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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
LAX is to be found on the coast just south of Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey.
Virgin Atlantic planes use the United terminal at LAX, but Virgin passengers landing at LAX are conveyed by bus from there to the International terminal in order to pass through immigration and customs. These formalities don't apply when taking off from LAX, so therefore upon completing their holiday Virgin passengers should ask the car rental courtesy bus driver to drop them off at the United terminal.
KLM flights at LAX use Terminal 2 for both arrivals and departures. This terminal has its own immigration and customs facilities.
LAX is a very congested area for road traffic. However, the Alamo car rental depot is located on Aviation Boulevard, a few blocks east and north of the airport. A free Alamo bus transports you between the airport terminals and the depot. This arrangement makes your first experience of driving in America considerably easier than if the depot was in the immediate airport area. By the way, it isn't possible to join I-405 South from Hillcrest Boulevard; you need to continue north up to Manchester Boulevard and Olive Street.
Before setting off by road from LAX, be sure to have your navigator fully prepared, with a detailed map, for the maze of the L.A. freeways. The freeways in Los Angeles are usually signposted by means of their road numbers as in the rest of the USA, but in some cases they may only be signposted by means of their names, which can be confusing.
The area along Century Boulevard, once you are clear of the airport itself and the various office blocks and hotels nearby, is somewhat run down and unpleasant and best got out of quickly.
Shops and restaurants in LAX are extremely expensive.
The amount of seating in Terminal 2 prior to passing through security is extremely limited. This is serious problem if you have to wait before being able to check in.
Terminal 2 does not have separate departure lounges for each gate. When two flights are departing from adjacent gates at the same time the amount of seating is inadequate and confusion is common.
As in many other US airports a charge is made for renting a baggage cart at LAX, unless you are lucky enough to find one left by another passenger.
I found your web page while searching for the directions to an In-N-Out Burger location right next to LAX. I could not agree more that the restaurants [in the airport] are expensive though I would add this as well: they serve the worst airport food, ever!
What I am certain of, and the reason I write is because there is an In-N-Out Burger location right off the east end of the north runway, on Sepulveda (the main north-south surface street artery running just east of the airport complex) Blvd. I lived in Southern California for the more than 30 years until I moved with my family to northern Colorado (Fort Collins), so I know the area well.
In-N-Out Burger is one of the things I miss most about Southern California; they simply have the very best fast food burger and fries anywhere, period. Let's suppose I was taking a flight to Japan, for example, that made a connection in LAX and I had even 1 hour to spare before taking off again, then I would go to In-N-Out Burger and get me a bite to eat. It is good, inexpensive and fast... and so very close to LAX that I would think it almost a crime not to make the effort.
So, I realise from you FAQ page that you don't carry endorsements, but in the hope that you have undertaken your web page with the purpose of helping the traveller in and around LAX I offer this suggestion.Having now discovered the In-N-Out chain I can also very highly recommend them myself.
First night accommodation for Los Angeles
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Most recently modified 14-Feb-04