LAX 10 hours. What to do?
 

Friends travelling from Australia will have a 10 hour day time stopover at Los Angeles Airport in October. I think there may be time for them to catch a bus (or Metro from somewhere near the airport?) into Union Station, then they could have an hour or two wandering round Olvera Street.
Could someone comment on the practicalities of this, please?

There's a direct Flyer bus to Union Station. It will take about an hour each way (but allow two hours on return just to be safe if they are near their flight time).

There are DASH busses downtown that circulate to some of the other sights such as Disney Concert Hall and City Hall (which subbed for the Vatican in the Thornbirds TV drama).

There are lots of posts on "what to do downtown".

Why not rent a car and go to Disneyland?

Or rent a car and cruise the beach communities that are so near the airport - Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach (skip Redondo Beach), Santa Monica, etc. They could spend the day strolling, browsing and eating!

You wouldn't have to rent a car to hit the So. Bay beach communities. Manhattan Beach is about a $10 cab ride.

Hey, dmlove, how did you end up spending your Saturday last week? (Sorry for the highjack, Carabella)

Actually, that's why I recommended the beaches, lvk. Since we were so limited by our daughter [im]mobility, we first went to the Redondo Beach pier, but it isn't great and getting around it is difficult. We left and went to Manhattan Beach. We had lunch at La Creperie, then poked around the town, shopped, had ice cream, etc. Drove from there to the Farmer's Market (where I haven't been since 1963) and The Grove, spent an hour there, then went to Santa Monica for dinner. All in all, a really great day! Thanks for asking.

Glad you had a good day. (BTW, We locals usually stay away from the RB Pier, other than an after-dinner walk from Old Tony's or Kincaid's :) )

<i>BTW, We locals usually stay away from the RB Pier</i>

Our friends in Hermosa Beach told us that, too, but that was on Sunday!

Carrabella, what day of the week is this layover? Is the 10 hours in addition to being at the airport at least 90 minutes before their departure?

Also, a question is, what are they to do with their luggage? Coming from Australia, will they have to claim it on arrival? Sometimes you cannot check it into another airline until a few hours before the next flight with you luggage. They should check on that.

Renting a car would help out that situation, as they could keep it in the trunk.

Thanks to all! My friends are enroute to Las Vegas, where they will rent a car for two months, to see lots of your wonderful national parks. Not sure what day of the week. Must ask them about their luggage, which I presume will have to go through US customs in LA.

They have been in LA before, but mentioned they had never been &quot;downtown&quot; which is why I suggested doing this. I agree, they should allow plenty time to get back.

mlgb, I didn't realise that the City Hall featured in the &quot;Thorn Birds&quot;. Hope I get another chance to see it. Have you read Colleen McCullough's book? It is MUCH better than the film, which she really hated.

John T, they have been to Disneyland years ago with their kids.
About strolling on the beaches, I know they have been to Venice Beach &amp; surrounds before. Beach LIFE is interesting for older Aussies, but , with respect, our beaches are so much nicer 'n yours! Once we stayed in Manhatten Beach, and had a nice meal in a fish restaurant on a pier, with rolling waves breaking underneath us. It was a lovely experience. I thought that was Rendondo Pier, but am not sure.

If they want to see a bit of downtown, then the LAX Flyaway bus does make sense - depending on the luggage situation.
www.lawa.org/lax/LAXflyAway.cfm

If they have time after Olvera St., they could return to Union Station and take the Metro Red Line to other sites downtown - Disney Hall, and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), etc. www.metro.net

If they do have to schlep their luggage, they might consider either renting a car, hiring a limo/car service to drive them around or taking a bus tour. www.viptoursandcharters has several options.

Whatever they do, they must leave plenty of time- 3-4 hours- to get back to LAX and check into their flight - especially in the Int'l terminal. I dropped my daughter off there at 10 pm last night, and the traffic was horrible (25 minutes just from the freeway exit to the terminal). Once inside, there is construction and the ridiculous TSA procedures to deal with. You queue up to check into your airline, then after check-in you must take your checked luggage to the TSA line with all of the other passengers of all of the other international airlines. Ridiculous and chaotic, especially after one of the x-ray machines broke down. Also, the passengers on these flights always seem to have several huge boxes and gigantic suitcases. After unloading your checked luggage, you then must queue up to go thru security to get to the gates. X( I've never seen anything as abysmal at any other airport. It just keeps getting worse. Okay, end of rant.

The restaurant that you mention does sound like Old Tony's on the Redondo Beach Pier.

I believe there is a checked baggage service at Union Station.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...=1080080551420

They'll definitely have to go thru customs in LA, as it is their first stop in the US. But hopefully they will be able to immediately recheck their luggage with the airlines for the next flight.

Thank you all for your helpful advice, and especially for the web sites.
lvk, yes, now I remember the restaurant was Old Tony's. Those huge rolling waves, breaking under me in the dark, made the meal taste so much better!
I'll be sure to tell my friends to allow plenty of time to get through the LAX hassle.

What a wonderful help Fodorites are! Many thanks, again.