By Mayté Rodríguez Cedillo and Fernando Favela  ·  Travel Intelligence  ·  BajaTraveler.com

The referee’s whistle hasn’t blown yet, and already Los Angeles is vibrating. Eight FIFA World Cup 2026 matches — including the U.S. Men’s National Team’s tournament opener against Paraguay — will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood this summer, bringing hundreds of thousands of international fans to Southern California between June 12 and July 10. For the region that hosted the 1984 Olympic Soccer Tournament, the 1994 World Cup Final, and the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final, it is a homecoming of the highest order. The question isn’t whether to go. It’s how — and what to do before and after the match.

The answer to both turns out to be the same: take the train.

The Train That Changes the Equation
The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner has quietly become one of the smartest travel decisions in Southern California, and this summer it gets even smarter. Starting May 4, 2026 — weeks before the first whistle — the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, in partnership with the Ventura County Transportation Commission and the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, launches a new daily roundtrip between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo, expanding the corridor to six daily trips north to Goleta and three full runs to San Luis Obispo.

Between San Diego and Los Angeles, the train will run 13 times daily. At Los Angeles Union Station, Metro will operate direct buses to SoFi Stadium for every World Cup match — no parking, no freeway, no stress. For international fans arriving into San Diego or Los Angeles, and for Southern California residents who want to skip the stadium gridlock, the math is simple: board, relax, arrive.

Travel time San Diego → LA Union Station: approximately 2 hours 45 minutes. Travel time Santa Barbara → LA: approximately 2 hours 30 minutes. Train amenities: free Wi-Fi, café car, power outlets, panoramic coastal windows.

Eight Matches, One Spectacular Stage
SoFi Stadium — temporarily renamed Los Angeles Stadium for FIFA branding — will host eight matches across 29 days, the most of any California venue and third-most in the United States behind only Miami and New York/New Jersey. Los Angeles has the distinction of hosting the USMNT’s tournament opener, making June 12 one of the most anticipated evenings in American soccer history.

DATE/ TEAM/  PHASE TIME (PST) TIME (EST) 

Fri, Jun 12  US vs. Paraguay
Group D 6:00 PM 9:00 PM

Mon, Jun 15  Iran vs. Nueva Zeland
Group G 6:00 PM 9:00 PM

Thur, Jun 18  Switzerland vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina
Group B 12:00 PM 3:00 PM

Sun, Jun 21  Belgium vs. Iran
Group G 12:00 PM 3:00 PM

Thurs, Jun 25  Turkey vs. USA
Group D 7:00 PM 10:00 PM

Sun. Jun 28  TBD vs. TBD
Round of 32 12:00 PM 3:00 PM

Thurd, Jul 2 jul TBD vs. TBD
Round of 32 12:00 PM 3:00 PM

Fri, Jul 10 TBD vs. TBD
Quarterfinal 12:00 PM 3:00 PM

Venue: SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles Stadium), 1000 S Prairie Ave, Inglewood, CA 90301.

Capacity: 70,000. Transportation: Metro K Line or direct FIFA shuttle buses from LA Union Station.

Beyond the Stadium: A Coast Worth Exploring
The real gift of the Surfliner is what it offers on either side of the match. International fans with a few days before or after their game have access to one of the world’s most varied coastal corridors — and, just south of San Diego, one of Mexico’s most compelling destinations – the peninsula of Baja California.

Northbound from Los Angeles, the train hugs the Pacific through Ventura and Oxnard before climbing into Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara County wine country, and San Luis Obispo — a college town with a walkable downtown, world-class wineries in the Edna Valley and Paso Robles nearby, and beaches that feel a world away from the stadium. It’s the California that travel magazines keep rediscovering, best seen from a moving train window with a coffee in hand.

Southbound from Los Angeles, San Diego is 2 hours 45 minutes by train and operates as a natural base for World Cup fans: lower hotel rates than LA, a walkable Gaslamp Quarter, Balboa Park’s museums, and some of the finest fish tacos on the continent. From San Diego, the border crossing into Tijuana is 30 minutes, opening the door to Baja California.

