Long layover in Los Angles

[wtolmie]

Re: Killing time during LAX layover...(USA travel virgin)

The Chilli's restaurant in LAX AA Terminal has some awesome buffalo chicken !! Sorry just had to throw that in..

 

[mjdonovan]

9 hour Layover at LAX

Hi,

I'm a very inexperienced traveler (and this is my first post), so I have a few questions about my layover at LAX. I'm flying Syd-Nadi-LAX-Boston, the Syd-LAX is with Air Pacific and LAX-Boston is with American Airlines. The layover is from 1:20pm to 10:05pm.

Being a complete 'noob', my current understanding of what will happen is:
1) I wouldn't be able to check my bag in for the whole flight to Boston, so I'd have to pick it up at LAX.
2) The process is: clear customs, pick up checked bags (somewhere nearby), and then check them in before the flight out......
Is that right?

Also, should I take my bags to the storage at laxluggagestorage.com or do something else with them? I'll probably just catch a cab into LA but don't want my bags to be in the way...

And..... how long should I allow for checking back in at LAX?

Cheers!

 

[blueflamenco]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

Right, you will have to clear customs with your bags at LAX.

Check in for your domestic flight around 90 mins beforehand.

Catch a cab into LA? Have you been to LA before? I think you will want a very clear idea of what you are looking to achieve, see or do well in advance. Catching a cab into LA is not the same as catching a cab into Sydney or San Francisco.

Personally I wouldn't bother with all that for LA. You really only have 6 or so hours to kill.

Have a great trip!

 

[newformula]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

SYD - LAX completely buggered me in economy earlier this year, and that was direct on QF. I'd suggest not bothering with LA- its so sprawling you'll spend 1/2 your layover in a cab- and find an airport hotel for a nap to make the best of the rest of your break. Depends on if you know how your body will cope with the jet lag, flight times etc.

 

[serfty]

I believe Air Pacific have a baggage interline agreement with American Airlines.


At Nadi you should be able to tag your luggage all the way to BOS.

You will arrive at the "Tom Bradley International Terminal" (AKA "TBIT")

If you can tag you luggage to BOS, you still need to collect it at LAX after immigration and proceed though customs. At TBIT, you redeposit it almost immediatly after passing customs - perhaps a 1 minute walk.

You may still need to check in for you BOS flight at the AA terminal (T4).

 

[TimB]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

Being a complete 'noob', my current understanding of what will happen is:
1) I wouldn't be able to check my bag in for the whole flight to Boston, so I'd have to pick it up at LAX.
2) The process is: clear customs, pick up checked bags (somewhere nearby), and then check them in before the flight out......
Is that right?

I think you should be able to have your bags checked through to Boston, but you'll still need to pick them up to clear customs at LAX, and then drop them off again for the flight(s) to Boston. The difference here is that you wouldn't need to go through the whole check in process again, which is where they put the destination tag on your bags.

As for how to spend your time in LA, pick one thing you want to do or see. If you're confident driving, you could hire a car for a few hours and drive yourself (make sure you have a GPS!), or else take cabs. But don't even think of walking! You could shop -- Manhattan Beach isn't far from LAX -- or go to the beach, etc. If you like burgers, try In'n'Out Burger just north of LAX.

If you're into old planes, I think there's some kind of warbird museum just east of LAX. I've flown over it numerous times, but never visited it.

Whatever you choose to do, remember that LA is huge and spread out, and it can take a while to get anywhere. So make sure you leave enough time to get back to LAX. And don't be surprised if your Air Pacific flight into LAX is a few hours late, and customs takes an hour or two to get through...

 

[cove]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

Can you change the lay over time to go to Boston on AA as there would be more flights than just that one.
3 hours at LAX is enough for switching.
Alternatively you could go on the Marriott bus and go to their sports bar or catch a taxi up to Costco up about 5 miles east on West Century after putting your bags thru the suggested process.
You can become a Costco member very quickly but there is a fee to join.

 

[Dave Noble]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

Can you change the lay over time to go to Boston on AA as there would be more flights than just that one.

Actually, with AA there isn't. After the 12:20 departure, the next is at 22:15. The 12:20 gets into BOS at 20:55 and then the 22:15 gets in at 06:45. No flights scheduled to arrive in middle of the night

What I would suggest to the OP; if the ticket permits it, is to change the AA flight to one the following morning or lunchtime and be able to rest up in Los Angeles

 

[cove]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

Thank you Dave for correcting me on Boston flights out of LAX direct. The layover is always a great idea but some flyers seem to handle a 30 hour trip in their stride.I know I need to stop one day in LAX and I have been doing that trip for over 30 years.

