Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
32
Tips
A Shortcut to LAX
One of the city's busiest interchanges is from the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) to
the San Diego Freeway (I-405) on the way to LAX—many a tourist has missed a
flight because of this beastly bottleneck. Therefore, if you're heading to LAX for
your flight home, the scenic route may prove to be the fastest. From the Santa
Monica Freeway (I-10) westbound, exit south to La Brea Avenue. Go right on
Stocker Street and then left on La Cienega Boulevard. Veer right on La Tijera Bou-
levard and left on Airport Boulevard, then follow the signs. You can use this trick
from West Hollywood and Beverly Hills as well—simply take La Cienega south,
continuing as above.
To r each
Redondo, H ermosa, N ew-
port,
and the other southern beach com-
munities, take Sepulveda Boulevard south
and then follo w the signs to California 1
south.
To reach
Beverly Hills
or
Hollywood,
exit the airport via Century Boulevard and
then take I-405 nor th to S anta M onica
Boulevard east.
To reach
Downtown
or
Pasadena,
exit
the airpor t, take S epulveda Boulev ard
south, then take I-105 east to I-110 nor th.
Tip:
I f y ou're going to r ent a car at
LAX, avoid arriving at the midweek morn-
ing or ev ening r ush hour , par ticularly if
you hav e to get on dr eaded I-405. You'll
save yourself several hours of stop-and-go
misery if you time it right.
By Shuttle
Many city hotels pr ovide free shuttles for
their guests; ask when y ou make r eserva-
tions.
SuperShuttle
(
&
800/258-3826
or
310/782-6600; www .supershuttle.com)
offers r egularly scheduled miniv ans fr om
LAX to any location in the city , as does
Prime Time Shuttle
(
&
800/RED-VANS
[800/733-8267] or 310/536-7922; www .
primetimeshuttle.com). F ares can range
from about $15 to $35 per person,
arrival but are required for a r eturn to the
airport.
By Metro Rail
Budget-minded trav elers heading to
Downtown, Universal City, or Long Beach
can take L.A. 's M etro Rail ser vice fr om
LAX. An airpor t shuttle can take y ou to
the G reen Line light-rail station; fr om
there, connections on the Blue, Gold, and
Red lines can get you where you're headed.
It's a good idea to contact y our hotel for
advice on the closest station. The ser vice
operates fr om 5am to midnight, and the
combined far e is less than $2—but y ou
should be prepared to spend 1 to 2 hours
in transit. Call the
Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transit Authority
(MTA)
at
&
800/COMMUTE
(800/266-6883),
or see www.mta.net for information.
By Public Bus
The city 's MT A buses also go betw een
LAX and many par ts of the city . P hone
MTA Airpor t I nformation
(
&
800/
COMMUTE
[800/266-6883]; www.mta.
net) for the schedules and far es. I f y ou
arrive at L AX and y our hotel is in S anta
Monica, you can hop aboard the city's
Big
Blue B us
(
&
310/451-5444;
www .big
bluebus.com). It's a slow ride, but the 75¢
fare is har d to beat. B us information is
available in the baggage claim area of each
LAX terminal.
3
depending on your destination. If you're a
group of three or more it probably will be
cheaper and far more convenient to take a
cab. R eservations ar en't needed for y our
