~5 hrs in LAX - what to do?

[Clivem]

Yes... In 'n Out Burgers for fresh cut french fries!

Oh yeah .......but re In N Out ...... get serious .........get a 'Double Double -ANIMAL Style'

Also agree breezed through TBIT on a VA7 early morning arrival last week again ...... pretty much VA and QF's are the first to knock on the door in the morning - from pulling up at the gate to into an execucar SUV in under 35 minutes ------

If you hit Santa Monica ever give Blue Plate Taco at 1515 Ocean Ave a run in the afternoon early evening - great casual service and food - pork belly taco OMG !

 

[cove]

Well done Jack3193 and thanks for reporting back.
Because we live part time in Marina del Rey we often head to either Venice/Santa Monica to our north or south to Manhattan beach area for a casual beach walk or dining.
In our area we have a Cheesecake Factory which suits us for a casual eatery.

 

[lmere12]

Thanks for reporting back Jack3193, I will have similar next year arriving 09:30 and departing at 15:30, didn't fancy hanging around the airport. Will look at doing the same

 

[Jurahn]

Thanks for reporting back Jack3193, I will have similar next year arriving 09:30 and departing at 15:30, didn't fancy hanging around the airport. Will look at doing the same

Just in case you were planning to use the ReLAX Lounge at TBIT, unfortunately it closed permanently in November 2013 and there's apparently no plans to replace it with something similar.

 

[kpc]

Just thought I'd report back. I arrived on QF093 about 10 mins early this morning (about 6.25am), and cleared passport control and customs in no time. Qantas in MEL were able to tag my bag for my conecting flight with JetBlue, so all I had to do was collect it and drop it off again in the same way you would if you were connecting to AA or whatever. So I was in a taxi before 7am!

I headed to Manhattan Beach, had a nice breakfast and took advantage of free wifi in the cafe to check e-mails etc, then walked along the beach for about an hour, and got back to the airport by 9.30am, sill with 2 and a half hours to spare before my next flight! I'd highly recommend this to anyone in the same boat - fresh air, sunshine and exercise really help you to feel human again after a long flight. The taxi was about $25 each way.

And since I stil have some spare time before my next flight, I decided to use my Priority Pass for the first time ever and go into the ReLAX lounge landside at TBIT. It's actually quite a nice lounge, and with PP you get free beer or wine (I know it's still the morning, but it's beer o'clock on the East Coast!). No showers though. You can walk from TBIT to T3 in about 5 mins.

Thanks again for all the advice.

I will have 7 hours transit in Lax in the mid afternoon to evening in May so am grateful for your report

 

[Jason7]

wish i saw this report before my trip.

 

[cove]

We spent 3 hours at the Getty Museum. Free entry and $15 for parking. It was worth the money and not too far up the 405 North freeway from LAX.

 

[amaroo]

We spent 3 hours at the Getty Museum. Free entry and $15 for parking. It was worth the money and not too far up the 405 North freeway from LAX.

Terrific suggestion! Spectacular buildings/property.

 

[cove]

I came to the conclusion that Getty struck a lot of oil to be able to have a wonderful museum developed like that.
The museum is not open every day so check the opening days and times.
We parked on P6 today so it was getting a good crowd. I think it goes down to P7.

 

[Foreigner]

I have about 8 hrs in LAX after arriving from SAN on AA in first. My connecting flight is VA. Wondering if baggage can be checked thru. If not, I'll be tagging bag for a long while. Not sure if lockers are available to enable me to get out of terminal for several hours. And tips/suggestions?

 

[cove]

We would catch the Marriott bus to 5855 W.Century check our bags and use a booked Hertz hire car to explore from there. Haven't done that for about 8 years but it worked for many years before that. Pay a bag tip of $2.50 per bag and don't lose the bag chits. Then take the courtesy bus to your terminal when you have returned the hire car to the hotel. Should still work. There are taxis if you don't want to drive.