Oh to travel! The thrill of the unexpected and the unknown. For many, the thrill of the journey is half of the fun. I am a firm believer in this as well… except when I have to deal with getting to and from the airport, which can be anything but fun. Take LAX, for example, my home airport. I live a mere 38 miles from the one of the world’s busiest and most important airports. But if you have ever been to Los Angeles, you know a thing or two about its infamous and famously unpredictable traffic. It “should” take 45 minutes to get to LAX but alas, thanks to the snarled parking lot that is the collection of LA freeways, it can be hard to determine how long it will take. There are plenty of great options to get you to the airport, such as ride-sharing companies, taxis or your own car – but it is impossible to predict how much time you actually need to get there. Which makes morning flights a challenge that sucks the fun out of your trip. The choices are as follows:  a.) leave at an ungodly hour and arrive well in advance of your flight, missing out on much needed sleep or b.) risk missing your flight.  I prefer not to admit how many flights I have missed due to traffic, but it is, sadly, a lot. 

And then there is your return. LAX has a new and very stressful policy for getting picked up by ride-sharing companies on the departure level. Ride-shares can no longer pick you up at the airport! Travelers are required to leave the airport and go to a new lot area called “LAX-it” where you can catch your favorite ride-share or taxi. In order to reach this newly designated space, you need to either walk or take a shuttle. This just went into effect in November 2019 and the results have been anything but smooth, with disgruntled passengers left with overcrowded shuttles and an even longer travel time.

What about a third option? When we recently flew to Hawaii, we decided to try something different: park, sleep and fly. Here’s how it worked: On Monday evening we loaded up the kids and the luggage, dropped the dog at the kennel and headed out to LAX. We weren’t stressed about the traffic or the time it took us to get there because guess what? The flight was leaving the next morning. 

We checked in to the very comfortable Embassy Suites North (near Sepulveda Drive and Century Bvd.), about 1 mile from the airport.  After a good night’s sleep at the very soundproof hotel, we woke up at a sane hour and took advantage of the free breakfast buffet. Then we grabbed our luggage and hopped on the hotel’s frequently running, free shuttle to our terminal. We arrived in plenty of time and it was one of the most stress-free airport experiences I have had in a very long time.  In the meantime, our car stayed safely parked at the hotel for the time we were gone. Upon our return, we hopped on the Embassy Suites shuttle and cruised back to the hotel so that we could pick up our car and head home. The whole experience was easy, convenient and smooth, which added to the fun of the overall trip.

If you want to search for your own Park, Sleep and Fly deals, try a service like parkingaccess.com.

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