Getting from LAX to a train/subway station (Los Angeles, Long Beach: to rent, amusement park)

[lanewidick]

How hard is it to get from the airport to a train station or subway station? I'll be staying in a hotel near the airport for one day in between a conference and a trip to Asia. I would like to keep from renting a car if possible.

Any recommendations on what to do for one day? It will be a Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. I depart early Monday morning.

[lanewidick]

Should I just rent a car or will be using the public transportation be best?

[missionhome]

From LAX you can get to Union Station on the nonstop Flyaway Bus. It is a nice charter style bus with comfortable seats and reliable service. It stops at each terminal at LAX At Union Station you can connect to the Metro Red Line/Pink Line subway, the Gold Line (light rail), and the Blue Line (light rail). For fun tourist stuff, you will probably want to use the Red Line to get to the Hollywood area for sight seeing/shopping/exploring. You could also take the Gold Line to Old Town Pasadena and explore there.

Flyaway Bus PDF: http://www.lawa.org/uploadedFiles/LA...Jan%202010.pdf

You can also head to Santa Monica and the beach for some fun there. Santa Monica has a nice downtown area full of shops and entertainment. The Third Street Promenade is popular. The Santa Monica Pier is huge and has an amusement park on it. Santa Monica is easy to get to from LAX. At the LAX Transit Center take Big Blue Bus 3 or the Big Blue Bus Rapid 3.
Welcome to the Big Blue Bus

[ransek1998]

There is a free shuttle from LAX to aviation station (Metro Green Line).

[apollyoncruiser]

LAX shuttle buses provide transport from LAX to the Green Line-Aviation station. From LAX, take the "LAX Shuttle" bus with the headsign reading "G: Metro Green Line Aviation Station." Once you get to the Metro you can take the train east to connect with the Blue Line and go North towards the Red Line and Hollywood or South towards Long Beach.

The Los Angeles Metro Rail system (http://www.westworld.com/~elson/larail/metromap.html - broken link)

Another option would be buses as they may put you closer to a particular destination. Metro | Getting Around | LA Metro Home

Click on Google Maps and go to Get Directions. That will give you the option to check distance to places by car, public transit, or walking. And it'll give you a better idea on routes to take. Google Maps

Hollywood is about 15 miles north of LAX and Los Angeles covers almost 500 square miles so have in mind how large the city is and the possible distance and time you'll need to get from place to place.

[Naomi Manischewitz]

The Flyaway Bus has a bus that takes you direct to Union Station. You could take that. That's what I would suggest. Cheap, clean, easy.

[ahoeta]

hello how long does it take to get from LAX on the free shuttle to aviation then from aviation to union station please??

[Harrier]

The free shuttle runs about every 15 mins(it might be less) and it only takes 5 - 10 mins to get to the Aviation Station. From Aviation to Union Station? That depends. It is a long trip and depends on what time of day you are traveling. A taxi might get you there in 1/2 hr if traffic is good. If you are traveling during rush hour - it could take an hour -LAX is a long way from downtown. The train? - you have to transfer - maybe 45 mins to an hour. You take the free shuttle to Aviation to access the Green Line. Aviation is about a mile from LAX. Union Station is almost 20 miles from the airport. If you use the light rail system your question and my answer may help you. You will need to take the Green Line from Aviation Station - transfer to Blue Line at Rosa Parks Station(105/Wilmington) - transfer to Red Line at 7th Street Metro Station(downtown) and the RL train will take you to Union Station.

[Senshi]

If you have luggage it'd be a royal pain to do Green-Blue-Union. Flyaway is simply the best option. It's a lot faster than the train and comfortable. And you don't have to worry about your luggage as it's stored on the bus.

[Samoi137]

Before the free shuttle gets to the Aviation Green Line station, it stops at a LAX "transportation center" (or something like that), which is sort of a large bus (several bays) used by the L.A., Santa Monica and Culver City bus systems. If you wanted to go to Santa Monica, you could catch a bus there (we did; also went to Westwood on a local bus, though we could also have taken a more expensive FlyAway bus from LAX to Westwood). We neer did actually take that free shuttle to the bus center-- we were staying at the LAX Radisson and just walked (it's almost right in back of the Sheraton Gateway). Best to look at www.metro.net and see what your options are to exactly where you want to go. It also includes FlyAway buses. What hotel are you staying at?

Whether it's best to rent a car or use public transportation depends on where you want to go. If you just want to go to, say, central Hollywood (not much there, IMHO, but many people want to go), you could save money by taking public transportation (bus from the LAX center, or FlyAway bus to Union Station and subway from there), plus you'd save parking costs, but you'd use up more time. If you want to go to a number of locations, especially far from each other (e.g., Warner Brothers Studios, Getty Center, Santa Monica), then driving would likely be best. Note you'll llikely have to pay parking fees at your hotel. You could even use public transportation for your shorter trip on Saturday, and then rent a car to go further (or is that farther?) afield on Sunday. You could also look into guided tours (plenty listed online, and your hotel's concierge desk should also be able to asist in finding one).