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We are 3 couples disembarking in LA from a Panama cruise in April. We will probably need to be off the ship by about 10 AM but our flight doesn't leave LAX until 8 PM. The Debark tour offered by Princess gets to LAX around 3 PM which is too early. I am looking at private tours to take up the time and get us to LAX around 5 PM but it's looking pretty expensive. I didn't want to self drive but getting a 7 passenger van is looking more attractive when I see the other prices. I think there is a Mall on the water at Long Beach, Redondo Beach looks interesting. Maybe the traffic wouldn't be too horrendous if we slowly made our way up the coast? Any suggestions??

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We are 3 couples disembarking in LA from a Panama cruise in April. We will probably need to be off the ship by about 10 AM but our flight doesn't leave LAX until 8 PM. The Debark tour offered by Princess gets to LAX around 3 PM which is too early. I am looking at private tours to take up the time and get us to LAX around 5 PM but it's looking pretty expensive. I didn't want to self drive but getting a 7 passenger van is looking more attractive when I see the other prices. I think there is a Mall on the water at Long Beach, Redondo Beach looks interesting. Maybe the traffic wouldn't be too horrendous if we slowly made our way up the coast? Any suggestions??

 

First, I am assuming you are cruising on a line other than Carnival...So, we're talking about disembarking at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro...

 

When you first looked at tours, I hope you took a look at Sunseeker Tours...They are the only major tour company based in the Harbor area, so they normally pick up in Long Beach and San Pedro without an extra charge. But, if that is still too expensive, read on...

 

The distance from the pier in San Pedro to LAX is only 20 miles...Without traffic, it takes only about a half an hour...even with traffic, rarely would it be over an hour (of course, also figure in time to return the car and shuttle to the terminal...and LAX likes to tell people to be there two hours before flight time). Anyway, "working your way slowly from San Pedro to LAX" is not a big deal...Since you don't need to get to LAX until around 6:00 pm, you have lots of time and can go almost anywhere.

 

Now, it all really depends on what you want to do with that time.

 

 

There is not really a "mall" in Long Beach. The two shopping areas in the Downtown area of Long Beach are Shoreline Village and the Pike. SV is just a small complex with touristy gift shops and restaurants. The Pike has shops, restaurants and entertainment. If you are looking for a traditional Mall--shops, department stores, etc., the Del Amo Mall in Torrance is about halfway between the pier and LAX. But, to me, that's pretty much boring...You might want to drive past LAX and head up to Santa Monica--about 10 miles north of LAX. Park your van in one of the structures just off the Third Street Promenade (or, if you are lucky, you might find free street parking in the apartment area just past the northern end of the Promenade). Then you can spend your time strolling along the Third Street Promenade (pedestrian only promenade--shops, restaurants, street performers), Palisades Park (along Ocean Avenue, just to the West of the Promenade a couple of short blocks--along the cliffs with views of the beach and ocean) and the Santa Monica Pier (rides and attractions)...and maybe head down to the Venice Boardwalk) between Santa Monica and LAX (if the weather is nice, girls roller skating in bikinis, body builders lifting weights on the beach, high level pick-up volleyball and basketball games, street performers, artists and all sorts of strange folks). Have an early dinner around 4:00 maybe at a good restaurant (if you are in Venice, I'd recommend C&O Trattoria on Washington at the beach...then head to LAX...

 

Or, if you really wanted to do the tourist trap thing, you'd even have time to drive straight from San Pedro up to Hollywood to see the Chinese Theater, the Sign and the Walk of Fame, then over to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and work your way back to LAX visiting Santa Monica or Venice depending on what time you had left...

 

Good luck...

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