Suggestions for 6-hour LAX layover from Vancouver with 3-yr old son
 

Hi, My son and I will be traveling from Vancouver BC to Melbourne. We have a 6-hour layover in LAX. And we both carry US passports.

Our flight from Vancouver arrives at 4pm (Saturday) at terminal 2, and we leave by 1030PM (Saturday) for our flight to Melbourne at terminal 7.

The tickets from Vancouver to LA and LA to MElbourne were booked together , meaning just 1 ticket.

1) Do we need to collect our luggage and re-check it in?
2) Do you think there is enough time for us to go out just to have dinner and meet a friend?
3) Are there Ubery/Lyft rides available from LAX?

thanks!

Your luggage should be able to be checked all the way through. So you won't need to worry about that. You would be able to leave the airport and have dinner with a friend... I'd suggest not going too far because of the traffic. I understand Uber has difficulty picking up from LAX, but probably no problem dropping you off. I'd use a taxi to leave the airport. Hopefully your friend will know where to go eat that a 3 year old will enjoy as well.

Idk. I would not leave the airport unless I had a child safety seat for the car.

You could go to Manhattan Beach and have dinner with your friend at the Kettle (they have beer and wine and a kid's menu) but the problem is neither Uber nor taxis will provide car sets and a 3 year old is too small for the booster seats. Figure out that problem first.

If I was you I'd meet them at one of the LAX hotels that has a shuttle and a restaurant -- like the Westin or the Renaissance.

That way you can ride the shuttle both ways and your friends can park at the hotel.

What we have done in that situation is hopping on the Budget Car rental shuttle - they come more frequently than any hotel shuttles in my experience.

From Budget you cross the street and you have the pick of the Four Points by Sheraton (our favorite - nice lounge, nobody bothers you as you sit there, a bar and a restaurant of decent quality and decent prices), also the Renaissance and the Embassy Suites by Hilton (not been inside). A Burger King is up the road if that appeals.

Be back in good time for your Australia departure - they are big planes, boarding takes a long time, hence it's a bit of a zoo until everybody is in line and on the plane. You'll get preference with the child, so make the most of it by being on time.

That's a good idea -- I agree the Budget Shuttle might run more frequently. Then you'd have your choice of the hotel shuttle or Budget back to the terminal.

As you are coming from Canada I would think you would have to go through passport control before you leave the airport. once you leave the airport you will have to go through security when you return for your flight, so leave enough time for that. in all you may have less time than you think.

you can check with the airline as to whether your luggage will be booked through to Australia with a change of planes in LAX.

>>As you are coming from Canada I would think you would have to go through passport control before you leave the airport<<

Probably not -- they will likely clear US immigration and customs at YVR.

Uber (and I presume Lyft) are allowed to pick up inside the airport.

Give yourself loads of time to clear security for your departing flight... including the drive back to the airport. Weekend traffic at LAX is very high.

I think Uber can only pick up on the departures level upstairs now. But it's probably a moot point since they don't offer child seats.

Saturday afternoons are the slowest times at airports so you should be fine to leave the airport for a couple of hours if your friend picks you up and has a carseat. Or, where, exactly, were you hoping to "meet a friend"?

Vancouver is an authorized US pre-clearance airport which means they can go through passport and customs control/agriculture at YVR.

I think that's plenty of time to leave the airport for dinner if you are nearby.

If the friend lives there, they ought to have an idea of how to do this, and where to go nearby. If not, and they can't figure it out, I like the Budget shuttle idea.