<p>Obviously, LAX is the biggest one nearby, but are some of the smaller ones either closer or more convenient is some way?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>ONT ontario international = much smaller, cleaner, closer</p>
<p>Ontario is the closest, but John Wayne and Long Beach are so much better than LAX</p>
<p>Ontario is a 15 minute drive from campus and is the preferred airport of 5C students.</p>
<p>I have a couple of related questions...</p>
<p>We can get a non-stop flight into LAX or to Long Beach, but not to Ontario. </p>
<p>Is it difficult and time consuming to fly into LAX and take the FlyAway Shuttle and the Metrolink back to campus? </p>
<p>I read that the Sagehen Shuttle is available for pickup/dropoffs at Ontario, but is there a shuttle to and from the other airports during the holidays?</p>
<p>Do you know of any cheap transportation options from Long Beach airport? because on the airport website, it looks like a cab to Claremont would cost over $100!</p>
<p>We're trying to decide if it's worth the hassle of paying the extra money (around $150) and dealing with connections/layovers to fly into Ontario (7-8 hour trip total) or if it would be better to fly non-stop (4.5 hour trip) and then deal with ground transportation.</p>
<p>Any insight from current students would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Not a current sagehen, but a recent visitor. Husband, son and I debated the Ontario w/connections, or cheaper non-stop flight into LAX. We ended up flying into LAX and renting a car with GPS. As it turned out, we timed our flights to arrive around 11:30 AM on a Wednesday then departed about the same time on Sat. Driving was no problem at that time and it was interesting to get a bigger picture of SoCal as we flew in and drove to Claremont. We got a good internet rate at the Doubletree and really enjoyed having the car to drive around and check out the surrounding city. We also did a little hiking so son could get that experience as well. We did feel that if our son were to go there, we would consider the flight to Ontario when he was flying alone.</p>
<p>Thanks pianomom. If I was going to go, I'd take the non-stop flight and rent a car for sure. But I forgot to mention that my D will be travelling solo. </p>
<p>It seems like either option will have it's hassles and take a lot longer than we originally thought. I just hate the thought of her connecting in Denver, especially during the winter! But it might be necessary, as I don't know the area at all and I don't know how easy or hard it would be to get back to campus from the other airports.</p>
<p>Ontario and Long Beach are both small (user friendly) regional airports. No long lines and easy to get into and exit. LAX is the opposite. Avoid LAX unless your daughter is comfortable with navigating through a busy urban airport that is situated quite a distance from Pomona.</p>
<p>We got a $232 non-stop, r/t fare to LAX -- before that, we'd been looking at Ontario (one-stop was $330 from our area). We got in about 9:30 pm, rented a car and were at our hotel (in Ontario!) by 11, including a stop for snacks. The shuttles from LAX for just one person to Claremont were darned expensive -- more than what it cost for our three day car rental.</p>
<p>DS was visiting two schools, which due to travel distance in between, made it necessary for me to come along for the ride. :) He is an experienced traveler, so that part would not have been a problem for him.</p>
<p>If he goes back out in April, he'll do the trip solo and probably go through Ontario. I figure that's part of the equation -- is he willing to put up with long/potentially complicated coast-to-coast trips?</p>
<p>It is only nine miles from Ontario to the Claremont campus -- an EASY 15 minute drive -- if your D is going solo, there are shuttles and cabs that won't be too expensive.</p>
<p>My D has dealt with O'Hare several times, so she's comfortable with large airports, but Chicago has good public transit that runs directly to the terminals (albeit on the far side). </p>
<p>I would like her to avoid LAX too, but the travel time to ONT is excessive, due to the connection in Denver with a layover. Though it might take just as long to fly into LAX and take the shuttle/Metrolink. That's what we're trying to decide, which one would be the easiest and least hassle.</p>
<p>Long Beach would be great if there was an inexpensive way to get to Claremont. It might be worth paying the $110 cab fare though, instead of the extra $150 to fly to Ontario. I was just hoping that there was a cheaper shuttle to/from Long Beach, but so far I haven't found anything.</p>
