Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
31
should get an international one if y
our
Better y et, log on to Amtrak 's California
website:
www.amtrakcalifornia.com
. I t's
far more user-friendly and lists only Cali-
fornia schedules and special fares.
The L.A. train terminus is
Union Sta-
tion,
800 N. Alameda (
&
213/617-0111
),
on Downtown's northern edge. Completed
in 1939, this was the last of America's great
train depots—a unique blend of S panish
Revival and S treamline Moderne ar chitec-
ture (see “ Architectural H ighlights,” in
chapter 7). From the station, y ou can take
one of the taxis that line up outside; boar d
the Metro Red Line to Hollywood or Uni-
versal City; or take the M etro Blue Line to
Long B each. I f y ou're headed to the S an
Fernando Valley or Anaheim, M etrolink
commuter trains leave from Union Station;
call
&
800/371-LINK
(800/371-5465), or
visit www.metrolinktrains.com.
International visitors can buy a USA
Rail Pass, good for 15 or 30 days of unlim-
ited travel on Amtrak (
&
800/USA-RAIL
[800/872-7245]; www .amtrak.com). The
pass is av ailable thr ough many o verseas
travel agents. See Amtrak's website for the
cost of trav el within the w estern, eastern,
or nor thwestern U nited S tates. With a
foreign passpor t, you can also buy passes
directly fr om some Amtrak locations,
home license is not in E nglish.
International visitors should note that
insurance and tax es ar e almost nev er
included in quoted r ental car rates in the
U.S. B e sur e to ask y our r ental agency
about additional fees for these. They can
add a significant cost to y our car rental.
By Train
Amtrak
(
&
800/USA-RAIL
[800/872-
7245]; www .amtrak.com) connects Los
Angeles with about 500 American cities.
As with plane travel along popular routes,
fares fluctuate depending on the season
and special promotions. As a general r ule,
heavily restricted advance tickets are com-
petitive with similar air fares. R emember,
however, that those low fares are for coach
travel in r eclining seats; priv ate sleeping
accommodations cost substantially more.
The
Sunset Limited
is Amtrak's regularly
scheduled transcontinental ser vice, origi-
nating in F lorida and making 52 stops
along the way as it passes through Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico,
and Arizona before arriving in Los Angeles
2 days later. Amtrak's
Coast Starlight
travels
along the Pacific Coast between Seattle and
Los Angeles. This stylish train (with its
3
wonderfully scenic route) has been steadily
growing in popularity.
Amtrak also runs trains along the Cali-
fornia coast, connecting S an D iego, Los
Angeles, S an Francisco, and all points in
between. There ar e multiple trains each
day. O ne-way far es for popular segments
can range fr om $25 (Los Angeles-S anta
Barbara) to $28 (Los Angeles-S an Diego)
to $93 (S an Francisco-Los Angeles) but,
again, fares fluctuate.
Ask about special family plans, tours,
and other money-saving pr omotions. You
can call for a br ochure outlining r outes
and prices for the entir e system; up-to-
date schedules and far es are also av ailable
on Amtrak 's compr ehensive—but often
unwieldy—website (www .amtrak.com).
including S an F rancisco, Los Angeles,
Chicago, New York, Miami, Boston, and
Washington, D.C. Reservations are gener-
ally required and should be made as early
as possible. R egional rail passes ar e also
available.
GETTING INTO TOWN
FROM THE AIRPORT
By Car
To reach
Santa Monica
and other nor th-
ern beach communities, exit the airpor t,
take Sepulveda Boulevard north, and fol-
low the signs to California 1 (Pacific Coast
Hwy., or PCH) nor th. You
can
take the
I-405 north, but you'll be sorry you did—
that str etch of fr eeway is always heavily
congested.
