What to do on a Los Angeles layover

Every plan below starts and ends at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The times in town assume about 90 minutes from landing to the kerb, for the border, your bags and customs, and that you’re back at the airport 90 minutes before departure with your onward boarding pass.

First make sure you can leave the airport: even to change planes at LAX you need an ESTA, a US visa or a passport that needs neither. Then check the day: The Broad is closed on Mondays, and Grand Central Market on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The bus and train times are their operators’; every ride time by road is our estimate, since none is published. On a weekday between 4pm and 7pm, leave the beaches 30 minutes earlier than a plan says.

5.5 to 7 hours: the beaches next to the airport

A 5.5-hour layover leaves about 1.5 hours by the sea, 6 hours about 2, and 7 hours about 3.

Dockweiler Beach and In-N-Out

The nearest sand to the terminals, a wide public beach, then a burger at the In-N-Out by the airport. It suits a short layover, children who need to run, and anyone who wants to say they’ve seen the Pacific.

1. Take the free shuttle from outside baggage claim to LAX-it and call a ride-hail to Dockweiler Beach, at the Imperial Highway car park: 10 to 15 minutes (our estimate).
2. Spend about 40 minutes on the beach. It’s free.
3. Ride 5 to 10 minutes back towards the airport to In-N-Out Burger on Sepulveda Boulevard, at number 9149.
4. Call your ride to the terminal 2 hours before your flight.

Opening hours. The beach’s car park is open from 6am to 10pm. In-N-Out opens at 10:30am and closes at 1am, or 1:30am on Fridays and Saturdays, so a landing before about 7:45am reaches the restaurant before it opens.

After dark. In November the sun sets in the late afternoon, so an afternoon or evening landing may reach the beach in the dark. In-N-Out alone is still a fair use of the time.

Bags. The car takes them, so this is the plan for a short layover with a case.

Manhattan Beach Pier and The Strand

A small beach town just south of the airport, with a pier and a seafront path. It’s quieter than Santa Monica and suits a couple or anyone who’d rather walk than queue. A 6-hour layover leaves about 1.5 hours there.

1. From LAX-it, take a ride-hail to Manhattan Beach Pier, at the end of Manhattan Beach Boulevard: 15 to 25 minutes (our estimate).
2. Walk the 928-foot pier to the Roundhouse Aquarium at its end. It’s free to walk.
3. Follow The Strand, the seafront path for walkers, runners and cyclists, in either direction.
4. Call your ride back to the terminal 2 hours 10 minutes before your flight.

Opening hours. The pier and The Strand are public and have no published hours; the aquarium’s hours change, so don’t count on it. After dark there’s little to see.

By bus. A local bus, Beach Cities Transit Line 109, also reaches the pier for US$1, but no journey time from LAX is published, so on a layover take a car.

7 to 10 hours: Santa Monica and Venice

About 2 hours in Santa Monica on a 7-hour layover by ride-hail, and about 5 on a 10-hour one.

Santa Monica Pier and Promenade by ride-hail

The quickest of the famous places: a pier with a funfair over the Pacific, and the city’s pedestrian shopping street behind it. It suits a first visit and families.

1. From LAX-it, take a ride-hail north to Santa Monica Pier, 20 to 30 minutes outside rush hour (our estimate).
2. Spend about an hour on the pier: free, and open daily from 6am to 10pm. Pacific Park, the funfair on it, is free to enter, with rides paid for one by one or with a wristband.
3. Walk about 10 minutes inland to Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian shopping street, for about 45 minutes.
4. Call your ride back 2 hours 25 minutes before your flight.

Opening hours. Pacific Park’s hours change through the year and at short notice: from 9 to 12 November 2026 it’s open from noon to 7pm, and on Thanksgiving from 11am to 9pm. Check its website on the day. Its unlimited-ride wristband for ages 8 and over is US$40 online (seen November 2026).

Pick your day. Third Street Promenade has farmers’ markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

With children. Pacific Park’s rides and the beach beside the pier make this the best plan for them.

Santa Monica Pier and Promenade by Big Blue Bus

The same afternoon for US$1.25 each way. The bus and its shuttle take longer than a car, so it needs 8 hours.

1. Take the free Metro Connector shuttle from the pink LAX Shuttle signs on the lower (arrivals) level to the LAX/Metro Transit Center, and board Big Blue Bus Route 3 at Bays 4 and 5. Tap a contactless card.
2. Ride to Arizona and 5th in Downtown Santa Monica: 35 to 56 minutes, depending on the hour.
3. Walk about 10 minutes to Santa Monica Pier, then back to Third Street Promenade, next to the bus stop.
4. Catch Route 3 back from Arizona and 5th 3 hours 10 minutes before your flight, or 3 hours 25 minutes on a weekday between 4:30pm and 6:30pm.

