San Diego International Airport  (airport code: SAN) is about 10 minutes out of downtown San Diego. The descent into the airport, passing hair-raisingly close to downtown buildings, can be a bit alarming for first-time visitors. It's served by Southwest Airlines and most other major West Coast carriers.

There are a number of airport shuttle companies that handle transportation to and from the airport. They run about $15 per person. Metro bus #992 ("the Flyer", $2.25) travels the 10 minutes to downtown San Diego, and connects to the Coaster train, the Trolley, and the Amtrak station.

By train

San Diego's Amtrak station is at 1050 Kettner Blvd. It is within walking distance of downtown hotels and situated next to San Diego Bay. Shuttles offer service between the train depot and San Diego International Airport. Rail services include 'The Coaster' which is a daily commuter between Southern Los Angeles and San Diego.

Trolley service is limited to certain sections of San Diego. Major stops include downtown, El Cajon, Santee, Mission Valley, Qualcomm Stadium and San Ysidro, the border crossing between the US and Mexico.

By car

San Diego is easily accessible by car using any one of the three major interstate roadways, the I-5, the I-8 or the I-15.

 • I-5 gives access from San Ysidro, the US-Mexico border crossing, and the southern most part of San Diego, and heads north through California, Oregon and Washington terminating in Blaine, Washington at the US-Canadian border crossing.

 • I-8 runs west and east through Southern California into Arizona where it connects with the I-10.

 • I-15 runs north-south, with San Diego being the farthest south stop, and traveling through Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Montana.

Additionally there are numerous other freeways and highways criss-crossing the county making access to anywhere in San Diego quick and easy!

By bus

Greyhound has a station in downtown San Diego, on Broadway St. There are other charter buses, mainly operating between Los Angeles and Mexico.

By boat

Current cruise services only offer excursions departing from San Diego to Baja Mexico and to Los Angeles. These include dinner cruises, three-day gambling cruises and 'party excursions' to the Mexican coastal ports of Baja.