# LAX vs Orange County Airport for Newport Beach



## JudyS (May 17, 2007)

I have a trip coming up to Marriott's Newport Coast Villas.  :whoopie:   I'm trying to make my airline reservations.  I know that Orange County Airport (John Wayne Airport/ Santa Ana)  is by far the closest airport to Newport Coast Villas.  However, the flight times available to there are inconvenient for me, and there are no direct flights from where I live.

How would LAX be as a substitute?  We'd be renting a rental car at the airport and driving to the resort; flying in and out on a Saturday.   How long might it take to drive from LAX to Newport Beach, and how bad is the traffic?  Neither I nor DH have ever been to LAX (well, I may have been a decade or more ago), so I don't know whether it's crazy to fly in through there or not.


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## taffy19 (May 17, 2007)

On a Saturday, you should be able to do it in less than an hour. I would think it is about 50 miles or so. The freeway will still be busy but the traffic should be OK unless there is an accident.

Can't you fly to Long Beach? That would be closer.


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## JudyS (May 17, 2007)

Thanks, Emmy!

I wasn't counting Long Beach because it's almost impossible to get to from where I live.  Most of the flights require at least two connections.  There aren't any direct flights to Orange County, either, but at least that's only one connection.   Also, both LAX and Orange County have flights available for me for frequent flyer miles, but Long Beach doesn't.


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## cgsm (May 17, 2007)

We just got back from Newport Coast, and we flew to and from LAX.  It was the only place around there with no connections, so we figured it was worth the little extra drive.

We drove from LAX around 9pm on a Friday night with no traffic problems (took a little less than an hour I think), and back to the airport at 6pm on a Thursday.  There was traffic then, but we were able to use the carpool lanes, and it still only took about an hour and 15 minutes.


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## ricoba (May 17, 2007)

Since you are coming and going on a Saturday, go for LAX.  

Sure there will be traffic on the 405, but it won't be anything like the weekday (unless of course there is an accident/incident etc).

It should be an easy drive down to Newport from LAX.


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## Luanne (May 17, 2007)

If LAX is cheaper and you can get a direct flight, use LAX.  Otherwise Orange County.  I always try to avoid LAX when I can.


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## Bill4728 (May 17, 2007)

Luanne said:


> If LAX is cheaper and you can get a direct flight, use LAX.  Otherwise Orange County.  I always try to avoid LAX when I can.




Orange county (SNA) is so close to NCV that you don't have to take the freeway to get there. So, all things being equal, use Orange County. BUT it sounds like all things aren't equal. An extra connection is much worst than the relatively short saturday drive from LAX (<45 minutes). But, if it is just a little more money (<$30) I'd fly into SNA. 

One other thing, the car rental places at LAX are huge. And sometimes the line to get a car can be very bad ( our last time thru LAX was over 1.5 hours). If you have access to the frequent renter programs at any of the car rental places it maybe worth using them.

PS we're staying at NCV in Nov. From Seattle, Alaska flys to all three airports. LAX, SNA and Long Beach. Although, Long Beach is a little more of a drive from NCV, we choose it because the place is so small that all the hassels at the airport just go away.


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## BSQ (May 17, 2007)

I'm in the "avoid LAX if you can camp."  

And ugh, my last two unfortunate flights into LAX is was more like 2-2.5 hours to get the rental car.  I thought I was going to fall alseep while standing in line.   I'm a bit directionally challenged, and always end up turned around and going in the wrong direction when I leave the LAX rental car places.  John Wayne to be is much easier in n out.


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## JudyS (May 17, 2007)

Thanks for all of the input!

Sounds like it's sort of a toss-up, between LAX having direct flights for us but SNA being closer to Newport Beach.   I just checked, though, and on the outbound flight, the LAX direct flights were sold out at the "perksaver" frequent flyer rate (they were available last night, but not today), so we'll go with SNA.  The advice here should be useful for future trips, though.  Thanks again!


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## Bill4728 (May 17, 2007)

Check mapquest for directions to NCV from SNA. Getting on and off the freeway for the 1-2 miles isn't worth the hassel. So, you may wish to take the main street "MacArthur" for almost the whole way to the Pacific coast HWY then just about a mile south to the resort.


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## laxmom (May 17, 2007)

Sorry, caught your thread too late (at work to pay for vacations!:whoopie: )to help but I would go with SNA.  We did when we stayed at Newport Coast and it was an easy trip with little traffic both going and coming.  I think you made the right choice.  It was a toll road but it was minimal.  Maybe $1 or 2.


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## Luanne (May 17, 2007)

laxmom said:


> Sorry, caught your thread too late (at work to pay for vacations!:whoopie: )to help but I would go with SNA.  We did when we stayed at Newport Coast and it was an easy trip with little traffic both going and coming.  I think you made the right choice.  It was a toll road but it was minimal.  Maybe $1 or 2.



Toll road!!!! When did *that* happen?  I used to live in that area and there were never any toll roads.


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## laxmom (May 17, 2007)

We were there 3 years ago and I don't remember the number of the highway that we took but it was a toll road.  It was an unattended toll at the exit.


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## laxmom (May 17, 2007)

MacArthur Blvd to 73 was the way we went in.  As I stated earlier, it was very easy, direct and not bad traffic wise.


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## UWSurfer (May 18, 2007)

Luanne said:


> Toll road!!!! When did *that* happen?  I used to live in that area and there were never any toll roads.



Oh, maybe 15 years ago. 

This toll road begins around SNA and bisects Laguna Hills and such, reconnecting to I-5 near Mission Viejo.  It's a bypass route.  The toll heading south bound begins around McCarther. 

For Newport I wouldn't bother with it.


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