Traveling to Los Angeles
The major airport is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), with direct flights from many domestic and international airports. To get from LAX to downtown Los Angeles and the conference hotel, you have the following options:
- The taxi rate is (as of January 2018) a flat $46.50 for trips between LAX and downtown, plus a $4 airport surcharge for trips departing from the airport.
- The airport is served by Lyft and Uber, both of which pick up at the departure level. (Your app will remind you.)
- There is an LAX flyaway bus, which runs every 20-30 minutes during normal hours, and hourly in the middle of the night. It costs approximately $10 per trip, and takes you to (and departs from) Union Station, which is just over a mile from the conference hotel. See below for info on getting from Union Station to the hotel.
- If you are a public transportation addict, you can take a shuttle bus to the Lightrail Green Line to the 910/950 bus.
From select US airports, a convenient alternative is to fly into Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR). It is roughly the same distance to downtown LA as LAX, but being a smaller airport, you will likely get in and out quite a bit faster.
If you are attending CCC (Computational Complexity Conference) in San Diego before STOC, we strongly recommend that you consider taking the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner instead of flying to Los Angeles. The train takes about 2.5 hours, and drops you off right at Union Station, just over a mile from the conference hotel. You can also enjoy beautiful ocean views along the way.
From Union Station, you can walk 1.1 miles to the conference hotel, take Uber/Lyft/taxi, or take the Red/Purple subway lines (see below) to Civic Center, whence the hotel is only a half-mile walk.
Getting around near the conference hotel
While Los Angeles has a (well-earned) reputation as a car-centric city, the area of the conference hotel is quite walkable, offering plenty of dining and entertainment within walking distance or at worst short Uber/Lyft/taxi rides. In addition, there are five subway/lightrail lines that take you to numerous destinations you may want to go to:
- The Red Line (closest stop: Civic Center, 0.5 miles) takes you to Hollywood and Universal Studios in one direction and Union Station in the other.
- The Purple Line (closest stop: Civic Center, 0.5 miles) takes you to Koreatown in one direction and Union Station in the other.
- The Gold Line (closest stop: Union Station, 1.1 miles) takes you to Pasadena and beyond.
- The Expo Line (closest stop: 7th St./Metro Center, 0.8 miles) takes you to Culver City and Santa Monica. It is two stops on the Red/Purple line from Civic Center.
- The Blue Line (closest stop: 7th St./Metro Center, 0.8 miles) takes you to Long Beach. It is two stops on the Red/Puple line from Civic Center.