The shuttle map is posted. Here's why you care.

30 JUNE 2017

When you dream of Comic-Con, you probably see yourself in the front section of Ballroom 20 or parading around in cosplay finery or blowing three paychecks at once in the Exhibit Hall. Riding around on a shuttle bus? Not the most glamorous part of San Diego Comic-Con. Especially when your bus is stuck in traffic and your every urge is telling you to leap off and run to the convention center.

The free shuttle service is immensely useful, though - and not just for the long slog to your room at the Town and Country. Shuttles help save your aching feet by transporting you to distant restaurants, parties at other hotels, and other destinations. (And if you're doing SDCC in any kind of vigorous way, your feet will ache. I'm an avid hiker and even my feet get sore at Comic-Con.)

The shuttles are wheelchair-friendly, go all over and run day and night - literally. That's 24 hour service to 63 locations. Which is another reason they're so awesome; you can party down wherever you find yourself and skip the whole Lyft/staggering around lost/trusting the wrong person thing and crawl to the nearest shuttle stop. Safe return accomplished without a dime spent.

So in review, shuttles are your friend; they'll help you save money, stay safe and protect your feet. Even if you're staying right next to the Con, you may want to give the schedule and map a look. You might solve a transportation problem you didn't know you had.

Why you should care about the Shuttle Map

9 JUNE 2015




Every year, Comic-Con generously provides shuttle buses to carry our weary selves around town. Today CCI came out with their annual shuttle map and schedule, assuring you in the process that "these buses are your friends." While a lot of you probably scanned it intently, attendees lucky enough to have a room within walking distance might have skipped right over it.

But wait. Yes, the most obvious use for these is getting from your hotel to the convention center - but if you think outside the Con box for a minute, you can come up with other uses. So look at the map and see if you want to:

• Take a shuttle to your restaurant/bar/event at the far end of the Gaslamp
• Visit your friends who ended up at a hotel in a totally different part of San Diego
• Use a shuttle to crawl back to your hotel after you've had a few drinks
• Travel down to the Town & Country on Wednesday to pick up your badge
• Ride over to Ralph's to pick up groceries for your room

Because sometimes you just want to conserve your foot stamina for things that matter, like standing in line for animation day in the Indigo Ballroom.

The hours, by the way, are very convenient:

Wednesday, 8 July: 3 pm- midnight
Thursday, 9 July at 4:30 am - Sunday, 12 July at 7:00 pm

Check out the actual schedule and map for various exemptions and special considerations and the timeframes to expect. And in case you were wondering, yes - these shuttles are wheelchair-friendly.

Probably during your Comic-Con meanderings, you'll be tempted to just fall into a cab's backseat and let it carry you home. There's nothing wrong with that, but cab fares can add up fast - so consider the advantages of spending a few minutes waiting for a shuttle. As wide-ranging as their territory is, these really do come in handy for transporting you around for free.

What you should know about SDCC shuttles

16 MARCH 2015




If you're currently thinking over your hotel options, some of the distances listed for Travel Planners-approved hotels might be giving you pause. 5 miles away, 6 miles away - it sounds far when you're flying in and won't have a car.

So know this: official Comic-Con shuttle buses are just waiting to carry you hither and yon all over the place. They go downtown and around the Gaslamp, out by the airport and Mission Valley - and they're free for SDCC attendees.

This year shuttles will run from:

Wednesday, 8 July/Preview Night: 3:00 pm - 10:00 pm.

Thursday, 9 July at 7:00 am  -  Sunday, 12 July at 7:00 pm.


Yes, all night long. You don't have to choose between going home at a boring hour and spending $$$ on cabs. You can chase down whatever post-midnight debauchery you want and still get home safely for free. You also don't need to view the farther out hotels as some kind of horrible imposition. You can just hop on the shuttle to and fro, and even take it into the Gaslamp, say, to skip the walk.

I can't guarantee this year's shuttle map will look like this, but you can check out last year's for a good idea of how extensive SDCC shuttle service is, as well as the frequency. As you can see, you'll be taken care of.

