Not your typical LAX layover

July 30, 2014 5:56 PM

First week of October, on a Sunday. 12-hour layover at LAX, but here's the thing: I've done LA. What can I do that won't feel repetitive?

Details on layover in case they matter for date/time-sensitive suggestions: I arrive at LAX on a Sunday the first week of October at 9:15 AM from a 5-hour flight, and hop on a 9:15 PM flight for a duration of 15 hours. Traffic lighter on Sundays?

LAX is the perfect airport to have a long layover in. I previously lived in LA, so I've seen everything. Done Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Downtown LA, etc. I lived in Westwood, so I was thinking of chilling there or Santa Monica but I'd kind of like to see something new and not have my layover be 12 hours of a Los Angeles I've already experienced. This will also be the last time I'll be in America for at least a few years.

I'll probably be pretty tired, so I was thinking of allocating myself some time to eat at the In-N-Out LAX location and shower up at the airline lounge. And I figure I'd need to be back at LAX a good 3 hours before.

So what can I do? Help me, because I'm stuck and fear I'll tread into the same old. I've heard that Manhattan Beach is a good relatively overlooked LAX layover destination. I'm just looking for something cool to fill 6-8 hours.

posted by signondiego to Travel & Transportation around Los Angeles, CA (8 answers total)

How about Hermosa Beach?

The UCLA Marina Aquatic Center in MdR has sailboats and such.
posted by redlines at 6:09 PM on July 30, 2014

Well, sounds like you have done the gentrified, generic stuff with Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, etc. What about something on the authentic, beach culture side? Even as simple as getting to know a small section of L.A. like San Pedro, Hermosa or Redondo Beach. Long Beach, etc. All places that are close to LAX. Also, since you will be tired and out of the country for a while, it might be nice to go classic beach L.A.

Pick a spot, plan for a good mexican lunch, lounge on the beach, peruse some shops....
posted by Vaike at 6:17 PM on July 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

Watts Tower?
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 6:59 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

Venice beach-rent a bike and bike ride then...

Sensory Deprivation Tank-this one is the best in the nation
http://www.yelp.com/biz/float-lab-technologies-venice?osq=sensory+tank

Freakshow
http://www.yelp.com/biz/venice-beach-freakshow-venice

___________________

Runyon Canyon park for a hike
http://www.yelp.com/biz/runyon-canyon-park-los-angeles-2

get a thai massage, eat some korean bbq, eat some tacos at guisados.
posted by HonestAsian at 7:43 PM on July 30, 2014

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro can be combined with a lilttle beach time.
It is a little gem of aquatic life.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:01 PM on July 30, 2014

If your layover is in LAX and you have a 15-hour flight after, I'm almost positive you are heading somewhere in the Asia-Pacific part of the world. Just in case you're not, though, you could always go to the San Gabriel Valley for awesome Chinese food.

In that part of the region is also the Huntington Library and Garden also. It's a bit of a hike from LAX (but, assuming you're willing to rent a car, you have a long enough layover to make it worth it) but it is one of my favorite places in the whole region, and it might be nice to spend the day outdoors and walking around before getting on a 15-hour flight.
posted by andrewesque at 7:01 AM on July 31, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! Especially Vaike for putting into words what I couldn't. Now I have a whole bunch of options.
posted by signondiego at 10:14 AM on July 31, 2014

You'll be here on a Sunday, you say? For the last few months we've been having Sunday meetups a few times a month (we did Watts Towers a few weeks ago) so if you'd like some company you should propose one!

If nothing else, I'd be down for some In-N-Out and watching the planes land.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:14 PM on July 31, 2014