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Yeah I'm not up to hang out in the middle of night at LAX. sounds so unsafe.
And I just saw a consolidated LAX layover thread. Sorry I didn't notice it before, but it looks like it's more for international travellers and have suggestions to go to culver city, In-N-Out, etc.. Didn't seem to apply to me. Anyway, it looks like Ted's suggestion sounds the best. Not a member of 24hr fitness. But midnight to 4am at Hilton cafe and then take their airport shuttle to LAX for my 6am flight doesn't sound like too bad of a plan...... |
Originally Posted by snangel
(Post 16621181)
Anyway, it looks like Ted's suggestion sounds the best. Not a member of 24hr fitness. But midnight to 4am at Hilton cafe and then take their airport shuttle to LAX for my 6am flight doesn't sound like too bad of a plan......
From Hilton's website: The Bistro Casual anytime dining. The Bistro proudly brews Starbucks® coffees and specialty drinks. We feature to go dinners, and are the perfect stop for a quick snack- night or day. Light meals, sandwiches, salads and pizzas. Seating area features four large flat screen TV's with international programming. Open 24 hours a day. |
Originally Posted by snangel
(Post 16621181)
Yeah I'm not up to hang out in the middle of night at LAX. sounds so unsafe.
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Bistro Cafe experience
Not too bad. The Hilton was clean and bright. There were lots of other people up and about so no one questioned why I was there in the middle of the night (12:30a - 3a).
I just stayed at the Bistro cafe the whole time I was there. Food was pricey so I just got a venti latte for $6. Sandwich, salad, and other entrees run around $10. There was only one electrical outlet and it's by where they put the high tables/bar stools so not an ideal place if you want to be on your laptop the whole time. The chairs/benches were comfy but I still wasn't comfortable sleeping at a cafe. The guy next to my table had no such concern and was sleeping quite obviously. Yet none of the hotel staff bothered him so that was nice. The only problem I had was when I needed to go to the restroom. Thought it was right by the cafe, but it ended up being behind the hotel front desk (so on the other side of the hotel). The 1st stall I went to had a broken lock. The 1st 3 sinks I tried had no soap. So anyway it took me longer to get back to my table than I thought it would and I arrived to an empty table with none of my stuff in sight. Waitress asked me a bunch of questions before she pointed me to Security to retrieve my belongings. Had no idea hotels also operate under TSA rules. Never had this problem at coffee shops. Anyway that's when I got tired of being at the cafe and was ready to go to the airport. The free airport shuttle comes every 15-20 min. I went out to wait at 3:03a. Shuttle arrived at 3:13a and I was dropped off at the airport at 3:25a. So very prompt. So now just waiting by baggage claim until TSA checkpoint opens at 4:30a. |
Originally Posted by snangel
(Post 16622840)
Not too bad. The Hilton was clean and bright. There were lots of other people up and about so no one questioned why I was there in the middle of the night (12:30a - 3a).
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Planning a trip for May next year which looks like involving a 10hr layover in LAX.
Arriving at 5am from Maui, and then leaving at 3pm to London. No idea what to do, have no status with BA so won't be able to get into a Lounge, and it's too early to do one of the layover tours offered by tour companies. Will be exhausted, and don't want to be renting a car and trying to drive in LAX (we are in mid-20s, neither of us driven in states, or even driven automatics and I don't think LAX is really the place to start!). Plus its so early in the morning even if we were up for doing that I still wouldn't know what to do! Any thoughts? Its a pretty sucky way to end the trip but not really got any other options. I thought about trying to book a hotel to grab a sleep for a few hours but then they probably wouldn't let us check in at 6am. I did think after reading through this thread to maybe get a cab to Manhatten Beach, maybe grab a nice breakfast and have a wander and get a taxi back to the airport about noon, but will anything be open? The other problem is that although we are flying in with AA and out with BA, I don't think we'll be able to check our bags through as the it's too long a connection time? I suppose another option would be to pay a day rate for the AA lounge when we get off, or for the reLAX lounge in the Int'l Terminal (probably the former as it has showers)? |
Originally Posted by paulmasterton
(Post 16849696)
Will be exhausted, and don't want to be renting a car and trying to drive in LAX (we are in mid-20s, neither of us driven in states, or even driven automatics and I don't think LAX is really the place to start!).
But back to what I was saying: driving in L.A. is actually pretty easy. Let me grab a couple of quotes from older posts in this forum:
Originally Posted by silverthief2
(Post 12979106)
I was surprised to find on my last trip that driving is really not that bad there.
