Hi,

We have a 6 hour layover at LAX. Would it be feasible to get away from LAX and do something in that time or does LA's sprawl and highway congestion make that impossible? I've never been to LA or gone through LAX before. This would be on a Tuesday, early morning to mid-afternoon.

There are several things you can do with a six hour layover. The beaches south of LAX are great. Manhattan and Hermosa have great areas near their piers. Food, shops, people watching. You'd be surprised how many people will be on the beach when you'd think they should be working (unemployed actors?)
Venice Beach to the north would be good, but I don't think you would get the appreciation of the freak show that you get on the weekends.
You could even get up to Santa Monica, but you would have to figure 30 minutes to get there and 45 minutes back (just to be safe). As soon as you head inland, you start to risk traffic problems.

Well allowing for check in time (depending on where you are going anywere from 1 hr to 2 hrs. you can probably safely go down to Manhattan Beach, walk around the beach area (pier, shops, etc.) without too much trouble. I would not venture too far but that's just me because traffic around the LAX area can be terrible sometimes. MB is about 7 miles south of LAX, short cab ride to the pier area. You can also go north of LAX into the Marina del Rey area as well, but I prefer MB myself. I just would not risk going to far because traffic can be bad news and you would not want to miss the flight.

Used to live near L.A. in Pasadena and recall trying to catch a flight at LAX on a rainy morning that we went 1 mile in almost 1 hour (couldn't get off the freeway until we got to an exit and everyone else had the same idea)! Please follow the above advice--allow lots of time to return to LAX and stay where you can get back to the airport on surface streets.I would suggest driving (on surface streets--taxi probably the best way or you could arrange a limo service if that fits into your budget) through Marina Del Rey into Venice Beach, past the canals and see a bit of the Boardwalk. You'll get a bit of a feel for LA that you've probably seen in films. There are some nice restaurants in Marina del Rey--our favorite is the Cafe del Rey. Was just back in LA a couple months ago and I really think the traffic is getting worse! A couple hours at the beach isn't worth missing your flight. Most layovers of this length at LAX are connecting to flights to Hawaii so you don't want to jeopardize that.

Hi Kim,

Either the Hermosa/Manhattan beach cities or Marine del Rey would be nice. If you go to MDR, I second Kam's recommendation for Cafe del Rey if you want to get a bite to eat. If you go to Manhattan Beach, there are many nice places to eat, I can personally recomment Cafe Pierre on Manhattan Beach Blvd.

As everyone stated, make sure you allow enough time to get back to LAX. I live in Manhattan Beach and this past Sunday at just after 10am was dropping husband off at the airport. Once I got onto the departure level at LAX it took me almost 30 minutes just to get from entry point to dropping him off at Terminal 5 (and I did not go all around the loop but cut over). I have no idea where all this traffic came from, guess there are just a lot of people traveling by air this summer.

Have a nice flight.

Hey,

Thanks for the responses everyone. It will be nice not to be stuck in the airport for the whole time. Even if we figure and hour to get somewhere, spend an hour 1/2 looking around and an hour to get back,it's better than just sitting around.

Kim:

I think John (above) is on to something. Santa Monica might be perfect for that period of time (if you have a 6-hour layover, I'm assuming a four-hour excursion). You should be able to check out Third Street Promenade and the Pier during that time. Another possibility is this: La Cienega, a surface street, connects the airport area with Beverly Hills--it's a straight shot, and if the traffic is at its absolute worst, it wouldn't take more than forty-five minutes to get there. You could cruise Sunset through West Hollywood and Beverly Hills back to the 405 freeway and then return to the airport--more of a chauffeured tour than an activity, but it's a nice drive.

more LAX warnings:

I live in MB, and have made several trips to LAX in the last couple of weeks. Maybe it's because schools are out & people on vacation, but traffic to LAX has been MISERABLE, worse than I can recently recall.

It seems worse in mid-day, roughly 11am - 2pm.

I went on a Thursday, traffic was backed up on Sepulveda Bld, 2-3 miles south to El Segundo Blvd (!). Took 1hr 15 min to get there. Then, 3 parking structures were completely full & blocked off.

Went on the next Friday about 1:30 pm, not too bad, about 30 min to get there, but VERY congested inside the airport loop.

Yesterday (Wed) about 1pm, traffic again miserable and gridlocked nearly all way to El Segundo Blvd (fortunately I was driving opposite direction).

Don't knoe what traffic from the north is, or from the east (405 fwy).

Before 10am-ish, or after 4pm-ish, traffic patterns look more "normal".

When we were in LA a month ago, the 405 was absolutely gridlocked on a Sunday at 3pm from the Sepulveda Pass to the Santa Monica all the way to the Harbor Fwy in downtown. Don't know what's going on, but I wouldn't risk getting on a freeway if I had a connection at LAX. La Cienega can also be a bear because it's a major surface street and can be as bad as the freeways. I would never trust that I could do that La Cienega/Beverly Hills and back to LAX route. I would be too terribly nervous the whole time and you certainly couldn't get out of the car to see anything. Good luck, but don't underestimate LA traffic---those of us who have lived/or are living there know how awful it can be. And, those of you who still live in LA----what IS going on down there? We generally fly into Burbank to avoid all this and Johnny Carson used to make jokes about Burbank--remember? Turns out it's a useful airport at least.

to tom (above):

During my last two trips to LAX, I noticed a huge backup on Sepulveda--it's due to the faulty timing of the siganl lights at the triple intersection of Sepulveda, the 105 exit and whatever street that runs east/west underneath the freeway.

an editorial note:

By the way, there's something here I don't get: considering my lack of success in Vegas, I find it very difficult to believe that every time I drive to LAX I am simply lucky that I have arrived too early. I agree with kam about about the 405--it's been a nightmare for years, and, yes, it is getting worse. I also agree about the parking structures--it's often difficult to find an open space, but those are the short-term lots; if one has a little patience, a spot will open up. BUT--I take La Cienega all the time; maybe I repeatedly happen to be there at exactly the right time, but it's been no big deal at all. And last Friday I was coming from a different direction--from the east--and still no problems: 105 to the Aviation exit to Sepulveda and into the tunnel. No sweat.

Currently they are improving the tunnel for Sepulveda Blvd that runs under the runways to the south of the airport. Unfortunately they aren't adding any more lanes. They do the work midday so they don't mess up commuting time. Approach the airport from the north during these times, or if you are coming from the south on Sepulveda: Turn left on Rosecrans, right on Highland (turns into Vista del Mar), go about 2 miles, turn right on Imperial, left on Pershing, right on westchester parkway, right on Lincoln blvd which merges into Sepulveda and then an immediate right into the airport.

both mid-days that I saw horrendous backed up traffic to the south, there was NO tunnel construction work going on that directly affected the slow-down.

Although some modest work was going on, outside the tunnel & away from the roadway, it seemed pretty clear that "gawking" was NOT the cause. The gridlock persisted thruout the main airport loop. Exiting the loop, everything was fine leaving LAX.

Also went to LAX again this morning, 8:30am, only light traffic, no slowdowns anywhere.