Tap to ride. A Metro ride is $1.75 with free transfers for two hours, capped at $5 a day and $18 a week if you tap the same card every time. Put a TAP card in Apple or Google Wallet before you land (free), or tap a contactless bank card or phone on the reader, added in 2026. One card covers every bus, train and Angels Flight.
Where it works. Downtown, Hollywood, Koreatown and Santa Monica sit on rail: the E Line to Santa Monica, the B Line to Hollywood and Vermont, the D Line to LACMA since Wilshire/Fairfax opened in 2026. The Getty, Malibu, the hills and Venice after dark do not; a rideshare at roughly $15 to $30 a trip is usually cheaper than a rental plus parking.
Leaving LAX. The FlyAway bus boards at the blue columns outside every terminal and reaches Union Station in about 45 minutes, $12.75 by contactless card or the app, no cash. A free shuttle links the terminals to the LAX/Metro Transit Center for the C and K lines; the people mover that replaces it has slipped again, to January 2027.
Free, but booked. The Getty Center and The Broad are free and both want a timed ticket. The Getty releases slots online and charges $25 to park ($15 after 3 p.m., $10 after 6 p.m.); open 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday to 9 p.m., closed Monday. The Broad releases extra tickets online every day and keeps a walk-up line; closed Monday, open to 8 p.m. on Thursday.
Two studio tours. Warner Bros in Burbank is the working lot: a guided tram through the backlot and sound stages, about three hours, timed, from $79. Universal Studios Hollywood is a theme park whose Studio Tour tram comes with a dated ticket of roughly $100 to $155, plus $40 to park; the B Line stops at Universal City and a free shuttle climbs the hill.
The Observatory. Free, open from noon on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends until 10 p.m., closed Monday. The lot at the top is $10 an hour and full by mid-afternoon. Take the DASH Observatory bus from the Vermont/Sunset station instead: 50 cents, 35 with TAP.
Tipping. 18 to 20 percent at a table, a dollar or two a drink. Read the bill first: some restaurants add a service charge or a surcharge line, and where service is already on the bill you tip nothing more.
On the day. From May to early July the marine layer sits over the coast until around noon, so give the morning to a museum and the afternoon to the beach. Save the Getty and Broad QR codes in Waystop’s Documents.