Originally Posted by jackal
(Post 12981681)
This is the sentiment I see expressed all the time. Everyone who has never driven in L.A. and finally does comes back surprised how natural and easy it is.
I'm actually always surprised that people even have the idea that driving is bad in Los Angeles. Maybe it's because L.A. has a bad reputation for traffic, but that's really only on certain freeways at rush hour, and even then, it's not hard--just slow. It makes sense that driving in L.A. is smooth. EVERYONE drives there and drives all the time, so they're actually pretty good with the rules of the road (at least compared to the rest of the U.S./Canada). Yes, it's true, L.A. drivers are a little on the aggressive side, but not in the jerky, annoying, road-rage-causing way: rather, it's in the way that most efficiently utilizes space and keeps traffic flowing smoothly. You'll see people change lanes and squeeze into a spot in traffic if there's not so much as one car length plus six inches, but they do it smoothly, and everyone expects it, so it's actually MUCH easier than it sounds. (It's kind of like driving in New York: the thought of people constantly weaving around with inches to spare to get around parked cars, garbage trucks, buses, disappearing lanes, etc. sounds horrific, but when you actually try it, it's not that difficult, since everyone's moving so slowly and gives way to people merging.) As for surface street driving, well--L.A.'s freeway culture has made it so everyone traveling even a moderate distance (which most people are) is likely to get on the freeway (even if it's heavily trafficked!), which means that surface streets are actually usually pretty clear of traffic, since only the locals use them! And as silverthief2 said, disappearing lanes and one-way streets are exceedingly rare. I'll take driving in L.A. over any other major or even mid-sized city in the U.S.
Originally Posted by jackal
(Post 13078613)
I had absolutely no problems switching to right-hand drive in Thailand and Australia. It's much, much easier than you would think.
I might concur with your friends if you were attempting to drive in New York City, but Los Angeles's huge, wide lanes and wide streets, streets on a consistent grid (mostly), lack of one-way streets and random disappearing lanes, no issues with having your lane turn into parking and having to dodge cars, etc., make driving in Los Angeles very, very easy. I would very strongly suggest renting a car (add a GPS if you're worried about getting lost). Driving in the U.S. (and California in particular) is not difficult.
Originally Posted by paulmasterton
(Post 16849696)
I thought about trying to book a hotel to grab a sleep for a few hours but then they probably wouldn't let us check in at 6am.
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Originally Posted by paulmasterton
(Post 16849696)
I thought about trying to book a hotel to grab a sleep for a few hours but then they probably wouldn't let us check in at 6am. ?
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Originally Posted by jackal
(Post 16850067)
And I've heard lots of people used to driving automatics freak out at the thought of driving a stick
Originally Posted by paulmasterton
(Post 16849696)
Will be exhausted, and don't want to be renting a car and trying to drive in LAX (we are in mid-20s, neither of us driven in states, or even driven automatics and I don't think LAX is really the place to start!). Plus its so early in the morning even if we were up for doing that I still wouldn't know what to do!
The only frustrating part about LA driving would be lane changes when there are a lot of cars, but it's not that bad. I understand if you're going to be tired and not want to drive at all, but you should look at this as a positive experience; you get to see a bit of LA. If you get out of the terminal at 6am, there should be little traffic, although depending on the day (weekend or weekday), you may be getting in to rush hour later on. |
Originally Posted by paulmasterton
(Post 16849696)
Planning a trip for May next year which looks like involving a 10hr layover in LAX.
Arriving at 5am from Maui, and then leaving at 3pm to London. No idea what to do, have no status with BA so won't be able to get into a Lounge, and it's too early to do one of the layover tours offered by tour companies. Will be exhausted, and don't want to be renting a car and trying to drive in LAX (we are in mid-20s, neither of us driven in states, or even driven automatics and I don't think LAX is really the place to start!). Plus its so early in the morning even if we were up for doing that I still wouldn't know what to do! Any thoughts? Its a pretty sucky way to end the trip but not really got any other options. I thought about trying to book a hotel to grab a sleep for a few hours but then they probably wouldn't let us check in at 6am. I did think after reading through this thread to maybe get a cab to Manhatten Beach, maybe grab a nice breakfast and have a wander and get a taxi back to the airport about noon, but will anything be open? The other problem is that although we are flying in with AA and out with BA, I don't think we'll be able to check our bags through as the it's too long a connection time? I suppose another option would be to pay a day rate for the AA lounge when we get off, or for the reLAX lounge in the Int'l Terminal (probably the former as it has showers)? I wouldn't rent a car either for such a short stay... your best bet is to catch a bus to Santa Monica ($1) and spend a couple of hours by the beach/pier/3rd street. Manhattan Beach is ok but you will run out of things to do and see after 1 hour (especially at 6~7 AM). Also, Manhattan Beach is not very transit accessible and there may not be a taxi during the middle of the day waiting for you to take back to LAX. Whereas Santa Monica has plentiful buses to LAX and high concentration of taxi if you run short on time. |
Thanks guys. It's a Saturday lay-over btw.
