5 1/2 hour layover at LAX w/group
 

I'll be travelling through LAX in a few weeks with a group of about 40 high school students on our way to Austalia. We will have a 5 1/2 hour layover at the airport, and having just come off a 3 hour flight from Dallas, and with a 17 hour flight ahead to Melbourne, I would like to get them out of the airport/airplane environment for a while. <BR><BR>We land in LA at 5pm, and our flight to MEL leaves at 10:30pm. Ideally, I would like to go somewhere where we could get out, walk around, and find somewhere to eat dinner. Suggestions I've found on this board are Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Santa Monica pier. Would any of these be better than the other? Would we have enough time to take a 'driving tour' through Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and some of the sites? <BR><BR>Also, regardless of location, does anyone have any suggestions of a company to go through for transportation? We can't exactly get a cab. I'm thinking either a bus for a driving tour, or some form of public transport (bus, light rail) to one of the beaches. <BR><BR>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help.

by the time you get off your first flight, allow 2 hours for checkin, you will probably only have about 3 hours. i'd try to arrange a bus and go to venice beach which is close to the airport and you could get a bite to eat there. you don't want to waunder too far. it will be rush hour traffic and you don't want to waist time at a stand still on the freeway.

I think it is risky to leave the airport with that large group, especially considering you will have to go through security again when you return. And, since you are on an international flight that will require you be back to LAX by 8pm at the latest ....<BR><BR>However, I believe there is a public transit bus that will take you from LAX to the Manhattan Beach Pier directly. Have a look at mta.net for schedules and fares. The Manhattan Beach Pier is closer to the airport than Venice Beach. The beach is beautiful, and you'll have your choice of restaurants for dining. Good luck!!

I can't imagine risking it with not really that much time between flights. By the time you gather 40+ people and try and get them all on the same bus, you're going to lose time. And then there are all the stops along the way before the bus gets you to the beach. And don't forget that you will be in rush hour, not to mention prime dining time. I think you're going to regret leaving the airport.<BR><BR>There aren't even any decent restaurants near LAX, so I'd plan on eating there and just killing time.

Magic Mountain is just up the hill about a half hour. Maybe you could get a group discount. I bet that would be a nice diversion before such a long plane ride.

Magic Mountain is at least 1 hour away and that's without rush hour traffic. There is no way you could possibly do this place. It is much too far away.<BR><BR>If you do have to leave the area, I would charter a bus from someone like Gray Line or Coach USA and have them take you to a local restaurant near the beach.<BR><BR>Personally, I would stay at the airport since you probably won't get out of the airport until 6pm and then you'll have to be back by 8pm. True you could go someplace and eat dinner in two hours, but with just two hours to drive and eat you are cutting it close. I think you would be better off eating at the airport.<BR><BR>Hope you have a good trip.<BR><BR>

Your only option is to either stay at the airport or charter a full size bus. Come on now, taking a city bus with 40 high school students? You'll likely have to break into different busses and that's a recipe for disaster! Just one person who gets disoriented can make you miss your flight. 5.5 hours is just too short, especially arriving at 5pm with peak traffic around. For the benefit of the group, I don't think it's worth the one hour of sightseeing you'll be able to do.

aside from transportation, you also have to find a restaurant that can seat and serve 40+ people in a reasonable time frame.

Lots of hotels would probably send shuttle busses for you if you guaranteed them 40 for dinner, but since flights are not dependable, you really can't plan something like this. If you're two hours late out of Dallas, 40 dinners are waiting and you won't make it. <BR><BR>I'd suggest taking the Santa Monica #3 bus from LAX to Santa Monica Pier. It's about a 30 minute ride and the busses come every 10 minutes in case you don't all fit into one bus. From the terminal, you take the airport shuttle out to the transit center, and have to catch the Santa Monica bus at 96th and Sepulveda. <BR>At the pier there are rides and games and food shacks, it'll be a nice diversion and particularly nice at sunset. Two hours later you'll have to head back to LAX, with the students strictly advised that they can't miss the return bus! <BR><BR>The students might get a kick out of watching the first 5 minutes of the movie "Crazy Beautiful", which is filmed at the pier.

