By plane

• Palm Springs International Airport (IATA: PSP), [2]. Located right in the heart of Palm Springs. Scheduled daily flight connections with major cities throughout the United States and Canada. Served by Air Canada, Westjet and all major US airlines except Southwest, and Continental.

• LA/Ontario International Airport [3] in Ontario, about 70 miles to the west of Palm Springs, has many more flight connections and is the closest airport served by Southwest Airlines.

By train

• Amtrak Station, 300 North Indian Canyon Drive (.6 mi south of Interstate 10), 1-800-USA-RAIL (872-7245), [4]. Amtrak's Sunset Limited route connects Palm Springs with Los Angeles and with Arizona and points eastward with three westbound and three eastbound trains per week (arriving Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday). Amtrak also provides Palm Springs with connections to and from the San Joaquins trains, which run up California's Central Valley to the Bay Area and Sacramento, via multiple daily Amtrak Thruway motorcoach runs to and from Bakersfield. Be aware that there are no rental car agencies that provide shuttles to the Amtrak station in Palm Springs and there is no public transportation available there. The "station" is really just an open platform without any building. Taxis from the Palm Springs Amtrak to the Palm Springs airport (where the rental cars are available) is about $30 (2008).

By car

From Los Angeles, take Interstate 10 East towards Phoenix. Palm Springs is about a two hour drive from most Southern California destination if there is not much traffic.

Palm Springs has a pedestrian friendly downtown. Visitors can enjoy the palm tree lined streets along Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Canyon Drive. Many boutique shops, outdoor restaurant and art galleries line the streets.

By car

Rent a car at the airport, or if you want to splurge, numerous limousine services are available, including West Coast Transportation, Cardiff Limousine and A-1 Sahara Limo. The main drags are Highway 111 and S. Palm Canyon Drive. Highway 111 runs east-west along the mountain side and connects all the cities in the Palm Springs area. This road has lights and lots of traffic, so if you are going far, you should drive out and hop on Interstate 10. S. Palm Drive is always busy and is hard to find a parking place on the weekends and at night. You should try to park on one of the side roads if possible. Most of the major car rental companies are represented at the airport.

By bus

• Sun Bus, +1-800-347-8628, [5]. Run by the city, it has routes around the town and to some neighboring resort cities.

• My Chauffeur [6]. 760-321-4001 Bus, Limousine, and Town Car Service.

By bike

Palm Springs and the surrounding environs are mostly flat and dry and can make for good cycling during the cooler months. Numerous rental facilities can be found around town.

• Art. Palm Springs has more than a dozen art galleries featuring local artists and desert themes.

• Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon, [17]. Large outlet mall with over 100 stores.

The annual Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Week [18] offers an opportunity to try a number of restaurants at a discounted rate.

• Tylers Burgers, 149 South Indian Canyon Dr. This small hamburger joint, famous for their sliders, has the best hamburgers in all of Palm Springs. Only open for lunch. Be sure to get there early or be prepared to wait because this is where all the locals eat.

• Kaiser Grille, 205 S. Palm Canyon Dr, 760 323-1003, [19]. Good American food right in the middle of downtown Palm Springs.

• The Chop House, 262 S. Palm Canyon Dr, 760 320-4500. Steakhouse along the main drag of Palm Springs.

• Le Vallauris, 385 W. Tahquitz Canyon Way, 760 325-5059, [20]. Expensive, but good french food off of S. Palm Canyon Drive.

• Blue Guitar, 120 S. Palm Canyon Dr. This blues and jazz bar is located on the second story in downtown Palm Springs. Featuring a live band on the weekends for $10, the music will get you up and going. The drinks are bit pricey, but the atmosphere is well worth it.