Thanks for the advice about In-n-out. Would be a nice way to kill a couple of hours. The only problem is, that if I'm not able to check in my luggage, I really don't want to be draggin' that along to in-n-out.

Really enjoyed this.. just did it yesterday!
 

Would just like to thank you for posting this... I had a 12 our layover in LAX and so I thought I would check out the website and book a lesson. The class was excellent and something i highly recommend anybody who is looking to kill sometime between flights..

I would also like to highly recommend a little cafe/beach bar just near by called Kavinchinnos.. amazing little joint where people are the nicest guys and the food is simply amazing... necer tasted a better fishcake sandwich :) The guys even offered to hold my suitcase.. (as it is not possible to check your bag in inless its 4 hours before the flight...so in my case i was stuck wheeling it around)

being stuck with a Layover is never fun... but with hang-gliding lessons and Kavinchinos, I'm pretty excited for my 12hr layover on the return leg.

J.

Hello guys, first time posting here. I'll be flying from Tucson to London (haven't bought the ticket yet) and I have two choices going through LAX. One has a 42 min layover, the other one a 3:35 hour layover.

I'm inclined to go for the longer wait since I've had 1 hour layovers before and I barely made it that time after the first plane got to LAX early but we had to wait like half an hour for a place, so the little advantage of being there early went up in smoke and I just made my flight to NYC.

This time I'm going to London, so I don't even know if the terminals are the same or not. I'll be flying with United, so same airline in both flights, but still. That other time was my only experience in LAX. What do you guys recommend?

Definitely take the longer layover for peace of mind. You'll probably be okay with the shorter one, but if anything goes south your connection turns into a stress-fest.

4 1/2 hour layover at LAX...Santa Monica Pier possible?
 

Got a 4 and half hour layover from 530pm-10pm on a Thursday coming up...is it feesible to take a taxi to the Santa Monica Pier (Or Venice Beach) and back within this layover? How much would a taxi cost? Connecting on to an international flight....thoughts...thanks! ^

It's feasible -- just. Stay off the 405 though. Two taxis up and down Lincoln Boulevard would be $50 or so each, I think. You must be back at LAX for the international flight by 800pm, so if your incoming flight's on time and a taxi takes 45 minutes each way, you'd have... um... an hour in SM.

Thanks... after some more research maybe Manhattan Beach is a better idea?? :confused:

If you're coming in on a weekday, I would just forget about it. Rush hour clogs not only the 405 freeway, but major thoroughfares like Lincoln and Sepulveda. Dockweiller beach is right next to LAX, but even my LAPD buddies don't go there for fear of being ambushed by the gangsters.

Manhattan beach is only about 5 miles away, and they have a pretty nice pier with lots of restaurants/bars around. Still not that much time, but maybe enough to get a peek at the ocean. Taxi will still run you $30 each way. Hope that helps.

Thanks...kind of the answer I was afraid of. Was hoping to get a peak as I have not been to the LA area beaches since 98!

Possibly the worst time of day for such a sojourn. Between the rush hour traffic and the fact that it'd be dark, so you wouldn't see much, and high taxi fares for any trip starting at an airport, I'd say forget it. Even if your bags are checked through and you have the boarding pass for your international flight, you should still be back at LAX at least an hour, preferably more, before your next flight. Add to this the fact that it could take a while to get off your first fight (with everyone needing to take big carry-on bags from the bins) and into a taxi, carrying your carry-on bag, and the always present possibility of heavy traffic even within LAX, your 4 1/2 hours could turn into less than 3 hrs.

Maybe grab a bite to eat or a drink at the somehwt kitchy (though not cheap) Encounter Restaurant in the spider-shaped building in the middle of LAX (great for plane watching).

I don't take taxis much in L.A., but there are several sites like this for estimating fares: http://www.worldtaximeter.com/los-angeles I just input LAX and Manhattan Beach (no exact location), and it came up with $23. To my surprise, it estimated $28 for Marina del Rey. Ouch.

p.s. the taxi Web site says $39 each way from LAX to the Santa Monica Pier. I enjoy the pier, including the restaurants, arcade, amusement park and aquarium, but not THAT much. It'd be more fun than some beaches on a winter evening (at least you could see something), but for that price, and in rush hour traffic?

Yeah...uggh...well maybe that encounter restauraunt is looking more appealing now... hopefully I won't hit traffic walking to the restaraunt :p

Or if you positively want to get off LAX property but not go too far, there's always the Proud Bird restaurant.

http://www.theproudbird.com/

Haha, or that skeezy Carls Jr. right next to the "Live NUDE NUDE NUDE" on Aviation Blvd three blocks down from the airport. I guess some guys can't wait.

I thought all of the nude places (and I do remember them, just from the signs outside, of course) had closed years ago.

We were going to try the Proud Bird recently, but the hotel had a free shuttle to LAx, so we went to the Encounter again. One good meal (my "Peking Duck," a duck breast with semi-spicy sauce) and one not so great (my wife's ravioli with mushrooms-- it was the size of an appetizer, not a main dish).