Evern closer than S.M. Pier is Marina del Rey: Sepulveda to Lincoln and then along Lincoln for 5 - 10 minutes. Not bad during rush hour, with plenty of places in Fisherman's Village to grab a bite to eat. You might even have time to take the 30 minute boat cruise around the harbor.

As a teacher who has been on plenty of field trips with teenagers in the band, let me be the one to advise you teens aren't the most responsible group. There's no way I would attempt a bus ride through LA with 40 teens and an international flight to catch. Telling a 16 year old that they can't miss a flight is useless.

With that many kids, I would stay put at LAX. They can run around there and eat at all the junk food places. Better than losing them somewhere in LA.

Stay at the airport - don't risk leaving especially on public transportation. Tell the students to bring a book (about Astralia) and some games and stay put.

oops - dropped the u.<BR>

I would not DARE leave the airport. I live just 15 minutes away from the airport up the 405 freeway, and during rush hour it could take me as long as 45 min to an hour to get home. The International terminal at LAX has a nice food court, with restaurants and self service counters, plenty of shops (books, music, makeup) for the kids to browse. Do yourself a favor, do not leave the airport

Yikes!! Well don't think I will be signing my kids up for any overseas tours when they are old enough. Traffic in LA at rush hour is insane to say the least. Might take them outside and up to the round restaurant thing, Can't remember the name but it was pretty pricey not that that should be a huge issue if they have the money to go to Austrailia. In terminal 5 where I catch my overseas flights there is a California Pizza Kitchen and a great Mexican restaurant. Maybe there is a pay to use internet kiosk I don't know but they have one in the Delta first class lounge. That is what I used to kill time. I wouldn't take my kids on the LA bus for anything and I would be PISSED if I found out a Teacher did that.

I have to agree with everyone else- I would stay put in the airport. Just make sure you prepaer the kids ahead of time so that they have plenty of things to do to kill time. (magazines, etc.)<BR><BR>Monique- if these parents are trusting their child's teacher to take them halfway around the world, going on a LA bus trip really isn't a big deal!

Based on my experiences traveling with my cheerleading squad to national competitions, I would strongly urge you not to leave the airport area...The Encounter restaurant at the airport might be a fun option for you and your students...it looks like a spaceship and has a futuristic theme (think Jetsons)...you're whisked to the top in a purple and chrome elevator and there's a flying saucer shaped bar, huge lava lamps, and amoeba shaped banquettes...it allows you a 360 degree view of the airport and you can watch the planes take off and land...the soda dispenser at the bar looks like a ray gun and it makes funny noises while you're glass is being filled...the food there isn't anything to brag about, but I'd recommend it for a drink and appetizer, and the experience...maybe they can accomodate your group.

Oh my gosh! Merilee's post brought back such a great memory of the restaurant at LAX. I'd never have remembered the name. It was a fun place to go in between flights. That was about 2 years ago. Definitely go there if you can.

Mark:<BR><BR>Contemplate the reverse scenario --- if someone were flying into DFW at 5pm, would you suggest they get outside the airport to kill time? Okay, maybe you actually could do it here if your destination was Grapevine Mall Outlet. If you think rush hour traffic is congested in the metroplex, wait until you see what LA puts up with. <BR><BR>I know that airports aren't known for their amusements; have you logged into the LAX airport website or spoken with airlines to see if there's any kind of distractions there? It's too bad you can't fly out of Dallas on a flight leaving earlier in the day. Then you'd have enough time to get to beach in the afternoon & back. Guessing that it's too late in the game for flight adjustments?<BR><BR>

