Any ideas to fill in time waiting at LAX?

[Scout]

On an October Sunday, we arrive 2:50 PM from Florida, and depart for Oz at 10:30 PM. Suggestions as to what to do please? We are in our 60s.

 

[Sprucegoose]

On an October Sunday, we arrive 2:50 PM from Florida, and depart for Oz at 10:30 PM. Suggestions as to what to do please? We are in our 60s.

You could always head up to SFO........for a few hours......

Others will tell you to hire a car as there are plenty of great places in the hinterland. As I avoid lax like the plague I am not qualified to respond in that vein

 

[malmacdowall]

I recently had the same issue. I took a taxi fom LAX to Venice beach. Only a short trip and a nice walk along the beach, along the pier and dinner in one of the many restaurants. Plenty to do and a
Nice area to wander ....

 

[cove]

Hire a bike at Venice Beach to see the sights.
Go to Flemings or Houston's for a relaxing last American red meat experience at El Segundo.
Go shopping if your bags are not overly full.

 

[robd]

On an October Sunday, we arrive 2:50 PM from Florida, and depart for Oz at 10:30 PM. Suggestions as to what to do please? We are in our 60s.

Agree you should head to Venice Beach/Santa Monica Pier and Third Street Promenade for some shopping and restaurants.

 

[munitalP]

I would take a cab to Manhattan Beach - 10 minutes (5 miles) away from airport in a straight line south. There are some excellent eateries / bars there and this will kill some time away from the airport. Also, there is no need to take free ways or the likes, so the travel time is fast.

 

[moa999]

You know you want to:
How do you do an In-N-Out run from LAX or other LA area airports? [merged threads] - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[cove]

If you head north up Lincoln there is an In-N-Out at Washington if you turn right. There is a Costco there as well and it is on the way to Venice Beach as you go through Marina Del Rey.
American dining that really attracts the crowds is quite amazing.
Santa Monica is a very nice area to visit with the shops and beach.

 

[etops1]

Been in the same situation a few times.

Santa Monica is my vote, about $45/30min by taxi. The pier is iconic and there's a few nice places to eat.
Venice beach is a leisurely hour stroll south down the coast from Santa Monica. It's a bit scuzzy though with all the "counter culture" but I like it.
Manhattan beach is the closest ~$35/20min by taxi. Very beautiful and much quieter than the northern beaches.

The J Paul Getty museum is a bit further out and closes at 5:30pm on Sunday but one to think about for another time.

And of course, probably not one for the OP butmy must go spot the In-N-Out burger almost under the flightpath for runway 24. Great for planespotting, within walking distance from LAX, top cheeseburgers though the fries are no good, the oil is a bit off

 

[Fantic125]

For the amount of time you have I would also recommend Manhattan beach rather than Venice. You can catch a bus there and back (20 to 30 mins) or take a taxi.

Have a stroll along the pier, watch the locals play volleyball, relax over a coffee, and maybe pick up some bargains from the local shops.

Enjoy the ambiance.

 

[drewbles]

Been in the same situation a few times.

Santa Monica is my vote, about $45/30min by taxi. The pier is iconic and there's a few nice places to eat.
Venice beach is a leisurely hour stroll south down the coast from Santa Monica. It's a bit scuzzy though with all the "counter culture" but I like it.
Manhattan beach is the closest ~$35/20min by taxi. Very beautiful and much quieter than the northern beaches.

The J Paul Getty museum is a bit further out and closes at 5:30pm on Sunday but one to think about for another time.

And of course, probably not one for the OP butmy must go spot the In-N-Out burger almost under the flightpath for runway 24. Great for planespotting, within walking distance from LAX, top cheeseburgers though the fries are no good, the oil is a bit off

I'll add my vote for Santa Monica. The walk along the beach is nice, and there's the pier as mentioned. It's also just down from Venice Beach if you wanna go see that too. The 3rd ave Mall at Santa Monica isn't bad. There's also a heap of good places to eat/drink in the area, so you'll have no problems wandering around for the day at those two areas i'd say!

 

[straitman]

An entirely different idea if you are comfortable driving in the US.

Grab a hire car and head 25 miles to the Long Beach and spend a few hours looking around the Queen Mary.

 

[mella2007]

I agree with the comments about Santa Monica or Venice Beach...both great places to spend a few hours.

There are also numerous tours you could do if you just wanted to sit in a van for a few hours and see the sights of L.A.

 

[harvyk]

+1 for santa monica.

Of course you could also do the typical hollywood walk of fame. It's certainly a place which screams LA.

 

[Blackadder]

I would go Santa Monica, or head to Hollywood Bvd for the Walk of fame,Grauman's Chinese Theatre,Kodak Theatre, Madam Tussauds,Ripleys Believe it or not,etc

 

[Berlin]

Agree with Santa Monica, easy to get to and quite beautiful. Alternatively, the usual Hollywood kinda tourist stuff is easy to do within this timeframe as well. I'd personally rent a car for the day but I'm very comfortable with driving in the US (and swapping between left- and right hand driving all the time) so it may not be everyone's cup of tea. An own car would also open up some great shopping options if that's preferred over beach or tourist sites. To all other destinations, a taxi will do and is not too expensive from LAX.

LAX is a s*&thole but the one thing you can't complain about is its location- surprisingly close to Hollywood, Downtown and some really nice beaches. Actually- there's hardly anything bad to do with that time in LA- besides just staying at LAX which is, as said, a total s*&thole

 

[AVC]

I wouldn't go the car. By the time you deplane, get to the offsite rental company, take a wrong turn, get jammed in LA traffic, park, and do it all in reverse in enough time to jump through the hoops and show your IDs 5 times, you'll be out of time.

The beaches by public transport is the way to go.

And yeah, LAX is pretty coughpy, but the Lounge in Tom Bradley is OK

 

[cove]

You could go on the bigbluebus.com ride from LAX to Santa Monica. That would require you to have correct change which is easy. It gets you there along Lincoln which is Highway One in disguise. The fares are way lower than on Australian public transport.

 

[serfty]

...
And yeah, LAX is pretty coughpy, but the Lounge in Tom Bradley is OK

OK? Compared to what?

The rest of LAX in general? If so then maybe, but if the OP is in their 60's and arriving from Florida, presumable on AA and has lounge access then the AC/FL at T4 is where I'd spend several hours before heading to gate 44 and taking the Bus to TBIT.

 

[cove]

One of my older friends took the Marriott Hotel bus to the Marriott West Century and hit the sports bar there for a few hours of drinks and a bit of bar style food. Lots of sports broadcasts to keep him going for that lay over.