Mark

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.

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?

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.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help.

x

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.

Susan

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 ....

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!!

x

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.

There aren't even any decent restaurants near LAX, so I'd plan on eating there and just killing time.

Augie

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.

kkj

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.

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.

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.

Hope you have a good trip.

aaa

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.

bbb

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

joesorce

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.

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.
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!

The students might get a kick out of watching the first 5 minutes of the movie "Crazy Beautiful", which is filmed at the pier.

Shannon

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.

Teacher

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.

kam

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.

Renee

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.

Renee

oops - dropped the u.

me

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

Monique

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.

CLara

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.)

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!

Merilee

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.

Janann

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.

Dawn

Mark:

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.

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?