palm springs/palm desert to San pedro

[bones774]

I'm not a Californian, will be taking a cruise out of San Pedro after visiting Palm desert. Anyone have a good way to travel from PS to SP. Would like to do it all in one day, 4PM embarkation,no overnight hotel in LA/SP. thanks

[riffatsea]

Hi,

How are you getting to Palm Desert??

There is no inexpensive good way to do this without a car.

Perhaps rent one for a day and return at Hertz or Enterprise near the port.

A private car service will be expensive as it is over a 2hr drive.

I don't use uber/lyft for long rides .

[bones774]

hi,

i'm flying into PSP. One way rental could work if the alternatives are not good. Any one company closer/better to the port than another?  Do hertz/ enterprise Shuttle to ship? 

Thanks

 

PS-two port locations listed, SP and downtown LB?

Edited June 26, 2019 by bones774

[riffatsea]

What cruise line are you using??

Carnival goes out of Long Beach.

Most others use San Pedro.

Hertz is closer to the port in San Pedro than Enterprise .

Neither is right at the port in Long Beach.

There is a bus that I have just heard about that will go from Palm Springs to LAX but I have no experience using it and probably wouldn't try it but it is very inexpensive.

See:

https://www.flixbus.com/bus-routes/bus-los-angeles-ca-palm-springs-ca

[Philob]

GMaps shows 2 hr straight shot from PS to SP if you drive.  If your ship departs at 4, I think they need you to be checked-in and on board two(?) hours before, pad some time for rental car return and LA traffic.  If you leave PS after breakfast and get to SP by lunch time you should be good.  

Edited June 26, 2019 by Philob

[bones774]

After some research I see there is an Amtrak that runs 3x a week from PS to LA, Sunday being one of those days, which is also my embarkation day. Leaves 2AM gets to Union station about 5:35AM. This works good for sleep/rest during the ride.

Is there a convenient way to get from Union station to SP (NCL cruise), some sort of shuttle or light rail?

thanks for all the help everyone

 

One way car rental is about $150, which is more than 1/3 the cost of my cruise after all my discounts, lol

Edited June 26, 2019 by bones774

[riffatsea]

There are always private shuttles/car service you can book.

There's no rail.

Many also use app to call uber or lyft car.

I have not seen an actual station anywhere in Palm Springs for Amtrak.

It may make its stop in the desert in the middle of nowhere north of the city of Palm Springs.

It would not be my choice!

[Philob]

57 minutes ago, bones774 said:

After some research I see there is an Amtrak that runs 3x a week from PS to LA, Sunday being one of those days, which is also my embarkation day. Leaves 2AM gets to Union station about 5:35AM. This works good for sleep/rest during the ride.

Is there a convenient way to get from Union station to SP (NCL cruise), some sort of shuttle or light rail?

thanks for all the help everyone

 

One way car rental is about $150, which is more than 1/3 the cost of my cruise after all my discounts, lol

Verify with Amtrak; that route may involve a bus ride from PS to Fullerton, CA where you catch the train for the last 25 miles to Union Station.  From Union Station is another 25 miles to the cruise terminal.  Also please confirm the time, I see 2PM departure from Palm Springs & 5:35PM arrival.  Nothing happens after 9pm in Palm Springs😎

Edited June 26, 2019 by Philob

[bones774]

1 hour ago, Philob said:

Verify with Amtrak; that route may involve a bus ride from PS to Fullerton, CA where you catch the train for the last 25 miles to Union Station.  From Union Station is another 25 miles to the cruise terminal.  Also please confirm the time, I see 2PM departure from Palm Springs & 5:35PM arrival.  Nothing happens after 9pm in Palm Springs😎

I did see that too, Amtrak has a lousy website but looking at a 2AM sun day departure there is no indication of bus ride. I hate calling them, endless touchtoning and waiting.

[bones774]

1 hour ago, riffatsea said:

t may make its stop in the desert in the middle of nowhere north of the city of Palm Springs.

It would not be my choice!

