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Transportation in San Diego County, CaliforniaAn Unofficial Web Site
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Please e-mail comments, corrections and additions to the webmaster at pje@efgh.com.
Airplanes | Automobiles | Bicycles | Buses | Ferry | Taxis | Limousines | Rental Cars | Trains | Glossary of Names | Maps | Links
AirplanesUnlike most big-city airports, San Diego International Airport is conveniently located close to the downtown area and to most of the major tourist attractions.
The airport was formerly owned and operated by the San Diego Unified Port District, a special governmental agency that also operates the harbor facilities of San Diego. A few years ago, the airport was transferred to the San Diego Regional Airport Authority. See their website at www.san.org.
A convenient list of non-stop flights from San Diego Airport can be accessed at www.flightsfrom.com/SAN.
When you arrive at San Diego Airport, you may be greeted by volunteer Airport Ambassadors, who can answer your questions about the airport and other local travel facilities.
If your starting point or destination is in the northern part of San Diego County, you may find McClellan Palomar Airport in Carlsbad more even more convenient than San Diego International Airport.
If your starting point or destination is in Mexico, you may want to fly into or out of the Tijuana Airport.
AutomobilesThe highways of San Diego County are quite good, and congestion has not yet reached the severity experienced in our neighbor to the north.
Freeway exits in California are named. Numbers are being added, but some exits remain unnumbered. This sometimes makes it rather hard to give clear directions, because exit names may be hard to remember precisely. Therefore, I have prepared a document called San Diego and Imperial County Freeway Exits. It is basically a list of freeway exits in San Diego and Imperial Counties, with distances and the text from exit signs. It also includes some nearby parts of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and Interstate 8 in Arizona.
I've also prepared a Highway map of San Diego and Imperial Counties, showing all state and interstate highways. It's not very detailed, but you can use it until you buy a better map at the nearest gas station.
Descriptions, distances, and a few pictures of some highways in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties that are not freeways:
Two pictures of the I-15 bridge over Lake Hodges, one taken when Lake Hodges was still a lake, and another taken five years later, after it had become a forest:
It has since become a lake again.
Here are a few other Web sites with information about the highways of San Diego County:
BicyclesI travel by bicycle locally as much as I can, and I've devoted a Web site to that subject: San Diego County, California: A Bicyclist's Paradise
BusesLocal bus service in the City of San Diego is provided by the San Diego Transit Corporation. Maps and schedules can be accessed at
A few important facts about San Diego city buses:
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The Transit Store 12th & Imperial Trolley Station Downtown San Diego Mon-Fri 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
Local bus service is also available in other cities of San Diego County and in many of the unincorporated areas.
Coronado FerryA passenger ferry runs regularly across San Diego Bay between Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego and the Coronado Ferry Landing in Coronado. A one-way trip takes about ten minutes.
The ferry departs --
The one-way fare is $7.00 per person (as of June 1, 2022).
You may take a bicycle aboard the ferry at no additional fare.
Commuters can ride the ferry free during certain hours. See the Web site for details.
TaxisIt is usually not necessary to call for a taxi at the airport, bus station, train station or cruise ship terminal. Taxis are waiting when travelers arrive.
If you need a taxi or limousine at other times and places, here are some companies to contact (listed in alphabetical order):
Commercial shuttles also serve the airport, bus station, train station and cruise ship terminal. These provide shared rides to hotels, military bases and residences in the San Diego area. The largest such service in San Diego is Cloud 9 Super Shuttle. Shuttles are usually waiting at the airport. For pickup at other places, contact them at 1-800-974-8885 (1-800-9-SHUTTLE) or www.cloud9shuttle.com.
A website for finding shuttle services at San Diego Airport is ShuttleWizard.com.
The ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft serve the airport. There are separate pickup points for Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Follow the signs to "Ride Share Services" and use the Uber or Lyft app to summon a driver.
Special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, graduations, etc. are among the reasons to utilize a limo service. Another reason to order a limo might be the number in the party exceeding or pushing the limits of a personal car or taxi. Most importantly, ordering a limousine can be a sound option when the event might include alcohol, such as club hopping in the Gaslamp District or wine tasting in nearby Escondido or Temecula.
Like any other service, the limousine services industry has good apples, not so good apples and bad apples. Be aware of limo brokers. The company you hire (and pay) might not be the company that shows up at your door. Limo Rental Tips
The State of California licenses all livery services in the State. Limo companies must prove to the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that they are fully bonded, and that drivers submit to random drug testing. Check a license status at the California PUC website.
Some limo services in San Diego:
If you want to rent a car in San Diego, there's a new way to do it. Use your smart phone to summon one:
TrainsThe San Diego Trolley is San Diego's contribution to the current craze for fixed-rail transit.
The San Diego Coaster Commuter Train runs up and down the coast between Downtown San Diego and Oceanside every day of the week except Sunday and major holidays.
Information about the Trolley and Coaster is available at
Amtrak runs several trains per day up and down the coast between San Diego and Los Angeles. Some go as far north as San Luis Obispo. See www.amtrak.com for information.
North of Oceanside there is an extensive commuter train network called Metrolink. Information about Metrolink has been posted on this Web site:
Embossed on a retaining wall next to the Alvarado Station on the Green Line of the San Diego Trolley is a riddle that reads:
ARTERIES VEINS AND CAPILLARIESI photographed the handrail and deciphered the braille. For the answer click here.
FOR AUTOS RAIN AND CATENARIES
ALL THREE LINES ARE SIDE BY SIDE
ABOVE BELOW AND STRATIFIED
ONE IS NUMBERED LESS THAN NINE
ANOTHER WAS HERE AT THE DAWN OF TIME
THE LAST WILL BE HERE AFTER A WAIT
OR RIGHT AWAY IF YOU'RE NOT TOO LATE
LOOK AROUND TO SOLVE THIS RIDDLE
NAME ALL THREE TOP BOTTOM AND MIDDLE
IF BEWILDERED FEEL THE HANDRAIL
THE ANSWER THERE IS WRIT IN BRAILLE
Many names in San Diego County are of Spanish or Indian origin. I've prepared a brief glossary to help visitors with the spelling and pronunciation of unfamiliar names.
Scanned topographic maps for San Diego, Orange, Imperial and Riverside Counties are available on CD-ROM by request. These are public domain images in GIF format with no restrictions on use. E-mail the Webmaster for details.
I've also prepared a Highway map of San Diego and Imperial Counties, showing all state and interstate highways. It's not very detailed, but you can use it until you buy a better map at the nearest gas station.
The Rand McNally Thomas Guides are some of the most accurate, up-to-date and useful street maps of San Diego County and many other areas as well. However, like nearly all large compendiums of information, they contain errors. For example, they show some streets that do not exist or have disappeared.
I have reported some corrections by E-mail in the past; and some have found their way into subsequent editions. However, more recent correction reports seem to have been lost or ignored. Therefore, I am posting them here in the hope that somebody at Rand McNally will see them and incorporate them into future editions.
Here are some of the errors that I have found, and the suggested corrections.
CAUTION: These corrections apply only to older editions. One of the most recent editions of the Thomas Guide is rife with mistakes.
Here are links to some other Web sites that may be helpful:
This Web site is brought to you by Philip J. Erdelsky, a resident of San
Diego since 1969.
Visit my home page at
www.alumni.caltech.edu/~pje/.
E-mail comments, corrections and additions to me at
pje@efgh.com.