Realistic time to get to and from LAX?

Realistic time to get to and from LAX? - Crop anonymous child getting brown stones from white container at home

I suppose this is something of a two part question. Let me start by saying I am very familiar with airports, so I am aware of the general time to de-plane, go get your luggage, leave the terminal, etc. However, I have never been to LAX, nor have I ever rented a car. Now to my question.

In June my family is planning a vacation to California. We will be flying in/out of LAX, and our vacation rental is in Santa Barbara. My family will be flying out of O'hare, and will not arrive until around 930 Saturday night. I live a few hours away from the rest of my family so I will be flying separately.

I am thinking of getting an earlier flight (landing around noon or 3 pm on Saturday). I was hoping I could take care of renting the car, go to Santa Barbara to check on the rental place and get the keys, and do a little solo sight seeing before I head back to LAX to pick up the family at 10 PM. So my first question - Is this a reasonable time table?

Google maps has the drive from LAX to Santa Barbara at 1 3/4 hours. That is obviously very doable if I arrive at noon and need to be to LAX at 10. However, I have always heard how bad traffic by LAX is so I am not sure what potential time that could add in. Which makes my second question - Is Google Maps travel time still reliable in regards to LAX traffic?



Best Answer

As @Newton says, you can use Google's leave/arrive options to estimate the range of times.

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Time to get out of LAX in your rental car is more variable depending on rental car company than at airports that have shared shuttles to a single rental car location.

Google maps thinks it's going to be a bit less traffic on the way back to LAX (less than 1h50 min via the 101 Hollywood freeway, so they say to leave SB by 8:10pm). If you check again close to your actual departure time, the routes and times will take into account the inevitable accidents, closures, construction etc. I imagine there's also a non-zero chance the family's flight out of O'Hare won't be on time. I use tracking sites like flightaware.com to avoid having to wait around more than necessary when picking up people at the airport.




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Is LAX less busy at night?

Is LAX less busy at night? The domestic airports kind of slow down at night. But the Tom Bradley International Terminal has flights coming in at all sorts of odd hours, with peak hours being 1am to 3 pm, and then again from 6 pm to 11pm.

How long does it take to get out of LAX?

The walk between each of the LAX terminals takes about 6 to 8 minutes. An airside shuttle bus runs between Terminals 2, 3, and the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

What is the busiest time at LAX?

What is the busiest time of day at LAX? LAX international terminals are often busiest between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and between the hours of 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Domestic terminals operate on a separate schedule.

What time should I arrive at LAX for a domestic flight?

Departures. Passengers should arrive at LAX two hours before a domestic flight departure and three hours before an international flight departure.



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Answer 2

Well....it's possible, but IMO, not worth it.

Meaning, if all you want/need to do is get the key and that's worth driving 300+ miles. Go for it.

If getting the key ahead of time is not critical, there are more viable options to explore closer to LAX.

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