DebitNM

I will be arriving at LAX at 9 am on March 30th and connecting to a flight that departs LAX at 5 pm.

I am kicking around the thought of heading out of airport for a few hours. I'd likely have just a carryon bag, but that's a bit of a PITA to schlep.

I know what traffic is like, so my realistic time to actually go out and do something is much less than my on ground time.

Is it worth my while or should I just stay put at LAX? If you think I could head out, any suggestions where I might go?

{I lived in LAX burbs back in late 70's and visited once since in 2004; so it's not like I've never seen the sites... FWIW}



Thanks~

DebitNM

opps. I meant I lived in LA 'burbs, not LAX.

mlgb

March 30 being a Thursday...I would not want to be on the Santa Monica side of the airport trying to head south in the afternoon.As you probably know, there are no lockers at LAX.

You could take a taxi up to the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, have a bite at Zinc, and ask if they'd hold your bag for a few hours while you walk down to the beach. When you return they can call you a cab to go back to the airport.

http://mb.shadehotel.com/dine/


I understand Uber now has access at LAX if you use them. Or you could rent a car but that involves shuttling to off site rental agencies which I wouldn't want to deal with myself.

tomfuller

Take the Flyaway bus out of LAX to Union Station.
http://www.metrolinktrains.com/howto.../title/flyaway
Even if you don't go anywhere on Metrolink or Amtrak, you can have a good meal at Phillipe's. Their tri-tip sandwiches are great (au jus).

mlgb

Here is the correct link for the Flyaway bus

http://www.lawa.org/flyaway/content.aspx?id=10152

You wouldn't want to take any later return bus than 1pm on a Thursday, for a 5 pm flight.

So sure if you are able to catch the 10 am or 10:30 am bus toward Union Station you could spend two or more hours on a freeway for an hour or two downtown!

michelhuebeli

Here's what I would do: Reserve a car with Avis (not Hertz - terribly understaffed, I just spent 90 minutes waiting to collect my car), not Fox (ditto - I just spent 60 minutes to collect my car). Arriving at 9AM, by 10AM you'll be on the road.

Drive to the beaches and down around the Palos Verdes peninsula:

Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Paseo Del Mar, Rancho Palos Verdes, hold your nose as you pass a golf club named after a so-called certain person, and come out in the former fishing village of San Pedro that, in parts, still retains a cachet.

Along the way you'll have great ocean views - you won't feel like you're in LaLaLand, but rather "on vacation somewhere far away".

Have lunch wherever.

Back up the 110 to the 405 to return you car. A Great Day in the Southland.

jamie99

Driving around the PV Peninsula is fun but time consuming to get there unless you know the shortcuts that avoid PCH which is a mile from the beach through the South Bay cities and full of stop lights. I would probably only go as far as Terranea for lunch and not further. San Pedro is nice (I live here) but time consuming to get to via the scenic route and kind of dull on a weekday.
Personally I would drive north to Malibu and maybe visit the Getty Villa (reservations needed for limited parking spots) then have lunch either there or someplace oceanfront like Duke's in Malibu with it's Hawaiian vibe.

crosscheck

I live in Santa Monica and will be working that day so sadly cannot 'swing by' for you. But you do have plenty of time to come into town.

I suggest you book a treatment at day spa or go to a yoga class in Venice or SM. You can then leave your luggage and go to galleries/shops/cafes/walk around until you have to return LAX. If you land at 9am with carry on, you can easily make it to a 10pm spa appointment. Yes, the return traffic could be horrendous, but you'll be avoiding freeways and if you grab an uber 2-2.5 hours before your return flight you'll be fine. If your spa appointment or yoga class is two hours, you'll have about three hours to explore.

Day spa options: First choice would be Spa Sophia on Abbot Kinney in Venice, where you'll find great people watching plus the coolest shopping and food in SoCal. (WAY different from 2004!) Another option is Alchemie Spa on Main Street in Santa Monica. If you go there, you can also take a yoga class at the iconic Yoga Works, check out the shops and cafes on Main St. and then go for a walk on the beach (and even rent a bicycle). You can often find groupons for the day spas and yoga classes.

If you go with this option, I'll tell you how to get an uber at LAX (should be about $20 each way). I can also recommend galleries and restaurants. And don't feel guilty about missing traditional sightseeing: You'll be doing exactly what the locals do.

crosscheck

(And I humbly and strongly disagree with idea of renting a car.)

crosscheck

Oops - meant to say 10AM spa appointment

crosscheck

And...I just remembered that there is also a stellar, much less expensive (but funkier) option: Cha Spa, for amazing Thai treatments and awesome tea, also on Main Street. $30 for a massage; less for reflexology. The treatments are shorter and you would have more time to for exploring (you could even walk to Abbot Kinney - about a mile). Here are links:

Cha Spa: http://www.cha-spa.com/

Alchemie Spa: https://www.alchemiespa.com/

Yogaworks:
http://www.yogaworks.com/location/sa...a-main-street/

Spa Sophia:
http://spasophia.com/

DebitNM

some great info everyone and like the spa idea, crosscheck!

mlgb

Although I am not a spa person, my friend goes to the Murad on Rosecrans for facials. I don't know about massages.

Tabernash2

A spa visit you can do at home.

But, do you have beaches at home? I don't think so!

You have 5 hrs: leave by 10am; return by 3pm.

Grab a cab or Uber.
Go to Manhattan Beach.
Eat lunch.
Relax.
Look at the ocean.
Listen to the surf.

crosscheck

She can't leave her luggage on the beach! The purpose of the spa is leave the luggage in a safe place in a cool neighborhood. Manhattan Beach is lovely, but with all due respect, she will probably find the shops and cafe in Venice or SM more fun and quintessential LA. And a beach walk (or bike ride) is part of the plan!

mlgb

She should be able leave her luggage at Shade Hotel after having lunch, and walk to the beach from there!!!! I gave her the link if she wants to be sure they will do that.

With all due respect, I the the traffic coming back from Santa Monica will suck in the afternoon and there are far fewer homeless in MB..or maybe that's what you mean by quintessential LA!

crosscheck

Chill, my dear. That's another fine solution. Debit's choice. Sorry you're not a fan of LA, but no need to get into a competition - MB is a little piece of heaven, but if it were my layover I would want to be somewhere neighborhoody with all aspects of street life. And, trust me, the drive to the airport from Venice or South SM is very manageable at 2:30pm.

mlgb

Honey, I live LA and have for nearly 40 years, including in Santa Monica. Nobody I know goes anywhere near the Westside during Thursday rush hour if they don't have to. Of course if you have the misfortune of living there you really have no choice!

crosscheck

I've lived here for only 38 years, so please forgive my lack of experience I wholeheartedly agree about going east on a Thurs from SM during rush hour - a nightmare! But 2:30PM from Main St to Abbot Kinney to LAX is not rush hour. It's now 3:05 pm and WAZE says the current drive will take 22 minutes. Again, it's Debit's call. But I think we agree that she has plenty of time to venture away from LAX.

DebitNM

Just a quick follow up --

I arranged lunch with 2 Fodorites; ltr and hpeabody.

ltr graciously picked me up at LAX and we drove to Manhattan Beach where we met up with hpeabody at Zinc@Shade.

We had a fabulous brunch and then walked down to the beach and strolled out to the pier where the ocean was a sight for sore eyes for this once east cost girl now living in the southwest. It was a spectacular day with mild temps, sunshine and blue skies and great surf breaks, there were even surfers out in/on the water!

Time flew by, we had lots of great travel talk and before I knew it; it was time to head back to airport for my flight to Hawaii.