So a rental car may serve not just as a means of transportation, but also as your best storage locker.

So … should you rent a car?

Yeah… it’s going to be easiest, unless you’re just sticking to Angel Stadium and Disneyland. In that case, between rideshares and free hotel shuttles, you might not need one. Otherwise, it’s just going to make your life easier.

What’s the story with rideshares?

Well, let’s take a look at what it will cost you to get around via rideshare:

Note that these are base fares during non-peak times. Surge pricing during rush hour could certainly (and will likely) increase them. But the reality is that the costs of rideshares from these spots are not unreasonable. Given the cost of rental cars, parking, and fuel, not to mention the extra time they’ll take to pick up and return, rideshares could be your most economical bet.

But once again, be sure to factor luggage storage into this equation. There isn’t any at the stadium, so if you’re going directly to or from the airport to a game, you’ll need to factor that in. But if you aren’t traveling on the same day as a game, rideshares start to make a lot of sense.

Getting to Anaheim by train

Shockingly, the train is a viable option for getting into town. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner stops right across the street from Angel Stadium at the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center. The train runs from Oakland all the way to San Diego, and is a beautiful way to see the coast. Of course it’s far more likely that you’ll just be coming from LA or San Diego, and if so, it’s only 40 minutes from LA’s Union Station, and just 2:15 to San Diego’s downtown station.

Once you’re in Anaheim you still have to figure out how to get around. There are some rental car centers about two miles from the train station, so you could hop in a rideshare and go pick up a car. Otherwise, if you’re just going to the ballpark, you can get a hotel near the station and just walk. We’ll cover that more in our Lodging chapter.

Bottom Line

Sometimes the decisions just aren’t that difficult. Your choices for getting around Anaheim are rental car or rideshare. The more moving around you plan on doing, the better the case is for a rental car. But if you’re going to be staying in place more, or limiting your trip to, say, just Disneyland and Angel Stadium, and don’t have to go straight from the airport to the stadium, then rideshares can really make your life easy.