 

[straitman]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

If you actually arrive somewhere close to time you could hire a car and head down to Long Beach and have a look at the (original) Queen Mary which is now a floating hotel. An excellent way to kill off a few hours.

 

[Saab34]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

The layover is always a great idea but some flyers seem to handle a 30 hour trip in their stride

+1 for layover.

Once I did MEL-BNE-LAX-JFK without a layover. VX canned the connection so it took 36hrs from leaving home to arriving NYC hotel. Never again.

 

[11sjw]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

Airport to Santa Monica might be better than Airport-LA city centre.

Spend some time walking from Santa Monica down to Venice Beach.

 

[cove]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

There is bike hire at three main hotels in Marina Del Rey and also at Venice Beach.
I paid $8 for an hour to wake up my legs at Venice and the ride either way is very nice.

 

[11sjw]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

I'd like to toss this one up again. I'm going the other way, ie back to Oz and will have a 12 hour stop in LA (arrive at 1030 and depart at 2230) on my way out on Sat 11th April.

Does anyone know if Delta and Qantas interline? Or wil I have to grab my bag and check it in with QF?

I'm thinking of hiring a car and taking it from there. Previously done Santa Monica/Venice, Hollywood and the hills. Is this city centre a viable option?

Any suggestions welcome.

 

[cove]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

Check events on Stubhub.com as a start.

 

[ozavanti]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

Airport to Santa Monica might be better than Airport-LA city centre.

Spend some time walking from Santa Monica down to Venice Beach.

Hi mjdonovan,

I would agree with a few of the suggestions on the thread so far.

I took the Big Blue Bus from TBIT to Santa Monica on my last visit and found it both light on the pocket compared to a cab or hirecar (at US$1 each way). I liked not having to worry about driving or wondering if i was getting ripped off by a cab driver.

Santa Monica was nice and somewhat reminded me of a cross between Surfers Paradise, St Kilda and Bondi all rolled into one. It's great if you want high end shopping, but i must admit that i only lasted about an hour before i was bored and jumped back on the bus to the Airport an the comfort of the QP.

On another occasion i spent my layover time going from LAX to the Getty Center Museum. If you are in to art, architecture and gardens then its well worth the time and effort.

The resources that helped me do it are:

How to get from LAX to Santa Monica on the Bus | Kristin Eberhard's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC)

Layover at LAX: Getty Center

Hope it helps and enjoy your trip.

Oz

 

[ozavanti]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

I'd like to toss this one up again. I'm going the other way, ie back to Oz and will have a 12 hour stop in LA (arrive at 1030 and depart at 2230) on my way out on Sat 11th April.

Does anyone know if Delta and Qantas interline? Or wil I have to grab my bag and check it in with QF?

I'm thinking of hiring a car and taking it from there. Previously done Santa Monica/Venice, Hollywood and the hills. Is this city centre a viable option?

Any suggestions welcome.

Unless things have changed in 2 months, Qantas have a check-in desk open all the time at TBIT, so you should be able to do an early check-in and go sightseeing anyway.

 

[cove]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

You could go to South Coast Plaza area which is south on the 405 in Costa Mesa.
There are plenty of final shopping opportunities within 2 miles of the Bristol turn off.
For dining you could try Mortons Steakhouse,Maggianos or even Rubys which is a fifties styled hamburger place.
A closer dining option to the airport would be Flemings in El Segundo or a simple visit to Whole Foods Market in the same area for some simple fresh reasonably priced lunch that you select.
Going south on Highway One from the airport gets you a coast drive that can be interesting.

 

[BensAdventures]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

With 9 hours, I would definitely leave the airport.

I've done Venice Beach & Santa Monica a couple of times while waiting for connecting flights, if the weather is good, it's a great place to see!

I'm not really into Art etc, but the Getty Center was amazing. The views of LA are pretty impressive from there too (if you can see through the smog).

I wouldn't bother to go to Long Beach, I've been caught in traffic heading there a couple of times and it's taken me nearly an hour from LAX. As a layover option, Long Beach is great. I stay normally at Aria in Long Beach, very nice.

 

[Blackadder]

Re: 9 hour Layover at LAX

If you can spend the day in LA without a significant penalty then do that,