What Airports to Use for the Coachella Festival

Usually when you’re thinking of taking a trip, there’s one obvious airport into which you’ll fly, so you don’t have much to do in the way of research regarding how to get there. When your destination is a big field in the middle of a desert valley, however, things are a little more tricky. To get to the Coachella Music Festival by plane, you have a few options. Some are closer to the actual site, but others are more likely to offer better fares overall.

In this article, we’ll list the major airports in the Coachella Valley area, so you can pick the one that suits your needs best for attending the Coachella Festival. Regardless of the airport you choose, you’ll still end up a ways from the actual festival site – so don’t forget to look into driving directions for Coachella, and either plan on renting a car or finding a carpool to join.

>> Read more about how to get to the Coachella Festival

>> In 2012, Coachella runs from April  13 – 15 and 20-22.

Palm Springs International Airport (PSP)

The closest major airport to the site of the Coachella Festival in Indio is the Palm Springs International Airport (airport code PSP). It’s a little over 20 miles to Indio and the festival site, and it’s a big enough airport that if you’re coming from either somewhere on the west coast or a city with a big airport you can probably find a direct flight into Palm Springs.

Luckily for budget travelers, there are a few low-cost airlines that fly into Palm Springs – including Horizon Air, Allegiant Air, Sun Country Airlines, and WestJet out of Canada. The list of airlines besides those that have service to PSP isn’t long, which could be a problem if you’re coming from further away.

Once you land, your ground transportation options are surprisingly plentiful for a smaller airport. Not surprisingly, however, the list of limo companies is longer than the list of public transit options. If you’re not planning to rent a car, your best bet is probably to get a taxi from the airport into the Greyhound bus station in Palm Springs and then catch a bus from there to Indio.

LA-Ontario International Airport (ONT)

The next closest airport to Indio is the Ontario International Airport (airport code ONT), recently re-named LA-Ontario to draw in more LA traffic (one assumes). It’s just over 90 miles from the Ontario airport to the music festival, and like the Palm Springs airport you may be able to get a direct flight to Ontario if you’re coming from the west coast or a city with a major airport hub.

Ontario’s airport has service from a couple big budget airlines – namely Horizon Air and Southwest Airlines – but the rest of the (short) list of airlines is made up mostly of major US legacy carriers. From the airport, your ground transportation options are limited to renting a car – unless you’re staying in Ontario or LA befofe toing to Coachella, in which case there are taxis and shuttles you can use.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

While the Los Angeles International Airport (airport code LAX) is by no means the closest one to the Coachella Festival, it’s the largest airport in the area and consequently it’s the one into which you’re most likely to find deals on airfare. You’ll also be able to get a flight into LAX more easily than into Palm Springs, for instance, if you’re coming from outside the region.

The list of airlines that fly into Los Angeles is long, but when you’re hunting for cheap flights pay particular attention to United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. LAX is a hub airport for United, and the other airlines listed either use LAX as a focus city or just have a significant number of incoming and outgoing flights. Either way, more frequent flights in and out means more chances to find deals.

Los Angeles’ Airport is more than 145 miles from the Coachella Festival site. If you’re not renting a car at the airport, you can take one of the public transit options from the airport into the city to get a Greyhound bus to Indio. From the airport, there are several city bus lines that run into LA, and a FlyAway Bus service that runs to a few locations on the outskirts of LA.

San Diego International Airport (SAN)

San Diego is a little closer to Coachella than LAX, but San Diego International Airport (airport code SAN) isn’t as big. So even though it’s roughly 85 miles from San Diego to Indio, you may still find a cheaper flight into LA than San Diego.

Having said that, the airline with the busiest schedule at San Diego’s airport is Southwest Airlines – the country’s largest budget carrier – so you do stand a reasonable chance of finding a good deal on a ticket. Other budget airlines serving San Diego include Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, jetBlue, Sun Country, and WestJet from Canada, and the two airlines behind Southwest in terms of busy schedules at San Diego are Delta and American. So when you’re looking for low fares, those are the airlines to check first.

Getting from the San Diego airport to Coachella is probably most easily done by renting a car, but if you’re hoping to avoid that then your next best bet is to get into the city and hop on a Greyhound bus bound for Indio. A Metro Bus will take you from the airport to downtown San Diego, as will the many shuttle companies operating at the airport.

Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS)

The city of Las Vegas is roughly 180 miles northeast of Indio, but there are so often cheap flights into Vegas that it might be worth turning the adventure into a combination Sin City/Coachella road trip.

Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport (airport code LAS) is a hub for quasi-budget carrier US Airways and definitely-budget carrier Allegiant Air, and it’s also one of the largest bases for Southwest Airlines. These three airlines, therefore, are the first ones to check when you’re looking for the cheapest fares. But if you’re planning to stay in Vegas for a day or two before you head for Coachella, consider one of the many cheap Las Vegas package deals that gives you an air/hotel combo.

To get from Las Vegas to Coachella, you’ll probably want to rent a car. If not, you can get on the city bus from McCarran into town to get on a Greyhound bus going to Indio. The bus stop at the airport is annoyingly hard to find (could be the lack of any signs whatsoever), but ask at an information desk and they’ll be happy to point you in the right direction.

photo by feverblue