You would truly have to be insane to take 40 students out of the airport and hope to have it go well and make a connecting flight. I work with teenagers and young adults, I know what I'm talking about here. Also know LAX and LA traffic. That's rush hour folks, stay put at the airport. As others suggested you could take the group to the restaurant in the middle of LAX (looks like a space ship) or simply amuse yourselves at the various shops, places to eat, etc. in the terminal bldgs. Your courting disaster attempting to go anyplace at rush hour with 40 kids. <BR>You will have to check in 2 hrs ahead for the Australia flight anyway, giving you very little time for sightseeing.<BR>I honestly can't even imagine any of the local (airport) hotels wanting 40 kids for dinner either, even if you could make arrangements for one of the hotels to come pick you up (they would need a regular size bus, most only have small vans). Give the rest of the world a break (like commuters) and stay at the airport. Also, mention (over and over) to the students that there are other people on the plane .. people that do doubt will not be thrilled seeing 40 teenagers coming onboard. It would be nice if the group acted like civilized human beings and respected other people (again, I work with young folks, many are very nice, many are not the kind you would want to be on a long flight with).<BR>Courtesy goes a long way.

Lordy, look at all the unsolicited advice here on traveling with teens! Linda dear, those kids have paid for their seat on the airplane and this is probably not the misbehaving group, seeing as they have managed to earn themselves a trip to Australia. My kid attends a school for the deaf and about 40 kids from her school went to China over spring break -- the smartest, most well-behaved kids -- and it was the time of their lives, plus incredibly educational. They had plenty of adults, including interpreters, along with them and were well aware of the rules. Of course, they could get silly and complain a bit, but all in all, you can't make a blanket statement about a group of teenagers traveling. This is not the same as Grad Night to Disneyland.

The round restaurant thingy is called Encounters, it's a swingin' 60's themed restaurant and bar pretty fun, slightly pricey.. and I am fairly certain they wouldn't have space for 40 all together. I live in LA, and have worked with groups of kids before... Your best bet would be to just go to a Wolfgang Pucks pizza place... buy some bottled water (both in the airport) and try to relax. Have a great trip.

Message to Thyra that you should read the other posts. Someone already posted a long post with info about that restaurant at LAX.

Mark what day of the week will you be arriving? If it is a weekday, of course you will have traffic to contend with so it gets dicey leaving the airport. If it is the weekend and it being summer it will be lighter later in the evening so a quick trip out to the sunshine might be a good idea before that long flight to winter in Australia.

Think it might be more fun for you to plan some group activities games in the airport. Why didn't anyone think to do a night over in the LAX airport that is what I do for flights to Hawaii!!!<BR><BR>Nevertheless these long layovers are part of the travel experience I suggest reading materials and some light group games at the airport. I am not talking about football or even nurf ball but some small group games might be a social thing that will pass some of the boring time. Maybe some Australina games or trivia games based on Australia. You could provide door prizes or cash to spark there interest. Worth a shot. I would not leave the airport either

funny Linda are you an unhappy person or what?<BR><BR>Don't leave the airport but don't worry about the Linda's of the world. Yes you should have a talk about with the kids about respecting the people not in a large group on the plane. I have been on planes to and from Hawaii with large groups of college sports teams and returning college students and it can be annoying if kids are yelling across isles to friends yadah yadah yadah. <BR><BR>But Linda hardly sounds like a human being herself so let's not use here suggestions as a source. With some talking to I am sure your group will be fine. Have a great trip keep us posted it will be fun to see how this plays out.

Well this has been a fun thread on the LAX airport

Well, thank you everyone for your tips and advice. I'm not too worried about this group -- we've travelled with the same high school group for years, to NYC, LA, Alaska, Boston, Kenya, India, Europe, and now, Australia. They are accustomed to travelling and the situations that go along with it. <BR><BR>All in all, we have about 200 people going to Australia, split up into 5 flights, as we couldn't all get on one plane. The flight I'm in charge of just happens to have the long layover, and I was just trying to think of something to do. I've gotten several good suggestions, and I promise to have the talk about behaving on the plane and while travelling in general. (Not too sure about ivanna's suggestion though...)

They're going to do it anyway, honey, so you may as well make it policy.