Getting around at Comic-Con

8 JULY 2014

Regardless of how you'll arrive at Comic-Con - by plane, by car, by yacht, by foot - you're going to need to get around while you're there. The shuttles are a big help but their destinations are limited, so it helps to know what other transportation is at your disposal.

First, know that traffic in the Gaslamp District and around the convention center can be ungodly. It's not just attendees arriving, but delivery trucks unloading event supplies, naïve people who think it'd be fun to drive down and see the nerds, and regular residents, with all vehicles paused to let throngs of pedestrians cross before them. I cannot stress enough how frustrating it is to spend 40 minutes trapped in one spot while you watch everyone else walk into the convention center. For this reason, avoid driving as much as you can during peak hours. If you want to take your car out of the hotel at night when you go out, it's not that big a deal. But in general, you really won't need to drive much once you're at the Con.

Here are some alternatives to driving a car.

The SDCC Shuttle Bus. This isn't the shuttle that takes you from your hotel to the convention center - it's more like the Comic-Con Jitney and it goes downtown, to the airport, out to Mission Valley and other places. Which means if you're flying in, you don't have to pay for a cab to get to your hotel.

Pedicabs. These are a godsend when your feet are killing you and you can't bear the thought of walking another 8 blocks to meet your friends for dinner. Don't feel bad about flagging them down to take you short distances - as long as you tip handsomely, it's all good.

Taxis. Obviously these are in abundance everywhere. Hotels, airports, deserted streets late at night, cruising slowly along Harbor Drive.

The MTS trolley. San Diego doesn't have a subway system but they have an effective trolley that stops right at the convention center both by Lobby A and Lobby D. During the Con they will run every 7.5 minutes from 6 am - 10 pm. This is a good choice in general, but especially if you're depositing your car at a park-and-ride lot or staying in a Mission Valley hotel.

Because everything in San Diego must have some sort of special Comic-Con version of itself, they are offering a limited quantity of commemorative SDCC 2-day, 3-day, 4-day and 5-day passes. These cost $10, $13, $16 and $20 and are sold at select Trolley Stations.

Amtrak. This is a very attractive option for anyone coming down from LA. But bear in mind that if you are coming from LA, you'll need to make a reservation 23-27 July; no walk-ons. Amtrak deposits you at the Santa Fe Depot on Broadway - from there you can walk to the convention center or take the trolley.

Coaster Commuter Train. This runs north-south and serves 8 stations between Oceanside and San Diego, with the entire route taking about an hour. This also stops at the Santa Fe Depot.

The shuttle schedule and map is out

25 JUNE 2014




CCI has released the 2014 Comic-Con shuttle schedule and map.

The shuttles begin on Wednesday, 23 July and run that day from 3 pm - midnight. Then they start again on Thursday, 24 July at 4:30 am and continue straight through the Con until Sunday evening at 7 pm. Frequencies vary but range from every 15-30 minutes.

While you're looking at the map, remember that you don't have to just take the shuttle from your hotel/parking lot to the convention center and back. You can also take a shuttle that goes near your restaurant, bar or event that night. So even if you're staying at the Hilton Bayfront and don't think you'll set foot on a shuttle, it's worth checking out the map and seeing if any of the existing routes can eliminate a cab ride or long walk for you.

Shuttle map is up

3 JULY 2013


Even if you're staying right next to the Con, having the shuttle map at your fingertips is not a bad idea. They go to over 60 locations, which can save you cab fare when you head out of the area. And they now go around the clock Thursday-Sunday, which means you can stay out as late as you want.

See the map and frequency times here.

Shuttle Schedule is up

15 JULY 2011

This is one area where CCI does a good job, posting a map with the different shuttle lines and corresponding hotels.

Even if your hotel is in walking distance, it's usually helpful to look at the map. If you want to take the ferry to Coronado Island, for instance, the map will tell you to the take the pink shuttle to the ferry. If you want to go to the Town and Country to pick up your badge, the map shows you to take the red shuttle. Similarly, you can use shuttles to get to the far reaches of the Gaslamp, get to your distant parking lot, or visit your friends at their hotels.

Here it is.