Bus times. Route 3 leaves the Transit Center from 4:45am on weekdays and 5:30am at weekends, every 10 to 15 minutes by day. The last bus back leaves Arizona and 5th at 11pm every night.

Bags. Fine with a small case, but with a large one take a ride-hail.

Venice Beach Boardwalk and Santa Monica Pier

Two beaches in one afternoon: Venice’s boardwalk of stalls, street performers and murals, then the pier a short ride north. It suits people-watchers and anyone with 8 hours.

1. From LAX-it, take a ride-hail to Venice Beach, at Windward Avenue: 20 to 30 minutes (our estimate).
2. Walk the boardwalk for about 75 minutes. Bikes aren’t allowed on it.
3. Take a ride-hail about 15 minutes north (our estimate) to Santa Monica Pier, open from 6am to 10pm, for about 75 minutes.
4. Call your ride back to the terminal 2 hours 25 minutes before your flight.

Opening hours. The stalls and performers on the boardwalk’s beach side start at 9am. The shops on its land side open between 10am and 11am and usually close around sunset, so Venice is best before late afternoon.

8.5 to 12 hours: downtown and Hollywood

About 2.5 hours downtown on an 8.5-hour layover and about 6 on a 12-hour one; Hollywood, further out, leaves less.

Union Station and Olvera Street by FlyAway

One bus from the airport kerb to Union Station, then Olvera Street’s stalls opposite and lunch at Grand Central Market. It suits groups, travellers with luggage and anyone who’d rather not change trains.

1. Take the FlyAway from the blue columns outside your terminal’s lower (arrivals) level, every 30 minutes, to Union Station: 30 to 60 minutes, US$12.75, paid by tapping a contactless card or phone.
2. Cross the road from the station to Olvera Street: free, with stalls and restaurants open from 10am to between 6pm and 8pm, and to between 8pm and 10pm at weekends. Allow about 40 minutes.
3. Walk about 20 minutes south (our estimate) to Grand Central Market at 317 South Broadway, open daily from 8am to 9pm, for lunch at its food stalls. Or take the B or D Line two stops to Pershing Square, a block from the market, for US$1.75.
4. Walk back to Union Station and catch the FlyAway at Patsaouras Plaza, Bus Stop 1, 3 hours 10 minutes before your flight.

Last bus. The last FlyAway back leaves Union Station at 11:30pm.

Pick your day. Grand Central Market is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and closes early on Christmas Eve (6pm) and New Year’s Eve (7pm).

Bags. The FlyAway takes three stored bags and one carry-on for each passenger, each up to 50 pounds.

With children. Two children under 5 ride the FlyAway free with each paying adult.

The Broad, Disney Hall and Grand Central Market

A free museum of contemporary art, Frank Gehry’s steel concert hall across the street, and a market lunch, all by train. It suits art and architecture lovers, and it’s cheap: about US$3.50 for the day.

1. Take the Metro Connector shuttle to the LAX/Metro Transit Center, the K Line to Expo/Crenshaw, then the E Line east to Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill: about 1 hour 30 minutes from the kerb.
2. Spend about 75 minutes at The Broad. General admission is free; reserve a timed ticket online if you can, though walk-up entry is offered every day. The footbridge over Hope Street is closed, so cross at street level.
3. Walk round the outside of Walt Disney Concert Hall, across the street from the station, for about 15 minutes.
4. Ride the E Line a stop to Historic Broadway, or walk, and eat at Grand Central Market, a block from the station.
5. Take the E Line from Historic Broadway 3 hours 15 minutes before your flight, changing at Expo/Crenshaw for the K Line to the airport station.

Opening hours. The Broad opens from 11am to 5pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 11am to 8pm on Thursdays, and 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Last train. The last train that gets you back leaves Historic Broadway at 11:35pm. The market closes at 9pm, so you won’t need it unless you stay on for dinner.

Bags. The changes involve stairs and escalators, so travel with a cabin bag at most.

Hollywood Walk of Fame by Metro

Hollywood Boulevard’s stars in the pavement, without an hour in traffic. It’s the longest ride of any plan here, so it suits film fans with 8.5 hours or more.

