5 Hours in the City of Angels – What to do?

It is a common scenario, you are on a long flight from Australia and need to connect to another airline, so you have allowed some time in case of delays.  So what do you do with your time?  One of our members asks this very question about a destination that is quite popular for Australian flights, Los Angeles.

Hi all, advice appreciated: next month I’ll be transiting through LAX – due to arrive in TBIT on QF93 at 6.35am, then fly out of T3 at 12 noon with JetBlue (on a Friday)  Is this enough time to leave the airport and go somewhere semi-interesting? If so any suggestions of where and how to get there? I’ve never been to LA other than transiting without leaving the airport.

One of the first things to do is look at the reliability of your inbound flight, often a route may have a certain problem each day that sees a particular flight always late, such as congestion or even a temporary one like seasonal headwinds.  Sites like Flightradar24.com and Flightaware.com can give you recent performance of most flights.  With a seven day average arrival time of 7.26 for QF93 at the time of writing, already you are down to an expectation of having 4 hours to fill, should the trend continue.

Another issue to look at is travel time if you do leave an airport and whether it will vary.  Many cities have peak demand on transport for a few hours a day, you know that time when you cannot hail a cab for love and money, just hours after seeing the streets flooded with them.

Trains are often a good means of transport, mostly running frequently and in a timely manner.  The LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates the Metro train service on several lines around Los Angeles.  The nearest station to LAX airport is Aviation Station. A free shuttle bus from the lower level of all terminals serves the Aviation Station of the Metro Green Line.

Once its clear there is time to leave, what to do?  Head to the beach is a popular answer from many of our members

Venice beach is also very nice for a quick jaunt from the airport & offers some lovely cafes & fresh air.  The same applies for Manhattan beach & is within close proximity to the airport.

Have you been to Los Angeles recently in transit, what did you do?  Share your experience HERE.

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