Santa Monica to Malibu bus is easy!

Hi there!

So you’ll be staying in Santa Monica…

 

 

And you want to go to Malibu!

 

 

 

Santa Monica can be a perfect area of Los Angeles to base your stay when you have plans to go to Malibu without a car.

The Santa Monica pier can also be a perfect sunset spot in Los Angeles!

 

 

So then…

Is it easy to get a bus from Santa Monica when you want to go to Malibu?!

Yes, it can be easy to take a bus from Santa Monica to Malibu!

And it can be CHEAP too!

 

👆 Your bus ride to Malibu from Santa Monica will come with ocean views!

 

👆 You can take a bus from downtown Santa Monica which is near the Santa Monica pier.

 

So now, here’s a bit about how to get a bus to Malibu from Santa Monica.

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 Santa Monica, including some visual (aka pictures!) so you can get a better idea what to expect for your day trip to Malibu!

 

 

How to get to Malibu from Santa Monica by bus

Here’s the quick list:

• Go to downtown Santa Monica
• Get on bus 534 to Malibu
• Enjoy the bus ride along the Pacific Coast Highway!
• Get off the bus in Malibu
• Enjoy Malibu!!

 

1. Go to downtown Santa Monica

 

 

2. Get on the bus to Malibu

 

 

3. Enjoy the bus ride along the Pacific Coast Highway!

 

 

4. Get off the bus in Malibu

 

 

5. Enjoy Malibu!!

 

 

So…

Can you see the Pacific Coast Highway without a car?!

 

Surely, having a car and driving yourself along the Pacific Coast Highway aka PCH will offer you opportunities to see more things than exploring the PCH without a car.

But if you won’t be renting a car and your trip to Los Angeles is the only time you’ll be on the California coast, you don’t have to miss out on seeing the famous California Pacific Coast Highway!

Just take the cheap bus from Santa Monica to Malibu!

 

 

Things to do in Malibu off the PCH

For things to do in Malibu right off the PCH, have a look at things like the El Matador State Beach, the classic Malibu sign, and the Corral Canyon hike for starters!

I made it a day trip to Malibu by bus – see what I did with one day in Malibu!

 

 

Day trip to Malibu from Los Angeles?

You can make it a day trip to Malibu from LA too, although it will take extra time as you need to go to Santa Monica to get a bus to Malibu. You can find a bus from downtown LA to Santa Monica.

 

 

How much does it cost to get from Santa Monica to Malibu by bus?

The bus to Malibu is a metro bus. (As opposed to a big blue bus like the bus to get from LAX to Santa Monica.)

Each single metro bus ride costs $1.75. This means…

The cost to get from Santa Monica to Malibu by bus is basically $2!

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 to figure out which bus to take to get to Malibu?!

In short… Google Maps!

The google maps app can make it quite simple to navigate the Los Angeles area by bus. There’s a public transportation option that you can choose.

When you’re ready to go to Malibu, enter your current GPS location as the starting point, and then enter your specific destination in Malibu!

You basically just follow along with what Google Maps tells you!

 

 

Not sure where in Malibu to go?!

Try these landmarks that are near bus stops in Malibu:

• Trancas Country Market (a 10 minute walk from the classic Malibu sign and a 2 mile walk from the scenic El Matador Beach)
• Malibu Seafood (right near the start of the scenic Corral Canyon hike)

If you’re looking for more spots that you can get to that are near bus stops, google maps can be helpful to look at. Zoom in to the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and you’ll see the little bus icons to know how far away a bus stop is for any of your places of interest in Malibu!

 

 

How long does it take to get from Santa Monica to Malibu by bus?

This will depend on where in Santa Monica you start and where in Malibu you’re headed to.

In Malibu, the Pacific Coast Highway is around 20 miles long (“21 miles of scenic beauty” according to the classic Malibu sign), and the bus route goes around 15 miles in Malibu. So you can’t reach the last 5 miles of the northern part of the PCH in Malibu by bus.

My trip to Malibu was as far along the coast as the bus goes heading away from Los Angeles and Santa Monica, which is to Trancas Canyon Road.

So starting from a bus stop kind of near the Santa Monica Pier (perfect sunset spot in Los Angeles!) and going to the end of the Malibu bus route, my journey from Santa Monica to Malibu was a little less an hour.

But going to other parts of Malibu can be less time, even as little as 20 minutes.

 

 

What are the bus timings from Santa Monica to Malibu?

Once you look up the bus directions on google maps, you can click on the bus route which will tell you about the upcoming bus timings.

 

 

Generally speaking, there’s a bus from Santa Monica to Malibu every 30 minutes or every 1 hour or so, depending on the time of day.

Here are official bus timings at major stops along the bus route. You can find the current bus timings on the official metro bus website – look for bus route 534.

 

 

🌴

 

 

 

Now…

A little bit more about what it’s like to go from Santa Monica to Malibu by bus!

 

Go to a 534 bus stop in downtown Santa Monica

The bus to Malibu is metro bus route 534, so you’ll look for the bus stop with this sign.

You can check google maps for the best bus stop to go to that’s closest to you.

 

 

 

Get on the bus to Malibu!

If you’re at a correct bus stop, the bus should say “Malibu” in big betters on the front. (The bus I got on seemed to say “not in service” for the whole ride though! I’d say this is likely a very rare occurrence!)

Once you get on the bus, you can confirm with the bus driver that it’s a bus to Malibu just in case to ease your mind!

 

 

 

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 along the Pacific Coast Highway!

 

 

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 on google maps 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 pushing one of the “stop” buttons. Once you push this button, this will signal to the bus driver to stop at the next bus stop. Some buses in LA may also have a cord to pull.

 

 

 

Get off the bus in Malibu!

 

 

Enjoy Malibu!!

 

And if you make it back in time…

 

Enjoy the sunset in Santa Monica!!