Getting around
Ride to LAX
1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045
$45–65
Getting there
Curb by 12:00 PM — the number that matters
Route
Check out, bags down, call the car
Santa Monica → LAX, ~11 miles, budget 45 min.
LAX
Good to know
The ladder, working backward from a 2:30 PM departure:
- 2:30 PM wheels up
- 2:00 PM doors
- 1:50 PM at the gate
- 1:20 PM through security (30 min contingency)
- 12:50 PM enter the TSA line (30 min screening allowance)
- 12:35 PM bag drop complete
- 12:00 PM at the terminal curb
- 11:15 AM leave the Fairmont — 45 minutes for 11 miles
Uber drop-off at LAX is normal curbside at Departures. The LAX-it lot only applies to pickups — leaving is the easy direction. Roughly $45–65 Sunday midday.
Check live TSA waits the night before and again at 10:00 AM. The 10:00 AM–3:00 PM window is historically LAX's quietest, which works in your favor.
Budget backup: Big Blue Bus Rapid 3 → LAX/Metro Transit Center → free terminal shuttle, ~$1.25 each, 60–75 minutes. Only if the ride falls through. This is the one leg where being cheap is not worth it.