1. Take the Metro Connector shuttle, the K Line to Expo/Crenshaw, the E Line east to 7th St/Metro Center and the B Line to Hollywood/Highland: about 1 hour 50 minutes from the kerb, US$1.75 for the trip if you tap the same card at each change.
2. Walk Hollywood Boulevard for about 90 minutes. The Walk of Fame runs along it from Gower Street to La Brea Avenue, and along Vine Street from Sunset Boulevard to Yucca Street. It’s a public street, free at any hour.
3. Take the B Line back from Hollywood/Highland 3 hours 40 minutes before your flight.

Last train. The last B Line train that connects with the last trains to the airport leaves Hollywood/Highland at about 11:10pm. Late-evening trains run every 20 minutes, so don’t cut it finer.

Bags. Three trains and their stairs: cabin bags only.

Overnight: sleep near the airport, then Santa Monica at opening

Land in the evening, sleep by the airport, and be on Santa Monica Pier when it opens at 6am.

Rest near the airport, then Santa Monica at opening

1. After the border, take your hotel’s free shuttle from the upper (departures) level, or a ride-hail from LAX-it.
2. In the morning, ride the hotel shuttle back to the terminals and the Metro Connector shuttle, which starts at 4am, to the LAX/Metro Transit Center.
3. Catch Big Blue Bus Route 3 at 4:45am on a weekday, reaching Arizona and 5th at 5:20am. At weekends the first bus is at 5:30am, reaching Santa Monica at 6:08am.
4. Walk to Santa Monica Pier for its 6am opening and spend about 90 minutes there, with the beach almost to yourself.
5. Take Route 3 back about 7:30am. That fits a flight from about 10:40am; with a later flight, stay for breakfast on the Promenade.

Pacific Park opens later in the day (at noon from 9 to 12 November 2026), so a dawn visit is for the pier and the beach, not the rides.

24 hours

With a whole day, do the beaches in the morning and downtown in the afternoon. There’s no time limit at LAX once you’ve entered the US, and no airline offers a free stopover hotel at LAX, so book your own room.

A good order: a ride-hail to Venice and Santa Monica in the morning, then the E Line from Downtown Santa Monica straight to downtown, 47 minutes to 7th St/Metro Center, for The Broad and Grand Central Market. Come back by the Metro or the FlyAway: the last trains and the last FlyAway leave downtown between 11:30pm and 11:38pm. With a night in a hotel, add Hollywood on the second day.

Rest at the airport

LAX has no hotel inside the airport and no transit area, so you clear the border and collect your bags before resting anywhere. These are the options, best first.

A day room at the Travelodge by Wyndham LAX

The only published day rate near the airport. Rooms are let from 9am to 8pm, subject to availability, for US$74.95 for two people or US$79.95 for up to four (seen November 2026), US$10 more from 15 June to 31 August, with a bed and a hot shower. The hotel runs a free airport shuttle 24 hours a day from the terminals’ upper (departures) level; call the hotel to book the room, confirm the price and arrange the pickup.

Hotels with airport shuttles, before security

Many hotels stand within a mile of LAX, on Airport, Century, La Cienega, Manchester and Sepulveda boulevards. Their free shuttles pick up on the upper (departures) level of every terminal, and none is a walk away. Book a night as you would anywhere; no airline at LAX gives connecting passengers a free room.

A spa or lounge at Tom Bradley, after security

Once you’ve checked in again and passed security, Priority Pass members can use the Be Relax spas in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, from 9am to 9pm, and Terminal 1, from 6am to 10pm. The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in Tom Bradley, open from 8am to 10:30pm, takes Priority Pass for an extra fee. No day-pass prices are published. Airline lounges in Tom Bradley are for their own premium passengers.

Wait in the terminal

Free, and fine for the shortest layovers. Every terminal has free Wi-Fi, “_LAX Free WiFi”, but no showers and no lockers. Luggage carts cost US$8.

Tips that make a Los Angeles layover easier

• Tap one card. The Metro, the Big Blue Bus and the FlyAway all take a contactless bank card or phone; on the Metro, changes within two hours are free if you tap the same one.
• Watch the clock on weekday afternoons. Between about 4pm and 7pm the drive back to LAX is at its slowest, so pick the Metro or leave the beaches early.
• Tell your driver the terminal. From Terminal 1 to Terminal 8 is about 2 miles on foot.
• The airport train isn’t running. SkyLink, the new people mover, has no opening date; the shuttle buses do its job.
• Leave big bags in town. LAX has no lockers. In November 2026 Bounce listed shops and hotels holding bags in Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood and downtown from about US$4.25 a day.
• The clocks change. On Sunday 14 March 2027 the clocks go forward an hour at 2am, and on Sunday 7 November 2027 they go back. The times on this site don’t allow for a layover that runs through either change, so adjust by an hour.