OK, One last time for me- LAX or ONT?

[Redcon1]

I know this has been bandied about before, but in a nutshell, which airport is best to use:LAX or ONT?
The airfares are about the same from St. Louis. LAX is $5 cheaper, so the cost isn't the problem. It's the convenience I'm looking for. We would fly in the early evening of the Saturday before Memorial Day, May 28th and fly back home mid to late-morning on Tuesday June 7th. We're planning on starting at DL, then traveling to San Diego, finishing up by driving back north to spend the last night near whichever airport we would be flying out of the next day.
So...........which one should we choose?
Thanks!!

 

[RalphMouth]

I'd probably choose the Ontario option-

traffic & driving distance from ONT to DL is probably the same as LAX to DL
but........San Diego to ONT is probably better than San Diego to LAX area.

However, I'd compare the price of car rental & hotel. Is LAX considerably cheaper than ONT ?? I don't know. How about 1 night hotel near the airport when you leave ??

 

[jxgriffi]

From San Diego...definitely Ontario. Straight up I-15! Grab a hotel near the airport and you're ready to go. Definitely much better than trying to get near LAX. It will still be busy since it's a holiday, but easier at ONT.

 

[Redcon1]

OK, I think we're going to be flying into LAX, because I can't get the flights or price I need into ONT, unless we totally change our dates.
Now, we'll be staying in Carlsbad on the end portion of our trip.
My question is what time should we leave from Carlsbad on a Tuesday morning to LAX for a 11 a.m flight. Is it still necessary to be at the airport two hours prior to your flight or is 1 1/2 hours enough time. This would affect what time we leave from Carlsbad. I also realize this would be during rush hour.
Another choice is to drive up the night before and stay close to the airport.
The problem with that is I've got a $35 rate at the Fairfield Inn in Carlsbad and nothing even comes close to that near LAX. I don't mind driving back up on flight day, but just want to allow enough time.
Thanks!

 

[Magix]

Ah... I'd recommend arriving 2 hours early at LAX, just to ensure you've got plenty of time to deal with the airport. Driving from Carlsbad to LAX on a weekday morning would be... how shall I say it... ugly? Carlsbad is pretty far South, so you'd probably need to leave 5-6am to arrive by 9am. You might be lucky to make it even at that. I'd highly recommend spending a little extra money to stay closer to the airport. It will save you a great deal of stress in the end. If you can't find something in the immediate LAX area, try Marina del Rey, Culver City or Westchester. You could even stay somewhere like San Pedro or Long Beach and have a much shorter commute to the airport. You really don't want to drive in morning rush hour... it does nothing but make you insane!

 

[Redcon1]

I found a Sheraton in San Pedro that I can get for $39...Does anyone know about this hotel and the area? I figured with a Sheraton it should be pretty decent.
It's about 20 miles to LAX so the drive shouldn't be too bad.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=207

You'll be right near Ports o' Call & Cabrillo Beach. The neighborhood is okay.

You'll be at the end of the 110 freeway. Best way to get there from LAX would be 105 east to 110 south or 405 south to 110 south. To get to Disneyland you'd go 110 north to 405 south to 22 east to 5 north.

There is an Acapulco Restaurant on the harbor, and it has a great patio to enjoy a meal or drinks and snacks as you watch the boats go by. Princess Cruises are right here - where the Love Boat used to leave from. There are also harbor cruises from here.

 

[Magix]

I've seen that Sheraton from the outside and it looks like a good place. Ports o' Call is pretty dumpy, but it might do for a quick walk-through. The Maritime Museum is just a few steps away (home of the Irving Johnson, which is currently stuck on a sandbar in Oxnard). You can take a short drive over the Vincent Thomas bridge and Terminal Island to Long Beach, where you'll find lots of nice restaurants, The Queen Mary and Shoreline Village. Spend your time in Long Beach and sleep at the Sheraton in San Pedro. From SP, to get to LAX you'll just need to go up the 110 East to the 405 North to Century Blvd. Pretty easy. Might still take a little time, but you'll be able to leave later and miss a good portion of rush hour.

 

[Redcon1]

Thanks for the link and info about the hotel and the area.
I assumed it would be alright if it was a Sheraton and the cruise lines docked there.
Some great suggestions on what to do there as well. I was planning on driving up later in the day from San Diego and just spending the evening there, but since we've never been in that area before, we may just leave earlier in the day from SD and see some of the sights in Long Beach or maybe even take the PCH north and see Malibu or some of those other communities.
One last question: the hotel is about 20 miles south of LAX. Would that be about a 45-60 min. drive on an early Tuesday morning?

