Hi there!
So you’re off to Santa Monica!
This can be a good area of LA to stay.
Or if you have enough time, it can make for a perfect place to go if you have a long layover at LAX!
If your layover includes the evening, the Santa Monica pier can be a perfect spot to see a sunset too.
So then…
Is it easy to get a bus from Los Angeles Airport when you’re trying to get to Santa Monica?!
Well, it can be!
And it can be CHEAP too!
So now, here’s a bit about how to get a bus to Santa Monica when you’re flying to Los Angeles.
Depending on what terminal you’re arriving at, your exact experience may be a little different.
Also bus routes can change!
But here’s how it was for me when I arrived to LAX on a domestic flight on Spirit Airlines to start to give you a little bit of an idea of what it’s like to take the bus to Santa Monica!
👆 Map of a bus route from LAX to Santa Monica in 2023. Bus routes can change, but google maps is an easy way to figure out how to take the bus from the Los Angeles airport! Explore the map. For the best results when looking for a bus route on google maps, change the departure time to the time you might take the bus. If you’re looking at it when it’s overnight in Los Angeles, it might not show you the best available route during the day.
First, the quick list of how to get to Santa Monica by bus.
Then, a little bit more about how to get a bus from the airport, including some visual (aka pictures!) so you can get a better idea what to expect!
How to get to Santa Monica from LAX Los Angeles Airport by bus
Here’s the quick list:
- Arrive at LAX and get your baggage!
- Look for signs for the “LAX shuttle” and “green line shuttle”
- Take the green line shuttle to the metro station
- Get on the bus to Santa Monica!
- Enjoy your bus ride through the LA area!
- Arrive in downtown Santa Monica!
- Enjoy Santa Monica!!
1. Arrive at LAX and get your baggage!
2. Look for signs for the “LAX shuttle” and “green line shuttle”
3. Take the green line shuttle bus to the metro station
4. Get on the bus to Santa Monica!
5. Enjoy your bus ride through the LA area!
6. Arrive in downtown Santa Monica!
7. Enjoy Santa Monica!!
How much does it cost to get from LAX to Santa Monica by bus?
So going by bus from the Los Angeles Airport LAX to Santa Monica actually means taking 2 buses.
The first bus is the green line shuttle bus from LAX to the Aviation metro station. This is a FREE bus from the airport.
Then once you get to the metro station, you’ll walk less than a minute to get the “big blue bus” that will go directly to Santa Monica. This bus costs $1.25.
So the total cost to get from the Los Angeles Airport LAX to Santa Monica by bus is basically $1!
You’ll pay in cash and you need exact change.
This was how much it cost me in 2019. Here is updated bus fare information.
How much is an Uber from LAX to Santa Monica?
You can check the Uber app for the estimated cost of how much it will be from the Los Angeles airport to Santa Monica, even if you’re not currently at the airport. The cost might vary depending on when you arrive, but it can give you a starting point.
When I was at the airport, the app showed that an uber from LAX to Santa Monica would cost at least $20.
But even this isn’t the exact price because Uber doesn’t actually pick up directly from the airport.
Instead, there’s a shuttle from the airport that will take you to the Uber and Lyft ride sharing pick-up point.
If you decide to take Uber or Lyft, this is also pretty easy. You just follow the signs for the ride sharing shuttle and then get on the bus when it comes.
Or, it was listed as being about a 15 minute walk.
How to figure out which bus to take to get to Santa Monica?!
In short… Google Maps!
The google maps app can make it quite easy to navigate the Los Angeles area by bus.
There’s a public transportation option that you can choose.
Once you get to the airport, you can open up the google maps app, and enter your hotel as your destination.
Then, you basically just follow along with what Google Maps tells you!
You can also look this up now to make screenshots, and list LAX as the starting point. There are a few different LAX terminals, but basically step 1 is take the green line shuttle so the exact starting point isn’t too important.
How long does it take to get from LAX to Santa Monica?
So as per Google Maps, the entire journey getting from the Los Angeles airport to Santa Monica might take 1.5 hours, including bus waiting time.
It could be a little longer or little less time for you depending on your timings and how well it works out with the bus timings and when you’re looking to get on the bus.
🌴
Now…
A little bit more about what it’s like to go from the Los Angeles Airport to Santa Monica by bus!
This is how it was for me in 2019 anyway!
Your experience may vary, but this can give a little bit of an idea of what to expect!
Arrive at LAX and get your bags!
If you have no checked bags, you can still follow the signs to baggage claim and ground transportation.
Follow the signs to the LAX shuttle for the green line bus
Once you’re near the exit, there are signs that point in the direction of the “LAX shuttle.” You will follow these signs, as you’re looking for a shuttle to the metro green line.
Take the LAX shuttle bus to the green line metro station
This is called the green line shuttle because it goes to a metro station that’s on the green line. You can look for the “green line” sign on the front of the bus to know it’s the correct bus.
Taking the green line shuttle was probably the “worst” part about this journey. But it was still fine. It wasn’t terrible, and it’s all relative!
This shuttle bus might be crowded and it might have you doubting whether you should have gone with an uber instead. So just be mentally prepared for it! This is a shuttle that airport employees use and so it can make for a crowded ride.
The green line shuttle comes every 10 minutes, so if it’s super packed, you might try to wait another 10 minutes for the next bus and hope it’s not as crowded… although chances are it will still be packed.
When I was waiting, the first shuttle bus that came would have required me to quite literally push my way onto the bus, so I decided to wait for the next one. The next one still was pretty packed, but not to the point where I would have felt like I had to get really physical in order to force myself onto the bus!
After you get on the shuttle bus, the metro station where you want to get off is the last stop.
Arrive at the green line metro station!
Get on big blue bus route 3 to Santa Monica!
After you get off the free shuttle bus from the airport, you will head right as you get off the bus.
You might see a parking lot of a bunch of buses, and that’s the direction to go for the Santa Monica bus stop for bus route #3. You’ll be getting on a bus called the big blue bus. So look for the area of the bus stop signs that say big blue bus.
Then once you’re at the bus stop, wait for the bus to arrive!
Then, once the bus arrives, get on the bus! On the front of the bus it will say “Santa Monica” but you can also confirm with the bus driver that it’s the bus to Santa Monica, just to ease your mind that you are indeed on the correct bus!
How to pay for the bus ticket
You pay for the bus fare once you get on the bus. So you don’t need to buy a bus ticket before you get on.
As soon as you get on the bus, you’ll insert the correct amount into the fare box. No change will be given, so make sure you have exact change.
Once you insert the payment amount, that’s it! You won’t receive any physical ticket or anything like that.
Enjoy the bus ride in the LA area!
How to get off the bus
There will be announcements on the bus that will tell you what the next bus stop is.
You can use the GPS locator on your phone to keep track of when your bus stop is coming up.
You can also expand it out on google maps to show the stops, and this can also help you to determine how close you are to your bus stop.
Once your bus stop is next, you’ll want to alert the bus driver to stop at the next stop. You do this by pulling on the cord that’s located near the window of the bus. Once you pull the cord, this will signal to the bus driver to stop at the next bus stop. Some buses in LA may also have a button to press.
Arrive in downtown Santa Monica!
Enjoy Santa Monica!!
HAPPY CHEAP BUS RIDE FROM LOS ANGELES AIRPORT TO SANTA MONICA!
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