I know, I know it sounds stupid, but with jet lag and the travel I don't really think getting a car is a great idea for us. Plus, me and the other half are usually pretty cool, calm and collected, but if there is one place we always argue - its in the car!! (She thinks I'm a rubbish driver, I KNOW she's a terrible one :p). So combine tiredness and a new city and our honeymoon will be ruined on the last day! Thanks for the heads up on their being more to Santa Monica than Manhattan Beach at that time of day. Hopeully we can get our bags checked so that deals with that issue. Given its an international flight, if we need to go back to get our boarding pass thats 3hrs before right? So hopefully that means by the time we get out the aiport at say 6am, get down to the beach, grab a nice coffee and breakfast, have a quick wander it'll be time to come back again and it won't feel so painful! |
Originally Posted by paulmasterton
(Post 16858010)
I know, I know it sounds stupid, but with jet lag and the travel I don't really think getting a car is a great idea for us. Plus, me and the other half are usually pretty cool, calm and collected, but if there is one place we always argue - its in the car!! (She thinks I'm a rubbish driver, I KNOW she's a terrible one :p). So combine tiredness and a new city and our honeymoon will be ruined on the last day!
Getting to Santa Monica is easy, just take the LAX Shuttle C to the LAX Transit Center, then take the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus #3 and you should appear in Santa Monica in about 40 minutes or so. To return, do the same thing, but opposite. Look for #3 that says LAX/Green Line Aviation Station. |
If AA checks your bags to LHR from OGG, you don't need to be at LAX 3 hours before departure. 1.5~2 hours is plenty of time to check in and get your bording passes.
Let say your OGG flight arrives on time at 5 AM, you will be at curb side by 5:30. It will take about 1 hour to get to Santa Monica by LAX Shuttle and #3 bus so you will be at Downtown Santa Monica no later than around 7 AM. There will be plenty of people walking around Downtown by that time (people jogging and walking their dogs plus vendors setting up for Farmers Market). You can walk down to the pier and beach and come back to Downtown 3rd Street at 8:30 AM when the Farmers Market open for some fresh food and breakfast. http://www.smgov.net/Portals/Farmers..._Downtown.aspx You can even rent a bike and ride around for a couple of hours then take the #3 bus back to LAX in the early afternoon. |
11 Hour LAX layover.....suggestions?
In a week I am flying DFW-LAX arriving around noon. I then have to wait for my next flight which is TG795 LAX-BKK which doesn't depart until 11:20pm. So I am wondering what a my options for killing this time? Here are some of my thoughts.
Note: I will no checked luggage just one (fairly heavy) backpack which I will be carrying around with me Staying at LAX: I am flying business class so I will have access to the lounge in the TBIT. -Will I be able to check in that early and just hang out in the lounge for a while? or will I have to wait before I can check in and thus wait hours before I can get into the lounge? -what all is there to do at LAX? Renting a car: How long does it typically take to get a car and get on the road after landing? Between this and needing to check in at least 2 hours before TG flight would renting a car be worth the hastle? Also where can I go that is close to LAX? I've been looking at Santa Monica or Venice Beach as they seem fairly close. Taxi: Looks like this would cost more than car rental and I wouldnt have a car I could store my bag in. Aldo if I go to say Santa Monica how easy is it to find a taxi back to LAX? Hotel: Ive thought about just getting a hotel near LAX and just relaxing but its too early to check in upon arrival and since its not an overnight layover I am not sure how practical this option is. Itinerary- DFW-BKK-HKT HKT-BKK-MUC MUC-CLT-DFW |
You don't need to rent a car to get to either Santa Monica or Venice Beach area. The weekdays on Venice Beach are not nearly as interesting for people watching or activity as the weekends. If you'd like to go to Santa Monica, take the free shuttle from LAX to the LAX Transit Center and then hop on a line 3 Santa Monica Big Blue Bus.
11 hours is a decent amount of time so if you have a specific destination or something you'd like to see I'm sure somebody can recommend a good way to get there and back in the time you have. |
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