<p>Do you know how long the drive time is between Long Beach and Claremont with traffic?</p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions, but this is the only real issue we're struggling with right now. Thanks!</p>
<p>Thanks countingdown, sounds exactly like the prices and scenario we're looking at. I know that my D is willing to do the long trip for 4 years. Anything to escape this snow and cold!</p>
<p>On the Pomona wesite, I think the Sagehen shuttle was only $5 for an ONT airport pickup/dropoff. So that's nice anyway. I just wish it was easier to get to Claremont from the other airports that offer non-stop flights.</p>
<p>Drive time from Long Beach to Claremont would range from 1-1/2 hrs. to 2-1/2. depending on the traffic. Rush hour begins around 3pm for commuters heading back toward Claremont.</p>
<p>Wow, the extra time on the road is certainly something to consider. It looks like it will be a 6-8 hour trip no matter which way we plan. </p>
<p>But thanks for the input so far. I don't know much about travelling LA at all.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info - I'll be a lot better prepared for this.</p>
<p>Most students (myself included) take Super Shuttle's shared van service to and from campus (if carpooling or getting a ride from a friend isn't an option).</p>
<p>From the Super Shuttle website, one-way prices (sans tip) are:</p>
<p>From Long Beach Airport: $57 (+ $9 each for the next three riders)
From Burbank Airport: $63 (+ $9 each for the next three riders)
From Ontario Airport: $20 (+ $9 each for the next three riders)
From John Wayne Airport: $65 (+ $9 each for the next three riders)
From LAX: $54 (+ $9 each for the next three riders)</p>
<p>An executive car (unshared) via Super Shuttle would be (again, one way, sans tip):</p>
<p>From Long Beach Airport: $114
From Burbank Airport: $96
From Ontario Airport: $60
From John Wayne Airport: $114
From LAX: $127 (in this case, a Private Van is $119)</p>
<p>Bookings can be made online at Welcome</a> to SuperShuttle.com.</p>
<p>In truth, a cab is not too much less hassle than the shared van, and it's no less hassle than the private van or sedan. From Ontario, Super Shuttle is a breeze, though you might have to wait a bit longer for one to head the right direction from the other airports...it'll be easier if you make a reservation, but possible even if not. And given the possibility of bad LA traffic (which is largely unpredictable), it might be wiser to go with a flat-price option rather than a cab. Still, your luggage gets hoisted in for you, and service is door to door, available either to or from the airport (much easier than shuttle + Metrolink, which will mean a fair bit of walking with luggage).</p>
<p>If the price difference isn't too significant, Ontario is by far the most convenient choice. Check Southwest and JetBlue (neither of which pop up on most flight sites) for cheap rates.</p>
<p>Good luck :)</p>
<p>The thing about the $5 Sagehen Shuttle is that it is for current Pomona students. We have to make reservations to take it at the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) office on campus. I'm not sure that it is open to non-Pomona students, plus it's only available for several days before each vacation. When will your daughter be visiting?</p>
<p>at LAX there is a bus to Union Station and then you can take a Metrolink to Claremont [anywhere between 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours depending on the timing of the bus and Metrolink - on weekends Metrolinks have service often]</p>
<p>the drive time to Claremont from LAX can be anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3+ hours depending on traffic</p>
<p>We came in the late evening (9:30 from LAX) and it was about an hour and a quarter. No traffic. It's 60 miles from LAX to Claremont...</p>
<p>Traffic can make all the difference in terms of travel time from/to LAX. If there are two or more people in the car, you can take the carpool lane that definitely helps! One time it took almost 2.5 hours covering that distance WITH the carpool lanes.</p>
<p>Our D usually flies into Ontario when she travels to and from school. One time she did use Long Beach to fly home, but she stayed at her brother's apartment in LA and he dropped her off at the airport.</p>
<p>My H and I ended up one time having to drive from Ontario to LAX because that leg of our flight was cancelled. Fortunately, we learned about it early enough to make our LAX flight.</p>