Is there anything fun to do near the LAX airport?

[perpetua]

We have a hotel near LAX for our first night as our flight was to get in at 11:00pm...we can now get a flight in at 11:00am. Is there anything fun for 2 and 5 year old girls to do near the airport? Any place to eat?
Thanks!

 

[Cora]

The area around the airport can be a bit sketchy. If you are renting a car and want to drive to LA, I would go the the La Brea Tar Pits (very cool). Or go drive around LA, see Mann's Chinese Theater, etc.

 

[perpetua]

Have you heard anything about the LA zoo?

 

[Cora]

No sorry. I've never been.

 

[moikturtle]

We have a hotel near LAX for our first night as our flight was to get in at 11:00pm...we can now get a flight in at 11:00am. Is there anything fun for 2 and 5 year old girls to do near the airport? Any place to eat?
Thanks!

There's an In N Out right near the airport, so if you're from out of state and have never had In N Out, that's a tasty (and inexpensive) place to eat that you can't get everywhere. Plus, from that particular In N Out you can watch the planes take off and land when you sit at one of the outside tables.

As for the LA Zoo, that is not really too close to the airport. It's closer to Glendale/Burbank area. In fact, it's a pretty short distance from places like Disney Studios, NBC Studios, and Warner Bros. Studios. LAX and the zoo are about 25 miles apart, which may not seem like much, but keep in mind that the traffic near both the airport AND the zoo is usually pretty atrocious, so I guarantee it will not be a breezy drive (aside from perhaps on a Sunday morning). The zoo is nice enough though. They've remodeled parts pretty recently, so it's better than it used to be. I'm not sure that I would go there instead of other places, unless I was a huge zoo fan.

My recommendation, if you're looking for things to do that are close to the airport is possibly consider Santa Monica/Venice/Marina Del Rey. Santa Monica has the pier, which includes a small theme park type place. There is also the Third Street Promenade.

Here are some links that may be helpful for finding out information about those particular areas.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Santa_Monica
http://wikitravel.org/en/Venice_(California)
http://wikitravel.org/en/Marina_del_Rey

 

[bradk]

i've been to the LA Zoo. i actually took a cab from the airport and it was like $80 (yes, that's one way). the line to get in was heck too. got there around 11 am i think and was in a very hot line outside for like 45 minutes. lots of school trips.

the zoo itself isn't bad. but it's not one of the greats. they do have koalas which is nice (and relatively unique among north american zoos).

 

[ramkam]

The area around LAX is not for 2 to 5 year olds. I agree that a trip to Santa Monica might be OK but it is really just shopping and looking around. UCLA is just up the freeway if you want to wonder around a university. The Getty Museum, maybe one of the best museums on the planet is right there too. Beverly Hills is right on the other side of UCLA. The LA Zoo, Universal Studios the planetarium and stuff like that is a fair drive from LAX. You could drive south to the port of Long Beach and go see the Queen Mary.