By plane
As with most of Orange County, Huntington Beach is serviced by John Wayne Airport IATA: SNA (http://www.ocair.com) in Santa Ana. SNA is served by many major commercial and commuter air carriers. Beginning on April 30, 2009, Virgin America will begin service to John Wayne with five 5 daily nonstops from San Francisco, CA IATA: SFO.
Long Beach Airport IATA: LGB (http://www.longbeach.gov/...) is also within close distance but is dominated by a single airline: JetBlue Airways (http://www.jetblue.com), which serves 14 destinations from Long Beach: Oakland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Chicago O'Hare, Boston, New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Fort Lauderdale, Austin, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle.
Los Angeles International Airport IATA: LAX (http://www.lawa.org/lax) is the largest airport in the area.
By train
Amtrak's (http://www.amtrak.com) Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink's (http://www.metrolinktrain...) Orange County Line serve Santa Ana, Tustin, Buena Park, and Irvine.
By car
Huntington Beach is located at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and the Pacific Coast Highway, just under 14 miles directly south of Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. Interstate 405, which links John Wayne, Long Beach, and Los Angeles International Airports, intersects Beach Boulevard about 6 miles north of Huntington Beach.
Parking: The best place to park is the city parking located right at the beach. The entrance is just north of Highway 1 the PCH and the main street. You will conveniently be able to unload watercoolers, surf boards and the kids all safely without having to cross streets. It saves on lifting and lugging as well. You can wash off and change clothes right next to the parking at the water showers and washrooms. Washrooms are adequate but small. They also get wet and sandy during the day.
If you're on a budget, you can usually find some parking in nearby neighborhoods. But watch for street signs that may indicate parking is only allowed at certain times or days. This may require a little more walking if you're headed to the beach, but it's not too much.