Burbank airport or LAX?

[Angrose]

I may be heading down to Santa Barbara for an education fair on Nov 7th. If I do then I see no reason why I can't extend the weekend and visit DLR since I'll only be a few hours away! Flying into Santa Barbara (too expensive) or SNA (too far from Santa Barbara) are not options. I could fly into BUR or LAX early Saturday morning and drive up to Santa Barbara straight from the airport then head to DLR after the fair is over at 3pm, hoping to get there around 5:30pm. I would then fly home late Sunday night.
So, I'm wondering which airport would offer the easiest drive up to SB and then back on Sunday night from Anaheim. I'm leaning towards BUR since it's a smaller airport and it may be easier to get in/out of. I'm just not familiar with the traffic patterns on the weekends. Any thoughts?

 

[ashley0139]

I'd probably do Burbank. You can definitely run into traffic on Saturdays, so the straight shop up the 101 from Burbank will be easy. Hopefully late Sunday there won't be any traffic and it won't take you more than 45 minutes to get to Burbank. And yes, it's smaller so easier to get in and out of.

That said, there's probably not a huge difference. One or the other will not make or break your trip.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

We live further up the coast from Santa Barbara and, when we drive (we prefer Amtrak), we drive through Santa Barbara.

I think you are underestimating the travel time from Santa Barbara to Disneyland on a Saturday afternoon. You should expect significant traffic most of the way. Depending on where you are starting from, I would expect it will take close to 3 hours from the time you get on the freeway.

-- Suzanne

 

[bumbershoot]

Check out all costs, first. Make sure you can get the rental car you want at the price you want. Make sure the rental car company is open at the time you want. etc.

I once lost all the flight savings I had from flying to ONT instead of LAX or SNA, because I didn't realize that the pricing structure for Super Shuttle was totally different at ONT vs LAX or SNA.

 

[Angrose]

I think you are underestimating the travel time from Santa Barbara to Disneyland on a Saturday afternoon. You should expect significant traffic most of the way. Depending on where you are starting from, I would expect it will take close to 3 hours from the time you get on the freeway.

-- Suzanne

Yikes, 3 hours??!! I would be at UC Santa Barbara, so it would a little north of SB in Goleta. Even if I got to DLR by 6:30pm I would still have the rest of the evening and all day Sunday. I think I would still be OK with that. I have an AP and have already made 4 visits to the parks this year so I won't be devastated if I arrive a little later than anticipated.

Check out all costs, first. Make sure you can get the rental car you want at the price you want. Make sure the rental car company is open at the time you want. etc. .

Good point. I just checked and the rental car from BUR will only be $40 and work will pay for it. The car rental counters are open until 11pm on Sundays and the flight I'm looking at is at 9:30ish so that should work out OK.

 

[SMD]

What would the one way rental difference be to drop the car off at SNA? Traffic on I-5 on Sunday night can be pretty bad too. It might be worth paying the difference yourself and fly out of SNA or LGB.

 

[rocland1]

Rented cars from both airports several times to DLR. One thing to keep in mind is that the rental car facility at BUR is on-airport and is about a 10 minute walk to/from the terminal. At LAX, it's shuttle buses to remote lots and takes quite a bit of time.

As far as driving, it's a roll of the dice with the traffic. Waze is my best co-pilot.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Fly into BUR, out of SNA. Flights are not any cheaper or more expensive as two one way legs vs one round trip itinerary for the same flight.

If you have to go in and out of one, I would pick LAX. The drive from DL to BUR can be brutal even on a weekend.

One thing to keep in mind is that the rental car facility at BUR is on-airport and is about a 10 minute walk to/from the terminal.

You must be thinking of a different airport. Most of the cars at BUR are literally out the door and around the corner of the building next to baggage claim. Car pickup does not get any closer than Burbank airport!

 

[Angrose]

Thanks everyone for your advice! I checked on the price of renting the car at BUR and returning it at SNA and it's only $25 more to do that. The flights on SW make it easy to fly into one and out the other with not too much of a price difference so I think that makes the most sense. Hopefully I'll find out in the next month or so if this trip is a go or not. Otherwise, I have a trip planned for later in Nov, but it's always nicer when you can go on someone else's dime!

 

[rocland1]

Have a good time, Angrose.

You must be thinking of a different airport. Most of the cars at BUR are literally out the door and around the corner of the building next to baggage claim. Car pickup does not get any closer than Burbank airport!

They moved the BUR Rental Car lot last year. Was right out the end of the terminal - now it is a walk. But it does have several moving walkways to speed it up! (http://bobhopeairport.com/parking/rental-cars.html).