Not a problem, my bro is there with car and can dropoff

[Philob]

4 minutes ago, bones774 said:

I did see that too, Amtrak has a lousy website but looking at a 2AM sun day departure there is no indication of bus ride. I hate calling them, endless touchtoning and waiting.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Palm+Springs,+California/Union+Station,+800+N+Alameda+St,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90012/@33.9391531,-117.6531149,10z/am=t/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80db1ad4ffdbe5b3:0xa1e56987c2ed797c!2m2!1d-116.5452921!2d33.8302961!1m5!1m1!1s0x80c2c64160adbc4b:0x527217f541ae2569!2m2!1d-118.2365021!2d34.056219!3e3

 

Above is the GMap - on the left column in mentions Amtrak Chartered Motorcoach between PS & Fullerton.

[riffatsea]

IF there was a good normal train between Palm Springs and LA we would know about it as lots of folks ask how to get between those 2 places. I would not count on Amtrak as my transportation from Palm Springs to LA.

[MJU]

Hertz and Enterprise are closed Sundays at San Pedro

Edited June 27, 2019 by MJU

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

There are a couple of bus companies running between Palm Desert and the LA area, Mega Bus and Flixbus are two that come to mind.  

 

Keep in mind the route from Palm Springs into LA is a parking lot on Sunday and major holidays.  That Google two hour estimate is a wish.  On a Sunday it could easily take four.  

 

Personally, I would rent a car and have a good map or GPS to route you around the SigAlerts.  

[bones774]

Thanks for all the help. I am not a Californian so info helps. My understanding is it used to be a regular train then got washed out years ago, so why not fix it? I will be leaving early on a Sunday morning so hopefully i'll beat the traffic by a bit. 

Hertz and Enterprise closed on sundays is not good. I've got some time till cruise so i'll keep researching and maybe some thing will change for the better.

Thanks again

[Dan G]

I spend winters in Palm Springs and have relatives near San Pedro.  2 hrs is a very optimistic time estimate.  When I fly out of LAX or orange county I've had good luck using Costco for a one way car rental.  Also look on Hotwire.com  Most likely they will be from PSP but not as hard as trying to get to San Pedro.

You can also try the Flix Bus which goes very often to downtown LA near Union Station.  This will get you easier connections to San Pedro as even the Metro light rail goes to Long Beach from Union Station.  A bit of a hassle but far cheaper than an Uber from Palm Desert.

[SadieN]

Look at a rental car from a 'storefront' rental location with a drop off at Long Beach Airport (LGB).  Did a quick search for 7/28 and found several for under $100.  One way rentals are almost always more expensive.  A taxi/Uber/Lyft aren't that expensive from LGB to San Pedro.

If you take a Flix Bus to Union Station, grab a taxi or Uber/Lyft.  Do not take the light rail, as it's a penny-wise pound foolish scenario.  FWIW we have taken the metro many times for cruises out of Long Beach, we drive to San Pedro.  

[Philob]

On 6/28/2019 at 2:29 PM, bones774 said:

My understanding is it used to be a regular train then got washed out years ago, so why not fix it?

 

A 2+ hr drive is nothing to an Angeleno whose daily commute could be just as long.

 

LA to Las Vegas is a 4+ hr drive and you would think they would have built an HSR between the two already with all that traffic between the two.

[bones774]

I put a rideshare posting on CL and in 12 hours I got 4 responses. I spoke to one person and it looks like it will work fine, going same way and I just throw some gas money. I had to delete posting so I wouldn't trouble other people. Glad to see so many people looking to help/accommodate. I'll probably be doing this annually now, any hope the train will ever be fixed?

Thanks

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

On 6/28/2019 at 2:29 PM, bones774 said:

Hertz and Enterprise closed on sundays is not good.

 

You can find a drop off location that might be closed but will take the car and charge you until they open on Monday.  Some hotels will take drop offs, note the time, and close out the account.  You can always drop off at the nearest airport location.  

O/W are always a crap shoot.  I once did a O/W from CA to KS and the price went from $1200 to $500.  So you must price shop rental cars.  I will always price shop up until days prior to travel as the price between brands can change dramatically within days.   

Edited July 2, 2019 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[bones774]

On the off chance I fly direct in from NY, which would be better airport choice, LAX or LB, both readily avail from here. Going to NCL ship.

Thanks

Edited July 3, 2019 by bones774

[jondfk]

On 7/3/2019 at 4:50 AM, bones774 said:

On the off chance I fly direct in from NY, which would be better airport choice, LAX or LB, both readily avail from here. Going to NCL ship.

Thanks

 

That's a total no brainer.  Fly into Long Beach if you can.  Much smaller airport, 80% closer to the ship than LAX.