which airport is to fly into?

[pmama]

We are purchasing the Sothern CA city pass. I'm trying to figure out which airport to fly into. Since we think we'll do San Diego first we may fly into San Diego then fly out of an airport near DL. I'm so confused as to which on to choose. Most choose LAX. Why? I am a little scared to drive our rental in Los Angeles. Orange County and Ontario are supposedly close and less crazy. Please, if you are familiar with these hep. Which airport should we fly out of? Also, does it seem a good idea to fly into San Diego and fly out near Anaheim?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Usually LAX gets better deals because it is a large airport. I recommend that you check the difference between flying in & out of San Diego, versus flying in/out of Orange County, Long Beach, LAX, and Ontario Airports. If you want to do a 3-leg trip (home-San Diego-LAX-home), then try San Diego/Orange County, then San Diego/Long Beach, San Diego/LAX, and San Diego/Ontario.

Yes, LA/Orange County is large, but we also have pretty wide freeways.

Having said all that, it's usually less expensive to do roundtrip than 3-legged. If that is not the case for you, then great. However, if that IS the case, I'd recommend something like flying in to Orange County, driving down to San Diego, and then flying out of Orange County. That way you would be closer to the departure airport and would be, in my opinion, less stressed about getting to the airport on time to meet your plane.

 

[pmama]

Thanks, that helps. Actually I am looking at a deal where the 3-legged deal is cheaper. So, I should just fly out of John Wayne Orange County Airport then? I'm not used to so many choices as we usually fly into Orlando.

 

[FrustratedDonald]

If you are taking SWA, it is not more expensive to fly a "dog-legged" trip (coming into one airport, leaving from another) as they charge the same, per leg of the trip. SNA (John Wayne, Santa Ana) is the closest to Disneyland Resort, by far. If that is an option, I'd take that. Traffic anywhere in that area can be a problem and you're only adding to it, by going up to LAX, which is busier and more confusing, especially if you are not used to driving in the area. Disneyland is a straight shoot up I-5 from San Diego and is the easiest to navigate. Whichever airport you choose, be sure to allow plenty of time for traffic.

If you can bring a GPS, that is helpful as well, otherwise googlemap or mapquest it, or if you are a member of AAA, get a triptik and maps of the area. Disneyland is in Orange County, so get the maps for that, as well as the different parts of San Diego.