I am flying out of Dallas next month and thought to myself instead of flying to NYC maybe I'll fly out somewhere else before heading home. I found a flight that gets into LAX at 8 in morning and and a return flight at 3:30pm. If I want to explore LA for a little bit, is it worth it? What are some recommendations?

Thanks

PS. No In-N-Out Burger, will be hitting it up when in Dallas.

Provided you're a driver, that would give you plenty of time for a visit to a couple of Westside sites. You could stay in Santa Monica, from which you could easily visit the Santa Monica Pier and its beach, the 3rd Street Promenade, Venice Beach, the Getty Museum (if you plan it carefully), the Getty Villa, etc. Not all of them, mind you, but there's plenty to choose from.

You arrive at 8 AM so you should be in your rental car by 9 AM (it takes about 45 minutes to get from the LAX terminal curb side to you driving out from the rental car lots). And since you have an international departure, you should be back at LAX no later than 2 PM - which means returning your rental car around 1:30 PM. That leaves you have about 4~5 hours to explore LA so just enough time to head out to any of our beach towns and walk around, visit a landmark or two, have some lunch, then head back to LAX.

Ah, it's 8:00 AM, I missed that! That rules out a museum visit but still leaves plenty of time for the beach. There's also Main Street Santa Monica to explore.

7 hour layover at LAX with kids
 

We have a 7+ hour layover on a Saturday at LAX on our way to Hawaii (10am until a little after 5pm). Two kids, 8 and 6.

What might be an interesting option off site for a 3-4 hour excursion?

Santa Monica Pier (and the amusement park there)?
Picnic at Dockweiler State Park (grab In and Out and then eat, run around on the sand)?
Observation Deck above the former Encounter restaurant (closed, right)?

Other suggestions?

The amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier can get pricey for two kids that age between the rides and games.

You'll probably want to eat your In n Out burgers immediately... they're best when fresh, not as great after spending 10-15 minutes trying to get to a beach that isn't that great (Dockweiler). Watch big giant planes land while chowing down on a Four-by-Four Animal Style with Whole Grilled Onion, side of well-done fries, and a Neapolitan shake.

The Pier but not for the amusement park... just walk around the area and enjoy the coast. Check out 3rd Street Promenade if you go to SM.

Random thought: Take your kids ice skating at the LA Kings practice facility (which also houses the Lakers practice facility). It's just south of LAX, walking distance from the Hilton Garden Inn or Hyatt Place in El Segundo.

Redondo Beach Pier.

Trip option is greatly influenced by whether you will rent a car, take the bus, taxi, or just walk. You have about 4 hours of free time so you can definitely do Santa Monica pier.

Lunch at In-N-Out with the kids is great... you can picnic at the little park across the street and watch airplanes land.

Just remember that picking up and returning rental car at LAX is kind of an ordeal. Give yourself an extra 30 minutes on top of your normal "time to get to the airport with 2 kids" allowance.

8 hour layover in LAX, recommendations?
 

Hi all,
Just booked my TP run this summer, will arrive into LAX from HNL at 6.30am, and our A380 back to LHR won't leave until 3.35pm. Any recommendations on how we can maximise our time there please? I am thinking Manhattan Beach for breakfast, and walk etc, then head back to In&Out around lunch to watch planes for a bit before heading back into the terminal building. Good plan?
Would love to hear your ideas.
Cheers!
Jake
P.S My itinerary is as follows, in case others happen to be on the same trip!
3 July, DUB-LHR-LAX-HNL 5 July, HNL-LAX-LHR-DUB

Your plan sounds good but wow an 8 hour layover is really going to make that a long trip

Hi,

Manhattan Beach is very nice with a pier and small aquarium ( opening hours may not be until 9am at least) with lots of beach volleyball courts and some of the houses along the beachfront ( there is a sidewalk are very interesting


Regards

TBS

Thanks! I imagine the cafes etc are open for breakfast before 9 right? Not keen on dragging our carryons around everywhere though...

Hi,

I would imagine so ( I have been in Manhattan Beach in the afternoon)

Regards

TBD

Yeah, it sucks, but there isn't an alternative AA flight from HNL to LAX that will get us there in time for our BA flight back to LHR. The only alternative would give us a 5 1/2 hour layover, which in my eyes are even worse, as it is too long to do nothing, but too short to do anything.

What is worrying me a bit is that the HNL to LAX is a redeye on AA old 757, though we are in First, I am not sure how comfortable of a sleep we can get on that flight. At least we will have 11 hours in BA's CW to catch up on sleep. Just have to make the most of our time in LA, and get a mini break out of it so that the break in the journey could work in our favour :)