Car-Free Weekends From L.A., Ranked: Oceanside Beats Catalina by $79

Ranked by the adult round-trip fare on each train or ferry operator's posted price list, with crossing times where they're posted.

The best weekend out of Los Angeles without a car costs $24 and ends at Oceanside Harbor. The priciest one on this list costs $111, and it floats.

The order follows the adult round-trip fare each operator posts. Metrolink's weekend SoCal Day Pass is $12, up from $10 since Oct. 5, in what the rail agency calls its first systemwide fare increase in 13 years. Go out Saturday and come home Sunday and that's two passes: $24. One-way tickets are priced by distance. The weekend pass isn't.

Catalina Express posts how long its boats take, so crossing times count below. The train trips are ranked on price and on what Metrolink's own guide says is near each station.

1. Oceanside: $24

Metrolink's guide to its south-coast stops lists more at Oceanside Station than anywhere else: the harbor, whale-watching tours, the California Surf Museum and Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, which the guide calls the "King of the Missions."

It's also where you can switch to the Coaster or Amtrak and keep going to San Diego. That's my defended hot take: $12 a day gets you San Juan Capistrano or Oceanside, so pick the stop with a second act.

2. San Juan Capistrano: $24

The mission here was founded in 1776, according to Metrolink, and Trevor's at the Tracks sits in the town's historic train depot. The guide also lists Capistrano Beach under the same station. It comes second for one reason: the San Diego transfer is in Oceanside.

3. San Clemente: $24

According to the guide, San Clemente Pier Station comes with the pier and a beach trail. That's a fine Saturday. It's a thin Sunday.

4. Catalina Island, from Long Beach: $103

Catalina Express charges an adult $93 for a round trip to Avalon, plus a $10 island wharfage fee and tax. The crossing takes about an hour, and four boats leave Long Beach most days, the first at 6 a.m. San Pedro charges the same $103 for a ride that takes about 15 minutes longer, with one direct morning boat to Avalon five days a week.

I put an island fourth. It costs $79 more than the train, and the fare covers the boat, not the trip to the dock. The company also says it isn't responsible for sailings canceled by bad weather.

5. Catalina Island, from Dana Point: $111

The Dana Point boat costs $101 plus the same $10 fee, and the ride to Avalon takes about an hour and a half. One boat leaves every morning at 9:30, and a second leaves in the afternoon two days a week. It's the most money and the longest crossing on the list.

One more change at Metrolink: print-at-home tickets ended Oct. 5. Riders now buy from the Metrolink app, from a machine on the station platform or at a window in Union Station.

Source: metrolinktrains.com, retrieved November 4, 2026. Other sources: metrolinktrains.com (2), catalinaexpress.com.