 

[RalphMouth]

Thanks for the link and info about the hotel and the area.
I assumed it would be alright if it was a Sheraton and the cruise lines docked there.
Some great suggestions on what to do there as well. I was planning on driving up later in the day from San Diego and just spending the evening there, but since we've never been in that area before, we may just leave earlier in the day from SD and see some of the sights in Long Beach or maybe even take the PCH north and see Malibu or some of those other communities.
One last question: the hotel is about 20 miles south of LAX. Would that be about a 45-60 min. drive on an early Tuesday morning?

A suggestion-

When driving from San Diego up to LA, I highly suggest you exit
Interstate 5 near Capistrano/Dana Point onto PCH 1. This drive is very nice
and you will go though Dana Point, Laguna Beach (my favorite), Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. Yes, this will take more time than I-5, but if you're looking for some beautiful coastline & quaint beach towns then this is the route to take-

 

[Magix]

An excellent suggestion from RalphMouth! And yes, I think an hour would get you to LAX from San Pedro with no problem.

 

[Redcon1]

Another great suggestion RalphMouth! I've never taken that route before. The family should enjoy it too and give us an opportunity to hit the beach one last time before our return.

 

[RalphMouth]

Another great suggestion RalphMouth! I've never taken that route before. The family should enjoy it too and give us an opportunity to hit the beach one last time before our return.

If you time it right there are numerous places to eat in Laguna Beach.
Hotel Laguna sits right next to the public beach and if weather permits the view is 'to die for.'

Laguna is well known for their art gallarys & don't miss out on visiting
the Pottery Shack....it's in the middle of town on the right directly on PCH 1.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We only live about 45 min-an hour from here -- I've only driven through Laguna Beach - it's beautiful, though, and I always tell myself we need to go visit that area.

 

[Tink33]

The Disney Magic is docking in San Pedro this summer. If your stay includes a Saturday morning, you could take a look at the cruise ship.

 

[djm99]

I'd compare the price of car rental & hotel. Is LAX considerably cheaper than ONT ?? I don't know. How about 1 night hotel near the airport when you leave ??

Hey, I made the same decision, I choose ONT, but I wished I had waited. ONT from STL was on sale last week for $157 RT - before taxes so I jumped on that. I wished I had waited. My rental car is cheaper at LAX - and come on, we are talking about LAX - I love that Airport. I've travel to LAX several times and every time I've met/seen a celebrity. I love that Airport. Now this week, LAX is on sale, for only $9 more than what I paid at ONT - I wish I had waited. Plus we are ending our 2 weeks vacation in Los Angeles and have to make that drive to ONT airport. I wish I had waited!!!!! - oh and from STL to LAX is straight thru no stop but ONT has a lay over - some really quick (45 minutes) in Texas. Straight thru is always the better option!!!

 

[debm]

what airline?? We are flying out of STL in August and the best I could find were Southwest and AA at just over $100 one way. (Doing repositioning cruise to FL!) I thought that was great so we bought them last night. Hope we made the right decision. Now I need to get from Orlando to STL 1-way on a Saturday. TMA doesn't fly out till Sunday. A day at WDW would be fine with me but whatever price is best I guess!

 

[djm99]

what airline?? We are flying out of STL in August and the best I could find were Southwest and AA at just over $100 one way. (Doing repositioning cruise to FL!) I thought that was great so we bought them last night. Hope we made the right decision. Now I need to get from Orlando to STL 1-way on a Saturday. TMA doesn't fly out till Sunday. A day at WDW would be fine with me but whatever price is best I guess!

American Airlines. Go to travelocity, cheap tickets, etc. to see what airline has the cheapest ticket, then go directly to that airline and book (its always a few dollars less to book directly with the airline) - and if you need to make a change you can without much difficulty. Are you going to LA or just florida. American was having a sale this week to LAX thru August 15. My dates are July 31-Aug 13. Southwest use to be the cheapest around by this time they were higher than many I came across. A few days ago I checked my dates and was given a total of $218.XX from STL to LAX without stops!

 

[Redcon1]

Luckily, I purchased four STL-LAX tickets from Frontier Airlines last week for $203.40 each. They've raised their price $20 this week. The flights have a stopover in Denver, but at least the routing basically in a straight direction(I hate those connecting flights where you go one direction then double back to your destination).
The AA $218 is the best right now from STL. Unfortunately, for our dates, the flights were sold out for that rate. But I'm happy we were able to get the lower Frontier price, even tho there's a stopover.
One thing to remember, is in some markets, you can combine those one-way fares with another airline, so you might be able to get a total cheaper fare on two different airlines that going round trip on one carrier.

 

[Redcon1]

sorry "double post"