How To Get From Los Angeles Airport (LAX) To Malibu 2026

 

Are you traveling to L.A. and want to find out how to get from LAX to Malibu? In this post, you’ll find detailed information on all transportation options available from LAX to Malibu with prices and timings.

Malibu is an iconic oceanside neighborhood in the Los Angeles metropolitan area which was made famous by Hollywood movies and many TV series.

Most tourists staying in the area will fly into Los Angeles LAX Airport, the closest airport to Malibu. It’s also the main gateway serving the Greater L.A. area and some parts of Southern California.

But even though it’s such an important airport, LAX is not the easiest to get out to and travel to your accommodation.

What makes it particularly inconvenient is that, unless you book a private car transfer, you’ll always have to take a shuttle somewhere and only then take your transportation to your final destination.

At the moment, there is a lot of infrastructure work going on at the airport, so hopefully things will improve by the end of the year.

On another note, you can also find here information on getting to Long Beach, Venice Beach and Santa Monica from LAX.

If you’re traveling elsewhere from California, you can also get detailed information about getting from Denver Airport to Union Station, from Savannah Airport to Hilton Head and from Miami Airport to South Beach, among other places.

Los Angeles International Airport Information

Los Angeles International is one of the busiest airports in the US and in the world in number of passengers. In 2023, it served 37.6 million departures and 37.4 million arrivals, a total of 75 million people.

LAX Airport has all the modern facilities you’d expect from a major international airport, including ATM machines, banks, car rentals, and restaurants.

It also has free wifi which is easy to connect to. If you’re flying from abroad and don’t have free roaming, you may want to get an eSIM to stay connected during your trip.

Los Angeles Airport has in total nine terminals. So depending on where you need to go, there’s a long distance to walk. That’s especially true if you’re going to your accommodation by taxi, rideshare or bus.

The distance from Los Angeles International Airport to the westernmost part of Malibu is 30.7 miles (49.4 kilometers).

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How To Get From LAX Airport To Malibu

Taxi From LAX Airport To Malibu

At Los Angeles Airport, it’s not possible to just get out of the terminal and jump on a cab. The airport has a designated area for taxis, known as LAXit. Getting there will take you a few minutes on a shuttle bus.

Coming through the arrivals gate, look for the signs to LAXit. They will take you to a bus stop painted green that reads “Taxi Ride App”.

The shuttles from the airport to LAXit run roughly every 7 minutes, 24 hours a day, and are free of charge.

It’s also possible to walk from the airport terminal to LAXit, but given the time, I recommend against it. From terminals 1, 7 and 8, you’ll walk 3-8 minutes. From terminals 4 and 5, you’ll have to walk 20-25 minutes.

The travel time from LAX to Malibu will be 1h15m on average, depending on where exactly you’re going in Malibu.

The cost of a taxi ride from LAX Airport to Malibu starts from $80. The average cost is around  $120 based on the local taxi fare calculator. But bad traffic could raise the total fare even more.

Before taking a taxi at the airport, don’t forget to ask the driver if there are any additional charges, such as luggage or extra passenger surcharge.

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Private Shuttle from LAX Airport to Malibu

The most convenient way to get to Malibu from LAX is by booking a private shuttle service. This way, your driver will be waiting for you by the arrivals gate and take you to the car.

You’ll save time and energy since you won’t need to wait for a shuttle bus to the LAXit and won’t have to walk around carrying your luggage.

You can book your private shuttle online, so there’ll be no money transaction with your driver when you land. Most companies allow you to cancel your transfer 24 hours before arrival time.

Most hotels can also arrange your LAX to Malibu shuttle at an extra charge.

Several companies offer this service, but I have used the two providers below and highly recommend both.

Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that the convenience of being met by your driver and saving time comes at a cost. It’s a fixed price and is pretty much in line with the taxi and rideshare price fluctuations.

• Private transfer with GYG provider: Starting at $110 one-way
• Private transfer with Kiwi: From $130 one-way for an economy car

​The travel time is on average 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on the traffic conditions.

Lyft/Uber From LAX to Malibu

Just like with taxis, you’ll have to make your way to the LAXit area to take your rideshare car at Los Angeles Airport.​

The price of an Uber/Lyft varies considerably depending on the exact drop-off location, the time of the day and the type of service you request.

With that in mind, Uber from LAX to Malibu costs anything between $70 and $150.

The travel time to Malibu will be around 1h15m, depending on the traffic and your exact drop-off location (in addition to the time to get to LAXit).

LAX Airport To Malibu Bus

​​If you’re traveling on a tight budget, the cheapest way to get from LAX to Malibu is by bus.

There are no metro trains or direct buses from the airport to Malibu. Instead, you’ll have to take the bus from the airport to Santa Monica and then, take a second one to Malibu. The trip will be in three stages, as explained below.

To take the bus from the airport to Santa Monica, follow the pink sign that reads LAX Shuttles.

There, wait by the pink LAX Shuttles sign and take shuttle bus C (City Bus Center – LAX). The journey takes no more than 10 minutes.

The free shuttle to LAX City Bus Center runs between 4am and 2am the following day.

Once you get there, you can board the Big Blue Bus line 3 to Santa Monica. This leg of the journey will take 30 to 50 minutes.

Line 3 departs from here  5:05am to 10:54pm, so you must calculate well your travel time so you don’t miss the next one to Malibu.

In Santa Monica, you should get off the bus at the 4th Street & Colorado stop. Then you have to walk two blocks towards Ocean Avenue.

You’ll then catch the 134 bus to Malibu at the Colorado & Ocean Avenue stop.

From Monday to Friday, bus line 134 runs every 40 to 60 minutes, departing from the Colorado & Ocean stop between 7:25am and 9:56pm.

On weekends and public holidays, the departure time from this stop is between 8am and 9:52pm, running every 40 to 60 minutes.

The journey by bus from Santa Monica to the final stop in Malibu will take between 45 minutes and 1h15m. The final stop in Malibu is at Trancas Canyon & Pacific Coast Hwy. See the full schedule here.

The bus costs $1.75 per person, so to get from LAX to Malibu, it’ll cost $3.50 per person. You can pay the driver directly, but they only take the exact amount. Otherwise, you can use the TAP card if you have one.

As you can see, the most convenient way to get from LAX to Malibu is by private transfer, while the cheapest way is by bus, which is also the one that takes the longest.