Southwest Chef connection in Fullerton to San Diego

Hello,


I have family near the Fullerton area and would like to see them before heading down to San Diego. Is it okay to buy when you get in town or should to pre-book it?

Thanks
Moosejunky99

Service between Los Angeles and San Diego is multiple trains that can get busy. During the week you also have heavy commuters services that can be connected to get you where you need to go.

It might be wise to book the return connection in advance as the arrival to the area might be flexible enough not to be an issue. While the return is critical to catch the Southwest Chief.

Just-Thinking-51 said:

Service between Los Angeles and San Diego is multiple trains that can get busy. During the week you also have heavy commuters services that can be connected to get you where you need to go.

It might be wise to book the return connection in advance as the arrival to the area might be flexible enough not to be an issue. While the return is critical to catch the Southwest Chief.

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Thank you for the good advise on booking the return in advance. Did not think about that lol.

I thought the Surfliners were "unreserved" trains, doesn't that mean you can always board, no matter?

caravanman said:

I thought the Surfliners were "unreserved" trains, doesn't that mean you can always board, no matter?

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The Surfliner is unreserved in coach most of the time. This means you can pre-buy a coach ticket and use it up to a year after the date of reservation and not have to rebook.

There are dates in which reservations are required, subject to modifications:
Memorial Day weekend - Friday to Tuesday
Summer Del Mar races - Opening Day through Sunday of opening weekend.
Week of SD Comic Con - Wednesday to Monday
Labor Day weekend - Friday to Tuesday
Thanksgiving week - Wednesday before Thanksgiving to Monday

Business Class is always reserved seating, but you can call in and change your ticket for free before ticketed departure.

For the OP: I've bought coach tickets on a transit bus about thirty minutes before departure so it's not a big deal for coach as that is unreserved. You might be standing for a while if the train is full. You can almost always find a seat departing SAN except in rare circumstances such as baseball games and events at Del Mar fair.

Keep in mind some days they require a reserved coach seat, so before you leave on your trip walk through a purchase of a ticket to see if it's reserved or unreserved coach. If it's reserved coach that day, book sooner rather than later as they will likely sell out.

I would plan on visiting family on the trip from your origin to Fullerton unless your plan is to travel from SAN to Fullerton the day before on your return trip. I would not cut it close on the transfer to the SWC on the return trip as I've experienced one-hour delays on the Surfliner route and things can go really south (with minimal service recovery) when something bad happens.

allanorn said:

This means you can pre-buy a coach ticket and use it up to a year after the date of reservation and not have to rebook.

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I thought it was only for same-day travel?

Cal said:

I thought it was only for same-day travel?

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Apparently not any longer. The Surfliner Web site says up to one year multiple times. I have not tried it though.