Extending South: The Baja California Option
For international visitors who have never crossed into Mexico from California, the Baja California Peninsula offers a revelation within reach. Tijuana, a short trolley ride from downtown San Diego, has undergone a cultural transformation over the past decade — it now hosts one of the most dynamic culinary and craft beverage scenes in North America, centered on the Avenida Revolución corridor and the Zona Gastronómica.  Twenty minutes south is Puerto Nuevo, where you’ll find some of the best lobster in the world.

Forty-five minutes south of Tijuana lies Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico’s wine country, home to more than 150 wineries producing wines that increasingly rival Napa in quality – including one of the originals, Château Camou – the very first winery in México to ever win an International Grand Gold Medal.

Open-air restaurants like Animalon, Fauna and La Esperanza by Chef Miguel Angel Guerrero– all cook with produce grown steps from the table, under starlit skies, to the sound of the Pacific in the distance. It is, for many visitors, the most unexpected meal they have ever eaten.

Ensenada, 80 miles south of the border, anchors the coast with its working harbor,  and La Bufadora — the largest marine geyser in North America. Day trips from San Diego are entirely viable; an overnight stay turns the experience into something closer to a destination.

Returning north, the Surfliner is waiting. The platform at San Diego’s Santa Fe Depot connects seamlessly back to Los Angeles — and if a second match is on the itinerary, the whole circuit begins again.

BAJATRAVELER® TAKEAWAY
The 2026 World Cup is not just a ticket to a match — it’s an excuse to see one of the world’s great coastal corridors. The Pacific Surfliner resolves the logistics problem that has always made LA events exhausting, and with San Diego as a base and Baja California within reach, the trip becomes something worth building a week around. Take the train. Cross the border. Come back with stories.

Plan Your World Cup Journey
→ Pacific Surfliner schedules and tickets: pacificsurfliner.com/goSLO
→ FIFA World Cup 2026 LA match information: losangelesfwc26.com
→ Metro direct bus service to SoFi Stadium: metro.net
→ Valle de Guadalupe wine country: discoverbajacalifornia.com
Expanded Pacific Surfliner service begins May 4, 2026.
World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium: June 12 – July 10, 2026.

TRAVEL OPTIONS

01 Board in San Diego, alight in LA for match day
The 2h45m San Diego–LA run is the smartest move in Southern California this summer. Depart relaxed, arrive at Union Station, board the direct Metro shuttle to SoFi. Skip the I-5 entirely.

02 Stay in Santa Barbara for a northern-corridor match
With 6 daily trains south to LA, Santa Barbara works beautifully as a pre-match base. The 2h30m run gives you wine country, the mission, and Stearns Wharf before kickoff.

03 Cross into Tijuana for one evening
From San Diego’s trolley, Tijuana is 30 minutes. The Zona Gastronómica around Avenida Sánchez Taboada is one of the hemisphere’s most exciting dining scenes — Caesar’s Restaurant, where the famed salad was invented is on Avenida Revolucion.

04 Spend a day in Valle de Guadalupe
Rent a car from San Diego or book a tour for the 90-minute drive to Mexico’s wine country. Lunch at an open-air vineyard restaurant, then back to San Diego in time for dinner. Reservations essential.

05 Do Puerto Nuevo for the lobster ritual
An hour south of the border, Puerto Nuevo is a fishing village devoted entirely to one dish: Baja-style lobster, split and grilled, served with beans, rice, and fresh tortillas. A mandatory stop.

06 Take the Surfliner to San Luis Obispo post-match
If the quarterfinal on July 10 is your last match, consider riding the full corridor north after the final whistle. Arrive in SLO late evening; wake up to wine country and the Pacific.

07 Catch the Fan Festival at the LA Memorial Coliseum
The official FIFA Fan Festival transforms the Coliseum — itself a piece of Olympic history — into a free-entry celebration with live matches on screen, music, and food for the entire tournament.

08 Ensenada overnight from San Diego
Drive or take a shuttle 80 miles south of the border for La Bufadora, fresh seafood on the malecon, and the culinary scene that’s making Ensenada one of Baja’s most talked-about destinations.