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Getting to California

Planning your trip to California is one of the most exciting parts of the whole experience; almost more exciting than the trip itself. Beautiful weather, hours of sun, long stretches of beach and sea, and plenty of culture and history all await you in this beautiful state. Of course, you have to decide where exactly you want to go; whether you want to stick to the big cities like L.A. and San Francisco; stay in just one area, such as Orange County; or maybe focus specifically on the wine producing regions. Or you can just go and totally wing it, just see where the wind and your feet take you. But first things first; exactly how are you going to get to California? It depends, of course, on where you're coming from. Here, we'll cover some of the main modes of transport you can take and from where.

Firstly, for long distance travelers or for those in a hurry, traveling by air is the best way. California has plenty of airports to choose from, the main ones being Los Angeles International (LAX), San Francisco International (SFO) and Oakland International (OAK). For those flying within the USA, you can fly to airports which deal with domestic flights, such as San Diego International (SAN) and Bob Hope Airport, Burbank (BUR). Flying from London to Los Angeles will take approximately ten hours and flying from New York to San Francisco will take approximately five hours.

If you already in the United States or Canada, you can get to California by rail, which is a affordable way to travel and also a great way to see as much as of the beautiful countryside as possible. Amtrack is the rail service which you will need. Its trains stop at many cities and places within California including L.A., San Francisco, Anaheim, Bakersfield, Paso Robles, Fresno and San Diego. To get to Los Angeles from Phoenix, you are looking at approximately eight hours, thirty nine hours from Dallas, and sixty one hours from Chicago.

The slowest but probably most economical option is to take the bus. Greyhound provide a great service which will take you to and from all the major cities in the U.S.A. and even from Candada and Mexico. You may find the journey times a little bit long though. If this isn't a problem for you, then it may be the perfect option for you. A trip from Los Angeles to San Diego can be done in two and a half hours, from Los Angeles to San Francisco will take approximately seven and a half hours, and Los Angeles to Sacramento takes about twelve and a half hours.