Los Angeles is a city you cross by road, and the airport transfer is where that starts. Below is every realistic way from LAX and Hollywood Burbank, with the operators' own prices and our typical drive times to each of the ten hotels in our Los Angeles edit.
The short answer
From LAX, a taxi or a pre-booked driver is the right answer for most of our hotels: typically 19–38 minutes, collected from the LAX-it lot east of Terminal 1, and a flat $51.15 plus the $4 airport surcharge to Downtown. The FlyAway bus to Union Station is $12.75 and the Metro $1.75, both good for light travellers heading Downtown or to Santa Monica. If you are staying in Studio City, Hollywood or Silver Lake, fly into Burbank: The Garland is 13 minutes away.
Book a private transfer
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A driver meets you in arrivals with your name on a sign, at a fixed price agreed when you book. Booked and paid with Welcome Pickups through our partner Travelpayouts; we may earn a commission.
The straightforward way to every hotel, and the fixed fare makes Downtown easy to budget. The catch is the walk or shuttle to the LAX-it lot first.
The same lot and the same road as the taxi; worth comparing the app price with the meter or the Downtown flat fare.
The best answer for Malibu Beach Inn and Terranea, for families with car seats and luggage, and for any late or delayed landing: the driver tracks the flight and meets you, so there is no lot or queue.
Good value for one or two light travellers going Downtown: Hotel Figueroa is then two Metro stops away. For three or more, the taxi's flat fare costs little more and goes to the door.
The cheapest way in, and reasonable for Santa Monica Proper and Shutters with a small bag. Two changes and a shuttle make it a poor choice with suitcases.
Burbank's great advantage: taxis wait in the parking structure across the road and the ride-app lot is steps from the door, so you are moving within minutes of baggage claim.
A good way Downtown if a train is due: Hotel Figueroa is then two Metro stops from Union Station. Check the timetable first; trains do not run all day.
Beverly Hills
No rail line runs near this stretch of Sunset Boulevard, and a taxi from LAX-it takes you to the door in about 26 minutes.
Santa Monica
One of the two nearest of our hotels to LAX, 19 minutes by road; the E Line's Downtown Santa Monica stop is under a kilometre away if you travel light.
Malibu
There is no useful public transport along the Pacific Coast Highway, so a driver who has tracked your flight is the easy way to cover the 38 minutes.
Palos Verdes
The resort is 35 minutes down the Palos Verdes coast with no rail nearby, which makes a pre-booked transfer the calm way to arrive.
Sunset Strip
Equally easy from either airport, 27 minutes from LAX and 24 from Burbank, so fly into whichever suits your flight and take a taxi to the door.
Santa Monica
Nineteen minutes from LAX by road; light travellers can take the Metro, as the Downtown Santa Monica stop is under a kilometre away.
Hollywood
Fly into Burbank if you can: 19 minutes by taxi, against 30 from LAX, to a hotel a short walk from the Hollywood/Highland Metro station.
Studio City
The closest of our hotels to any airport, 13 minutes from Burbank by taxi; from LAX it is 34.
Silver Lake
Twenty-one minutes from Burbank and 32 from LAX, with no direct rail link from either, so a taxi is the simple answer.
Downtown LA
Inside the city's Downtown flat-fare zone, so the taxi from LAX is a fixed $51.15 plus $4; solo travellers can take the FlyAway to Union Station and the Metro two stops to 7th Street/Metro Center.
Taxis and ride apps do not pick up at the LAX terminals. They collect from LAX-it, a lot east of Terminal 1: walk there from Terminal 1, or take the free LAX-it shuttle from the Lower/Arrivals Level of any terminal.
LAX puts landing to kerb at about 15 minutes with no checked bags, 30 with checked bags and 45 after an international flight. The SkyLink people mover will eventually link the terminals to the Metro and the hire cars; until it opens to passengers, free shuttle buses do that job.
The City of Los Angeles sets the fares. To Downtown, the area between Alameda Street, the 10 and 110 freeways and Cesar Chavez Avenue, plus Union Station and Chinatown, it is a flat $51.15 per cab plus the $4 surcharge on every trip from LAX. All passengers ride for the price of one, and drivers take cards at no extra cost.
Everywhere else the meter runs, so the fare to Beverly Hills, Santa Monica or Hollywood depends on the traffic as well as the distance.
FlyAway buses leave from each terminal for Union Station and for Van Nuys in the Valley, at $12.75 one way. Tap a contactless card as you board or buy in the FlyAway app; cash is not accepted on any route.
For the Metro, find the pink LAX Shuttles posts on the Lower/Arrivals Level. The free shuttle runs to the LAX/Metro Transit Center for the K and C Lines. On the K Line, Expo/Crenshaw is 21 minutes away; change to the E Line for Downtown Santa Monica (26 minutes) or Downtown Los Angeles. A ride is $1.75 including two hours of transfers.
Yes, and for four of our hotels it is the better airport: The Garland is 13 minutes away, The Hollywood Roosevelt 19, Silver Lake Pool & Inn 21 and Sunset Tower 24. In the new terminal, taxis wait on the ground level of the parking structure across the road and the ride-app lot is a few steps east of the doors.
For Downtown, Metrolink runs from Burbank Airport-North to Union Station in about 26 minutes for $5.25, with a free on-demand airport shuttle to the station.
After a long-haul flight, the LAX-it walk or shuttle and the queue in the lot are the hardest part of the trip. A pre-booked driver meets you, tracks a delayed flight and can arrange car seats, at a price fixed when you book.
It is also our choice for Malibu Beach Inn and Terranea, the two hotels with no useful public transport and the longest drives, about 38 and 35 minutes.
LAX recommends arriving two hours before a domestic flight and three before an international one, and warns of construction detours and longer shuttle times through the fall. Leave our hotels with the traffic in mind: our drive times are typical ones, not rush-hour times.
Burbank asks for one hour, two at peak holiday times. Cars can drop off at the kerb there, but no waiting is allowed.
Questions people ask
A flat $51.15 per cab plus the $4 LAX surcharge, set by the City of Los Angeles. Hotel Figueroa is inside the flat-fare zone, about 26 minutes away.
It is metered: $3.10 to start and $2.97 a mile, plus the $4 LAX surcharge. Shutters on the Beach and Santa Monica Proper are both about 19 minutes from LAX.
At the LAX-it lot east of Terminal 1. Walk from Terminal 1 or take the free shuttle from the Lower/Arrivals Level of any terminal.
$12.75 one way, paid by contactless card or in the FlyAway app; cash is not accepted.
Yes: the free shuttle to the LAX/Metro Transit Center, the K Line to Expo/Crenshaw (21 minutes) and the E Line to Downtown Santa Monica (26 minutes), all for $1.75.
Burbank, if your airline flies there: The Hollywood Roosevelt is 19 minutes away against 30 from LAX, and The Garland 13 against 34.
Malibu Beach Inn is about 38 minutes from LAX. With no useful public transport, a taxi or a pre-booked driver is the way.
Image credits: Benoît Prieur (CC0)