How early to leave for LAX, neighborhood by neighborhood

Work backward from the departure time printed on your ticket. LAX advises allowing at least two hours before departure for a domestic flight, and three hours for an international flight, so there is time to check bags, clear TSA screening and reach the gate. The airport also suggests asking your airline for its own recommendation, and if the airline asks for more, use the airline's number. Then subtract the high end of the drive range for your neighborhood and a few minutes for loading bags and the slow loop around the terminals.

• Step 1: departure time minus 2 hours for domestic or 3 hours for international
• Step 2: minus the high end of your neighborhood's drive range below
• Step 3: minus 10 to 15 minutes for loading bags and terminal traffic
• Step 4: round down to the nearest quarter hour and book that as your pickup

The list below gives the driving distance from each neighborhood to the LAX terminals along the usual route, with a time range that runs from light traffic to a typical weekday rush. The distances come from route mapping, and the ranges are planning estimates rather than promises. Where two common routes differ noticeably, such as Downtown Los Angeles by freeway or by La Cienega Boulevard, both distances are shown. Your chauffeur picks the route on the day.

Coastal neighborhoods south of Santa Monica sit close to the airport and are usually the most predictable. Trips from the San Fernando Valley cross the Sepulveda Pass on I-405 or come through Downtown, which is why Sherman Oaks and Burbank carry wide ranges for their mileage. Use the high end whenever your pickup falls on a weekday morning or late afternoon, or on a Friday.

• Manhattan Beach: about 6 miles, 15 to 35 minutes, depending on traffic
• Marina del Rey: about 7 miles, 15 to 35 minutes, depending on traffic
• Venice: about 7 miles, 15 to 40 minutes, depending on traffic
• Culver City: about 7 miles, 15 to 40 minutes, depending on traffic
• Santa Monica: about 9 miles, 20 to 50 minutes, depending on traffic
• Century City: about 11 miles, 25 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic
• Westwood and UCLA: about 11 miles, 20 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic
• Beverly Hills: about 12 miles, 25 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic
• West Hollywood: about 12 miles, 30 to 65 minutes, depending on traffic
• Hollywood: about 14 miles, 30 to 70 minutes, depending on traffic
• Downtown Los Angeles: about 16 to 19 miles by route, 30 to 75 minutes, depending on traffic
• Sherman Oaks: about 19 miles, 30 to 80 minutes, depending on traffic
• Malibu, pier area: about 20 miles, 40 to 80 minutes, depending on traffic
• Downtown Long Beach: about 22 miles, 35 to 75 minutes, depending on traffic
• Pasadena: about 25 to 28 miles by route, 45 to 100 minutes, depending on traffic
• Burbank: about 28 miles, 45 to 100 minutes, depending on traffic
• Newport Beach: about 44 miles, 55 to 110 minutes, depending on traffic

Freeway traffic is one part of the trip, and the terminals have rush hours of their own. According to the airport, its daily peak travel periods run from 6:30 to 9:00 am for domestic flights, and from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and 8:00 to 11:00 pm for both domestic and international flights. Flights in those windows need more time for ticketing, bag check and security screening, so stay with the generous end of the formula.

LAX is also in the middle of a multi-billion-dollar modernization. The airport posts weekly ground transportation construction alerts, and recent ones included nightly lane restrictions on westbound Century Boulevard, one of the main approaches to the terminals. Terminal 5 is closed for construction, with reopening anticipated in 2028. Our terminal-by-terminal guide shows where each airline checks in.

Here is the formula applied to three common departures. Each example uses the high end of the drive range, because a missed flight costs far more than a few extra minutes at the gate. If your airline recommends arriving earlier than the airport's general advice, swap in the airline's number and the rest of the math stays the same. Note that the Beverly Hills example lands inside the 6:30 to 9:00 am domestic peak, one more reason not to trim it.

• 9:00 am domestic flight from Beverly Hills: be at LAX by 7:00 am, allow 60 minutes to drive and 15 to load, so book a 5:45 am pickup
• 1:00 pm international flight from Pasadena: be at LAX by 10:00 am, allow 100 minutes to drive and 15 to load, so book an 8:00 am pickup
• 10:30 pm domestic flight from Santa Monica: be at LAX by 8:30 pm, allow 50 minutes to drive and 15 to load, so book a 7:15 pm pickup

The formula covers a typical trip, and a few situations call for more time. Families with young children, car seats and strollers need longer to load at the house and to unload at the curb. Travelers checking oversized items, such as golf bags or skis, should allow for the airline's oversize counter. Holiday weekends are their own case, and holiday travel at LAX covers the busiest days the airport has forecast in past seasons.

Late-evening departures are often easier on the freeways but fall inside the airport's 8:00 to 11:00 pm peak, so do not trim the airport time. Our red-eye departures guide covers night flights in detail. If you are not sure whether your flight leaves from Terminal B or another terminal, check your airline's app before you set the pickup, because a drop-off at the wrong terminal costs time you have not budgeted.

Once you have a pickup time, book it with your departure terminal so your chauffeur knows which curb to use on the upper departures level. A reservation is confirmed once payment is completed and the confirmation e-mail arrives, and a saved quote is not a reservation. Before pickup you receive the chauffeur's details and a live tracking link, so you can watch the car approach while you finish packing. For the trip home, see LAX car service for how arrivals work.

• Check your airline's recommended arrival time and your departure terminal
• Count passengers and bags, then choose a vehicle class that fits both
• Set the pickup with the formula and the high end of your drive range
• Add child seats at booking if you need them
• Keep your phone on before pickup to receive the chauffeur's details
• Book the return as a round trip so both legs are linked