A holiday with a rental car in Los Angeles will make the hearts of film enthusiasts beat faster: Hollywood, the centre of the US film industry, is located in the heart of the city. When you visit the city, you can book a cheap rental car and visit the world-famous film studios, the locations of numerous blockbusters and the houses of the stars.
But the City of Angels has much more to offer visitors: Rent a car at a bargain price and drive to impressive sights such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall or the Griffith Observatory. Los Angeles is located on the west coast of the USA in the state of California and is the country's second largest city. Thanks to its fantastic location in the sunny south and the Pacific Ocean, a visit to the beach is well worthwhile. If you travel to L. A. by plane, you land at Los Angeles International Airport. Pick up your rental car from the car hire company and make your stay more affordable, independent and flexible. You can cancel your rental car free of charge up to 24 hours before the agreed pick-up date.
Los Angeles International Airport, which carries the IATA abbreviation LAX, is the seventh largest airport in the world. With just under 700,000 aircraft movements with over 80 airlines, more than 80 million passengers land and take off here every year. Approximately one third of the passengers fly here internationally with a wide variety of airlines, the rest within the USA. The national and international airlines landing at LAX fly to destinations on all six continents. There is therefore a wide choice of airlines for locals and guests alike. The LAX was opened in 1928 as an unpaved airfield and was bought by the city of Los Angeles in 1937. It now owns nine terminals and its official name is "Los Angeles International Airport". One of the best-known buildings on the airport site is the Theme Building. It is reminiscent of a landed UFO and houses a restaurant overlooking the entire airport. There are also numerous other restaurants and shopping facilities at the airport. You can also pick up and return your rental car here at a pick-up station of the various car rental companies. Since there is no car rental directly in the terminal buildings, use the free shuttle buses to get to the offices and counters of the car rental company. There you can rent a car at the airport or pick up the keys and documents for your previously booked rental car.
Due to its enormous size, Los Angeles International Airport can be overwhelming and confusing on its first visit. The nine terminals, where airlines from numerous countries land, are arranged in a U-shaped arrangement. Most international airlines such as Lufthansa use the ninth terminal, the Tom Bradley International Terminal. This is located in the middle of the airport. After you have left the plane, you will reach the immigration desk where your papers are checked. You will then be taken directly to the Baggage Claim counter, where you can collect your luggage. Follow the signs to customs. You can then leave the terminal. Since the waiting time can vary greatly in both immigration and customs, the duration of the whole process cannot be predicted.
The car rental service is available at counters outside the airport building and can be reached by free shuttle bus. The buses start in front of the exits of each terminal. In the baggage pick-up area or in the arrivals hall you will find telephones that can be used to order the shuttle bus from your car rental company to the terminal exit. The length of the journey from the terminal to the car rental service depends on which terminal you arrive at. It lasts at least five and a maximum of 30 minutes. The bus stops of the shuttle buses are marked by purple-coloured signs with the inscription "Rental Car Shuttle". There you wait for your bus, which will take you to the car rental. If you cannot find the bus stop, the airport staff will show you the way. Some smaller rental car companies do not have a counter at Los Angeles Airport (LAX). Customers need to rent their car in advance. The providers bring the booked rental car directly to the exit of the respective terminal at your arrival, so that the customer saves time and can start driving directly from the terminals. If you rent a car cheaply before your departure via Mietwagen-Check. de, you will find out in your travel documents where exactly you have to pick up the rental car.
If you travel by shuttle bus from the terminals to the car hire office, you will receive the keys and papers for your rental car. Then go to the pick-up station where your car is located. You can find out the exact location of the pick-up point at the counter at the car rental office, where you can rent a car. The route is explained to you in detail. In some cases, you may even be accompanied by a car hire company. There are over 40 car rental companies on the LAX and each car rental company has its own collection point. There are a total of eight different parking spaces on the airport grounds, including both multi-storey car parks and open spaces. All the cars you can rent are parked here. When returning the car, park it at the pick-up station.
As Los Angeles International Airport is an important traffic hub, there are several filling stations nearby. If you rent a car and have agreed to return it with a full tank, you can fill it up there, for example. Along the Aviation Boulevard, which runs parallel to the airport, there are, for example, two petrol stations just a few minutes away from the airport. If you leave the I-405 at Arbor Vitae Street, you will also pass a petrol station on your way to the airport. Also in the city and along the I-405 you will find many possibilities to fill up your rental car on the way.
The airport is located on the outskirts of Los Angeles, close to the Pacific coast and about 25 kilometers from the city center. The city centre of L. A. can therefore be reached from the airport by rental car in about half an hour to one hour, depending on the volume of traffic. Traffic jams and heavy traffic are frequent in Los Angeles, especially in rush hour traffic between 7:00 am and 10:00 am and between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Therefore, you should plan enough time for your journey with the rental car to and from the airport. From the pick-up station at the airport, take Interstate 405, which takes you directly from the airport to the city by car.
In Los Angeles, as in all of California, the maximum permitted speed on the Interstates is 65 miles per hour. That's about 104 km/h. You should keep to this rule, as California carries out numerous speed checks every day and is punishable by high fines for exceeding ten miles per hour. Also note that there are some toll roads in the south of Los Angeles. For example, you can buy a SunPass before departure in order to pay the toll with little effort. If you are driving in the USA for the first time, you should know that there are traffic lights in the middle of the intersections. You may not drive until just before the traffic lights, as in Germany, but must pay attention to the markings on the road.
Fly with one of the numerous international airlines to the city of the angels and rent a car on the spot. Spend an eventful holiday in Los Angeles between palm-clad beaches and vibrant amusement parks. The landmark of the city is the Hollywood sign in the Hollywood Hills. Grab your car and pay a visit to the white lettering. Then visit the Walk of Fame and Kodak Theatre, where the Oscars are awarded every year. If you want to delve even deeper into the world of film, you can rent a car and drive to the Universal Studios Hollywood amusement park. The theme park allows you to take a look behind the scenes of the dream factory. Experience a touch of exoticism in Chinatown and Little Tokyo. A visit to the sea is also a must: if you want to swim, sunbathe or surf, you can go to the Pacific Ocean. Among the most popular beaches in Los Angeles are Malibu and Manhattan Beach. A ferris wheel, various rides and many stalls can be found at the lively Santa Monica Pier, one of the city's most popular excursion destinations.
