6 hours in L.A.- Excursion to the beach?
 

If you would have a 6 hour stop-over at LAX arriving at around 10.00 a.m., what would you suggest for a nice activity other than at the airport?

I was thinking about a small taxi-trip to the beach to have some lunch there. Is this doable? And what would you recommend? Suggestions of cafes/ restaurants would be welcome!

Thanks a lot for helping out!
hsv

Seems very doable. You could take a taxi to the Santa Monica Pier allowing you to have lunch either at a snack stand or something much nicer at the Lobster restaurant at the beginning of the pier. Or there are numerous great restaurants on just the other side of Ocean Ave. (The Ivy at the Shore, Il Fornaio, I Cugini, Ocean Ave Seafood, etc). The actual sand is only a short walk down a flight of stairs midway on the pier.

Make sure you keep a receipt from the cab company so you have a number to call for your return trip. It's not always possible to hail a cab in LA.

You could also do Manhattan or Hermosa Beach. Just take a cab to their Pier areas. The areas around the piers have lots of neat restaurants & shops.

The only glitch in your plan would be having to carry your luggage around with you. As far as I know, there are no lockers at LAX.

A slightly more expensive alternative would be to hire a towncar or limo for a few hours. That way, you could leave your luggage in the car with the driver. I believe most of them charge $40-50 an hour and have 2-3 hour minumums.

good point about the luggage; though I assumed you would have checked it through to your connection.

Thanks so far!
Luggage won't be an issue. It's going to be checked through.

Two more questions:

I am rather familiar with Santa Monica and restaurants there, but am not too familiar with Manhattan/ Hermosa Beach. Any suggestions for where to head there? And would you rather go to Manhattan or Hermosa Beach as opposed to Santa Monica (which I truly like)?

And: How much time should be allowed for the return to the airport and passing through security? The outgoing flight will be an international one.

Manhattan, I think is easier to get to. 10 minutes down Sepulveda, and no more than a 20 dollar cab ride, if that. On any given day, there would be more traffic going from LAX to Santa Monica.

But Manhattan Beach is not a touristed as Santa Monica. Santa Monica has the old pier, 3rd street promenade close by, and tons of shops and restaurants. Manhattan Beach has more a locals beachy feel. Boutiques and good restaurants, but it isn't packed with people like Santa Monica is. But it's also cleaner (in my opinion) and a nice way to see what a quiet So Cal Beach community is like. For more hubbub, Hermosa is another 5 minutes down, with it's pedestrian area filled with bars and restaurants.

If you are familiar with Santa Monica, and really like it, then perhaps you should go with what you are comfortable with. But it is indeed very possible to hop over to Manhattan/Hermosa for lunch. Hermosa has plenty of outdoor seating and many options right in the little square. If you are coming on a weekday, you should easily be able to snag upstairs patio seating at Hennessey's, which gives you a nice view out to the water and you can drink beers and eat barfood while enjoying the view.

I've had a lot of friends come through, and they all prefer Hermosa/Manhattan over Santa Monica. Probably because I'm biased and present it that way. I guess when you live here, you prefer the less touristed spots . I would choose the areas in Long Beach/Belmont Shore over Santa Monica/Venice as well. But there is a reason why Santa Monica is such a hot spot, I'm sure!

Another vote for the Manhattan/Hermosa area. It's much closer to LAX than Santa Monica and perfect for a few hours of strolling, eating and shopping. The restaurants in Manhattan are not side-by-side in a small plaza like in Hermosa's pier area; they are scattered on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Manhattan Avenue and Highland Avenue. Cafe Pierre for French/Mediterranean, Rock 'n' Fish for Calif./Amer., Beaches for an ocean view, and many, many more. I live in Manhattan, so I'm biased, but I think the shopping is nicer in Manhattan.

You'll need to get back to LAX two hours before your international departure. Manhattan is about 15 minutes away; Hermosa is another 10 minutes farther south.

i'm with jean...hermosa/manhattan still have some authentic beach charm (and clean water to swim). lots of sightseeing just walking the strand and so do-able from LAX. great shopping while you walk, beautiful views, etc. i lived there 17 years and still daydream about it...

You can get a mid-size car for $25 or a compact car for about $16. That's including taxes. You should check to see if you can check your bags on through (somebody on the Airlines forum would be able to answer that, I expect). You will probably have your boarding passes for your flight out of LAX when you get there.

I would go to Manhattan Beach. Go south on US Route 1, the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), and turn right (west) on Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Drive until you get to the ocean. Lunch at Sunsets at the pier.

The Budget and Avis rental locations at LAX are fairly easy to find. I think Hertz is in the same area. The National/Alamo location is a bit more remote.

Many thanks everybody for the great advice.

Down to Manhattan/ Hermosa Beach it is. I figure it'll be a much better use of time than going all the way to Santa Monica (with some danger of getting stuck in traffic involved), plus both places appear to be really worth exploring!

Make sure to get the number of your cab company and arrange a pick-up ahead of time - you won't find many empty cabs wandering MB looking for fares.