Going from SNA to DLR - Shuttle Questions

[dwheaton]

Hello. We're flying into John Wayne (SNA) in late May and are staying at the Hyatt House near DLR. Most things I've read have recommended doing an Uber or Lyft, but my wife doesn't want to go that route since there's four of us (our girls are 14 and 10) and we'll have luggage too. She prefers a shuttle, and I know there are a few options on that front. Karmel Shuttle has okay reviews, but they range between great and terrible. There also are a few other options. Private cars are super expensive. We won't be renting a car until later in the trip after our stay at DLR.

Has anyone used Karmel Shuttle or another option besides Uber or Lyft at SNA?

Thanks!

 

[Mle8308]

You can request an Uber/Lyft XL that will hold all of you.

 

[dwheaton]

You can request an Uber/Lyft XL that will hold all of you.

Are you able to reserve one in advance and be guaranteed it will be available? What I've read is a little shaky in terms of reservations.

 

[Mle8308]

Are you able to reserve one in advance and be guaranteed it will be available? What I've read is a little shaky in terms of reservations.

I've not had problems reserving, but I don't need an XL. There is the possibility it might not be available. For a guarantee, you may be better off reserving a private car/shuttle. You could take a chance on a taxi, they often have minivans.

 

[OKW Lover]

You can easily get a van-type taxi from SNA to DL. Just walk out the door of baggage claim and they are right there.

 

[amyg1975]

What is the normal flat rate for a taxi van from SNA?

 

[Pluto468]

We used Sunny's last year from SNA. They communicated well with texts, were friendly and met us right outside of baggage claim. I'd use them again.

 

[Aspencreek]

What is the normal flat rate for a taxi van from SNA?

About $35 - $40. Uber usually runs about $30-35.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

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[RoseColored97]

I'm a little iffy on the taxis. They had us go in a Prius with 3 adults and 4 checked pieces of luggage. It was a tight squeeze because one of the suitcases had to go in the front so all three adults were in the back (we all fit fine, but it just wasn't that comfortable/not ideal). They seem to want to have you go in the next taxi in line, and because the vans were 3 and 5 cars back we didn't get to take them. Maybe we should have went up and requested it? We just went where both organizers directed us. We normally have a decent experience with taxis, just not if we're traveling with luggage and 3-4 people. We were also charged $60.00 flat (excluding tip, $70.00 with it) with no traffic from SNA to Desert Inn. I think the pricing might have been wrong on that but I didn't push it. The meter wasn't turned on so that was a little...strange.

The Uber XL was fine on space and arrived quickly (5 minutes from the time we requested to her being at the hotel for the return), but she was a bit of a wild driver and had several cars she cut off in traffic that honked with one cutting her back off from the HOV lane. We watch the Road Wars show on A&E and I was sure we were going to be on there next.

Your experience might be different than ours, but it's given me pause on what transportation to use when we get to the airport. We've used Primetime several times in the past and have had a decent experience. Lansky also gets really good reviews here and their SUVs look great (saw them when they were picking up at the GCH).

I wish SuperShuttle was still a thing. We had great luck with them always being reliable.