Hello my friends.

I'd like your help with one important issue I'm having. I'm traveling to Hawaii on September, but I have this incredible long layover at Los Angeles Airport LAX. I'll arrive at Los Angeles at 4:30pm, and my flight to Oahu leaves at 8:00am. So, I need a few things to meanwhile. I did a little research and going to Santa Monica Pier seems like a good option. But I really trust in the opinions of Fodors, so, if you have any ideas of something to do at least untill midnight please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I'd either rent a car or take and taxi and go visit either Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach. Both have plenty of shops and restaurants, etc. Then I'd get a cheap hotel nearby to spend the night.

I'll admit my biases right up front. I'm not a big fan of Santa Monica, and I live in Manhattan Beach which is about 10 minutes south of LAX.

It could easily take 45 minutes to get to Santa Monica at about 5:00p., perhaps longer if this is a Friday or Saturday night.

MB is a small town, much less crowded, more filled with locals. We have a simple walking/fishing pier with a small educational aquarium at the end. No Ferris wheel, no roller-coaster, no arcade games or trapeze school, so if that's what you want you should go to SM. Most of the busy bars and restaurants are within 2-3 blocks of the pier.

Hermosa Beach (another 10-15 minutes farther south) has a younger, slightly more bohemian vibe than MB and more bars (esp. near its pier).

What time of year? And what day of the week? How much would you want to spend on the hotel for the night?

I'll arrive at LAX on September 18th... Think it's a Wednesday. I honestly don't like the idea of paying one more hotel night. I was planning to sleep two or three hours at the airport. The hotels in Hawaii arequite expensive already. I think my main concern is the time of the day I arrive at Los Angeles. I don't know the city at all, so I don't know if I'll be able to visit places like the Hollywood Walk of fame, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Griffith Observatory???

You can get a hotel near the airport fairly inexpensively using Priceline. What are you going to do - go back to the airport at 10 or 11 p.m. and then just wait there for an 8 a.m. flight? You won't be able to lie down.

Yep, sleeping in LAX really isn't an option. And, presumably, you'd want to drop your luggage somewhere while you enjoy wherever you go.

The Hollywood WOF, Chinese Theater, Observatory, etc., are all a long way from LAX using public trans (at least 90 minutes each way) or a rather expensive fare if going by taxi.

If you'd like to search public trans routes...

http://www.metro.net/

You can get a room at the Travelodge near LAX for about $65 including free shuttle service from/to the airport. For another $5 you can get a round-trip ride on the Ocean Express to the Manhattan Beach Pier and shopping centers in MB and next-door El Segundo. Note the service hours are until about 10:30-10:45p. After that, you'd have to take a cab back to the Travelodge which would cost about $20.

http://www.gatewaytola.org/GWT/asset...le%2013(2).pdf

http://www.gatewaytola.org/index.cfm...ocean-express/

Thanks Jean for your advice.

I'd take a taxi to Manhattan Beach, Redondo, or Hermosa. You can bid on priceline for the area and you usually get the Crowne Plaza (3.5 star bid about 60.00) You can rent bikes in that area and ride along the boardwalk for sunset. You can always bid near LAX too but I would definately get a hotel. You don't want to start out your trip feeling like s--t.

If the Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach doesn't offer a free airport shuttle, the taxi fare back and forth will cost more than the room.

Even though I live closer to Redondo, I think there's more to see heading towards Venice and Santa Monica, especially if you don't have a car.

I agree with cat111719 ... there's a lot more to see/do in Santa Monica ... plus you can walk around there and feel safe because there will be a lot of people doing the same. Manhattan Beach is nice but not if you don't have a car ... it's more spread out.

But the OP apparently has a tight budget. LAX to the SM Pier could cost $45-50 one way. The Big Blue Bus to the SM is cheap but would take close to an hour at that time of day. The return trip would take less time, but I personally would want to take a taxi rather than rely on a public bus to get back to LAX before 7:00a the next morning.

I think the most cost effective thing to do would be to rent a car for the day. I bet you could get a rate on hotwire cheaper than the cost of a taxi. And having a car in LA is really helpful if you want to see a lot.

The OP doesn't have a day. He/she has from about 5:00p to about 6:30a the next morning. Presumably, some time will be spent asleep, so we're only talking about 6-7 hours on a Wednesday night.

Right, so having a car would not only allow OP the freedom to get wherever she wanted to go, but also a place to keep her stuff. Taking a taxi anywhere would probably cost more than a car plus she'd be dragging her stuff with her everywhere. There is a lot she could do later in the evening, even into the early morning hours, before having to get back to LAX.

Well, we could continue to debate about a budget we don't know in precise dollars, but a car + gas + Santa Monica parking would probably amount to $70+ and the OP still has no comfortable place to sleep/nap for the last 4 hours.

The OP is a guy who doesn't live in this country. Unless he's familiar with L.A., I think he should keep it simple.