After landing
LAX to your hotel
A hotel airport pickup is property-specific. Confirm its final pickup time, or take a direct car after a late LAX arrival.
Choose an overnight hotelPort of Long Beach · Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport to Port of Long Beach
LAXTouch down
PortGet to your ship
LAX to Long Beach, as published
Corridor guide · sources dated on this page · checked September 22, 2026
Metro rail
$1.75, transfers free for two hours
The free LAX shuttle leaves Bus Bays 1 and 2 every 10 minutes for the C Line.
Taxi
No flat fare published
The terminal's own information page publishes no taxi rate for this route.
Airport shuttle
None published
The terminal names no shuttle or transfer service from LAX or Long Beach Airport.
Typical drive30-75 min
Distance (the terminal's figure)23 miles
Getting from Los Angeles International Airport to Port of Long Beach — 30-75 min, 23 miles
Your fly-in plan for LAX
Arrive the day before.
Give your LAX flight one night of breathing room before you board at Port of Long Beach.
LAXLand
HotelSleep
Port of Long BeachBoard
Tonight / embarkation morning
Embarkation morning
Hotel to Port of Long Beach
A few Long Beach hotels publish cruise-shuttle terms. Check the exact pickup, fee, and terminal before booking.
Hotels with a cruise shuttle near Port of Long BeachFlying into LAX on cruise day?
Avoid it if you can. If you have no alternative, compare the direct options on this page and protect the time you have left.
CruiseDayGuide · Updated September 22, 2026 · sources checked September 22, 2026
LAX has the flights, Long Beach has the ship, and what the 23 miles between them cost depends more on when you land than on which mode you pick.
LAX to the Long Beach Cruise Terminal, mode by mode
The terminal's own site puts the airport 23 miles away, and our own routing of the empty road agrees at 22.5 miles and 29 minutes (OpenStreetMap/Valhalla, 2026-09-22). Traffic on the I-405 and I-710 stretches that to 30-75 min.
| How you travel | Price as published | Time and distance | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uber or Lyft | Price as publishedNo published fare — both price by demand at the moment you book | Time and distance30-75 min, 23 miles, door to door | What the source saysThe variable is the freeway, not the mode: the same trip runs 30 minutes clear and over an hour on a weekday afternoon. |
| Taxi | Price as publishedMetered — no flat fare published for this route on the check date | Time and distance30-75 min, 23 miles, door to door | What the source saysThe terminal's own information page publishes no taxi fare, and we found no Long Beach flat rate to read at the source. |
| Metro rail plus the free LAX shuttle | Price as published$1.75 regular Metro fare, transfers free within two hours when you tap | Time and distanceThe slowest option, and the one that hates luggage | What the source saysThe free LAX shuttle leaves Bus Bays 1 and 2 every 10 minutes and stops at every terminal. Take the C Line from LAX/Metro Transit Center, then transfer to the A Line, which ends in Long Beach. |
| Long Beach Transit, for the last leg | Price as published$1.25 single ride, $4 day pass | Time and distanceDowntown Long Beach to the terminal is roughly two miles | What the source saysLong Beach Transit publishes its fares, but we could not confirm a published route to the terminal itself on the check date. Plan the last two miles separately. |
| Your own car | Price as published$23 per day in the terminal garage | Time and distance30-75 min, 23 miles on the I-405 south to the I-710 south | What the source says231 Windsor Way. The terminal's published directions are the I-405 south to the I-710 south, which ends at the port complex. |
| Airport shuttle sold by the terminal | Price as publishedNone published | Time and distance— | What the source saysThe terminal's own information page names no shuttle or transfer service from LAX or from Long Beach Airport. Cruise lines that sell transfers price them inside their own booking flow. |
marks a row read at the source, including the rows where the source publishes no price. Neither the rideshare apps nor a regulated flat fare covers this route, so no range is shown for either.
Flying into a different airport?LGB to Port of Long Beach
Questions people ask about this route
Neither Uber nor Lyft publishes a fare for this run, and we found no flat taxi rate for it either, so the meter and the freeway decide. The 23 miles down the I-405 and I-710 take about 30 minutes clear and over an hour on a weekday afternoon.
Metro, if you have the time and light bags. The free LAX shuttle leaves Bus Bays 1 and 2 every 10 minutes, the C Line and then the A Line costs $1.75 with free transfers for two hours, and Long Beach Transit charges $1.25 for the last leg.
Not one the terminal publishes. Its own information page names no shuttle or transfer service from LAX or from Long Beach Airport. Cruise lines that sell airport transfers quote them inside their booking flow, so check there before assuming a shuttle will be waiting.
Reverse the outbound and leave more room. Debarkation puts a whole ship on one curb inside an hour, and the I-710 and I-405 north are the same congested stretch. For a flight before noon, arrange the car the night before rather than opening an app on the pier.
Where these figures come from
- cruisesfromlongbeach.com — Cruise Terminals, directions and parking · read September 22, 2026
- metro.net — Go Metro to LAX · read August 11, 2026
- ridelbt.com — Fares · read August 11, 2026
Published fares change without notice, so every figure here carries the date we read it. Reconfirm anything time-sensitive before you travel.
Local Tip
Rideshare pickup at LAX is the LAX-it lot, reached by a free shuttle from every terminal — it is not curbside, so budget extra time to find the shuttle stop. Carnival's official shuttle runs a scheduled departure tied to the boarding window, not on demand, so confirm your pickup time when you book. LAX is a major international gateway — budget 60-90 minutes for immigration and customs before you even reach the shuttle to LAX-it. If you are flying in from outside the US, sort your entry authorization before you book: most visa-waiver travelers need an approved ESTA, it is not issued at the airport, and without one the airline will not board you. Apply through the official CBP site at esta.cbp.dhs.gov — never a paid intermediary.
Once you arrive, find your terminal:
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