All international flights and most domestic flights land at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), 24 km south-west of Downtown LA. All car hire firms in LA have desks at the airport and operate free shuttle buses for arriving passengers to collect their hired vehicles. If you have no car, you can use one of dozens of privately-run minibuses which call at the airport concourse and will travel to almost any address in LA, usually for a fare of $20-$25 USD. A taxi from the airport is likely to cost in excess of $40 USD. Local buses serve LAX but their route network is incredibly complex and is certain to bewilder first-time arrivals.

Trains into LA arrive at Union Station in Downtown. The city’s main Greyhound terminal is also in Downtown. A few arriving buses also call at smaller Greyhound terminals in Santa Monica, Hollywood and Pasadena.