LAX · Layover Guide
Los Angeles
Stop in Los Angeles.
Best layover: 4–24h
LayoverScore™
Base city score. Your route score varies by savings and timing.
Exit realism
Comfortable window
Enough room in Los Angeles for a real stop. Keep the buffer at the end anyway.
Landside playbook
If time slips
- Drop the last stop. Go straight to the train, taxi rank, or ride pickup you already chose.
- Add 15 minutes to map ETAs for the return leg at rush hour.
- One ticket for the whole trip protects you when the inbound is late. Separate tickets do not.
Worth knowing
- Do not stack three stops. One solid block in the city beats a rushed loop.
- Do not treat one map time as gospel for immigration lines. Pad on your first pass through this hub.
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Places to stay
Search hotelsLayoverScore™ breakdown
Score 70 · Discover 51 · Ease 22
Why Los Angeles scores 70
Getting there
Metro K Line $1.75 · FlyAway Bus $9.75
min to center
metro- 01Metro K Line + E Line to Santa Monica (55 min)
- 02FlyAway bus to Union Station (35-50 min)
- 03Uber/Lyft to Santa Monica (25-45 min depending on traffic)
- 04LAX-it lot required for rideshare pickup
64 min by FlyAway - LAX to Union Station
- 01Venice Beach boardwalk and Muscle Beach
- 02Santa Monica Pier and Third Street Promenade
- 03The Getty Center (free admission, stunning architecture)
- 04Grand Central Market downtown food hall
- 05Griffith Observatory with Hollywood sign views
Experiences in Los Angeles
Timed tours and tickets for Los Angeles are listed on our partner site.
Open listingsOpens in a new tab.
- Delta Sky Club~60 min1 min walk
- NBC Sports Grill and Brew~60 min1 min walk
- Ronald F. Deaton Civic Auditorium~75 min1 min walk
- The Screening Exchange~75 min1 min walk
- Expedition 2~90 min1 min walk
- Los Angeles California~90 min1 min walk
- Dodger Stadium4.7
- Grand Central Market4.5
- The Broad4.7
- Walt Disney Concert Hall4.7
- MacArthur Park3.6
Need a room for your layover? Browse hotels near the airport.
Where to stay →Drop your luggage. Don't drag it around the city.
Bounce
Multiple locations in Santa Monica & Venice
$6/bag
0 min walk
LAX Luggage Storage
Terminal adjacent, shuttle service
$15/bag
5 min walk
Hilton Los Angeles Airport
Adjacent to airport
$89/day
10 min walk
From the terminal to the good part.
Metro K Line
to city
Free LAX shuttle to Aviation/Century station, then K Line to downtown or E Line to Santa Monica
55 min
$1.75
FlyAway Bus
to city
Direct to Union Station, runs 24/7
45 min
$9.75
Uber/Lyft
to city
Must use LAX-it pickup lot, add 10-15 min wait. Traffic can double travel time
35 min
$35.00
Santa Monica Big Blue Bus
to city
Route 3 to Santa Monica, budget option
70 min
$1.25
Go City Los Angeles
40+ attractions including Warner Bros tour, Madame Tussauds
Not ideal for short layovers, better for 12+ hours
$89
per day
Getting there
Get an Uber from the airportAt the airport
- 01Theme Building observation deck (currently closed for renovation)
- 02Encounter Restaurant retro-futuristic architecture
- 03Tom Bradley International Terminal art installations
- 04In-N-Out Burger at Sepulveda Blvd (visible from runway)
Read more about Los Angeles
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