John Wayne Airport (SNA) is the obvious arrival point — it is inside Newport Beach city limits, 10 minutes by taxi from the harbour. SNA has direct flights from most major US cities. Los Angeles International (LAX) is about an hour away by car outside rush hour, considerably more in traffic.
By road, the I-405 freeway and Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1) are the two main routes in. From Los Angeles the trip is 40–60 minutes off-peak. From San Diego it is around 90 minutes on the I-5. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner stops at Irvine, about 15 minutes from Newport.
A car is more or less essential — Newport Beach is spread out and the OCTA bus service, while it exists, will not get you everywhere efficiently.