Long Beach sits about 22 mi (35 km) south-east of LAX, and on a clear road the drive takes around half an hour. It is one of the shorter transfers out of LAX, but it carries more luggage than most: cruise passengers heading for the terminal next to the Queen Mary, convention teams with exhibit cases, and families staying near the waterfront. A car service from LAX to Long Beach is mostly about a smooth exit from the airport and a car big enough for the bags.
Elly8.net books it at a fixed, all-in price. Long Beach addresses are priced in the web booker, which shows a fixed fare for each vehicle before you pay; the chauffeur tracks your flight, waits inside arrivals with a name board and drives you to the hotel, the cruise terminal or the convention centre door. Traffic on the 405 or the 105 changes the drive, not the price.
How long does it take to get from LAX to Long Beach?
From LAX to downtown Long Beach is about 22 mi (35 km), around 31 minutes on a clear road. The Long Beach Cruise Terminal by the Queen Mary is about 23 mi (37 km). At weekday rush hours, allow an hour or more. A pre-booked Elly8.net car has a fixed price, so a slow freeway does not raise the fare.
Routing estimates on a clear road, measured from LAX:
| Destination | Distance from LAX | Clear-road drive | What to tell the desk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Long Beach hotels | about 22 mi (35 km) | about 31 min | Hotel name and entrance |
| Long Beach Convention Center | about 22 mi (36 km) | about 31 min | Hall or lobby you need, show dates |
| Long Beach Cruise Terminal | about 23 mi (37 km) | about 32 min | Ship, sailing date and luggage count |
| Belmont Shore and Naples | about 25 to 26 mi (40 to 42 km) | about 36 to 37 min | Street address and any parking notes |
See Los Angeles prices and reserve
From the arrivals hall to the car
Most of the friction on this trip happens in the first fifteen minutes. LAX sends taxis and standard app rides to LAX-it, a lot next to Terminal 1 reached on foot or by a free shuttle from the green signs outside baggage claim. With a pre-booked chauffeur, that step disappears:
- Before you fly, add your flight number to the booking. The chauffeur tracks it.
- When you land, the chauffeur works to the actual landing time. Complimentary waiting starts after a tracked landing, so slow bags or a long immigration line do not change the fixed price within the included time.
- In arrivals, the chauffeur waits inside with a name board, helps with the luggage and walks you to the car.
- On the road, the route is chosen for the traffic on the day, and any stop you booked, for example a hotel bag drop before the convention centre, is built in.
Our guide to LAX meet and greet explains the meeting in more detail, including the colour-coded kerbs you can ignore when someone is waiting for you inside.
Cruise days: LAX to the Long Beach Cruise Terminal
Visit Long Beach describes the Long Beach Cruise Terminal as owned and operated by Carnival Corporation and located alongside the Queen Mary. Some passengers fly into LAX on sailing day, and that is where timing matters most.
- Allow real margin between landing and boarding. A flight that lands two hours before the boarding window closes is a risk on any day; a delayed flight or a slow bag belt uses it up quickly. Many cruisers fly in the day before and stay downtown.
- Count the bags honestly. Cruise luggage for two often fills a sedan's trunk. A Business SUV takes up to 6 passengers and 6 bags, and for families or groups an Executive Sprinter takes up to 12 passengers and 12 bags.
- Tell us the ship and sailing date. The chauffeur goes to the passenger drop-off for the terminal rather than a generic address, and the desk can time a pre-cruise stop at a hotel or a pharmacy.
- Book the return for disembarkation day. The trip from the terminal back to LAX for a flight home is one of the most common Long Beach bookings. Give the desk the ship, the date and the time you expect to be off, and leave a margin before your flight for the disembarkation queue.
Our cruise port transfers page covers how we plan both directions, and group transportation explains staggered pickups when a group lands on several flights.
Conventions, the Grand Prix and Long Beach events
The Long Beach Convention Center sits downtown, close to the hotels and the waterfront, and convention weeks fill the same streets. If you are setting up a booth, tell us the hall and the loading instructions; if you are attending, the lobby you want and the time your first session starts. Teams arriving on several flights can share one reservation with staggered pickups, and an Executive Sprinter moves up to 12 people with their cases in one trip. For regular show traffic, see conference and trade show transportation.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is held on downtown streets, usually in April; the organisers list the 2027 schedule as to be confirmed. Race weekend brings street closures across downtown, so if you are staying near the circuit, the desk will set a drop-off point outside the closed zone and confirm it with you. For race days and concerts, see our sports event transportation page.
Long Beach is also a quieter base for a Los Angeles visit, with the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary downtown. For a day in the wider city, an hourly chauffeur is listed from US$105 an hour in a Business Sedan with a 3-hour minimum.
What the LAX to Long Beach trip costs
Long Beach is not on the fixed route list, so the web booker prices your exact address and shows a fixed, all-in fare for each class before you pay. It includes the chauffeur, vehicle, taxes, standard gratuity and meet and greet inside arrivals; tolls, parking and waiting beyond the included time are billed at cost. Prices are per vehicle, so a family of five in an SUV pays one fare.
For reference, the published Los Angeles fares start at US$170 for LAX to Beverly Hills, a 12 mi (20 km) run, and the Orange County list has LAX to Newport Beach, 44 mi (71 km), from US$315. Long Beach sits on its own route; use the booker for the real number rather than estimating from either.
Metro, taxi, rideshare or a private car
This route has a genuine public transport option, which is worth knowing.
| Option | Price | Time and reliability | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro rail: C Line from LAX/Metro Transit Center, then the A Line to Long Beach | US$1.75 regular fare, free transfers within 2 hours | A free LAX shuttle to the transit centre, then two lines | Solo travellers with a carry-on |
| Taxi | Metered | From LAX-it or two terminal taxi points; price rises in traffic | Short notice, no booking |
| Uber or Lyft | Dynamic, not published | Standard rides collect at LAX-it; surge at peak arrivals | Flexible solo trips at quiet hours |
| Elly8.net private car | Fixed quote in the web booker | Chauffeur inside arrivals, door to door, the right vehicle for bags | Cruisers, families, convention teams, late flights |
LAX runs a free shuttle from the terminals to the LAX/Metro Transit Center, where Metro's C and K Lines stop; the C Line connects with the A Line, which runs to downtown Long Beach. The Metro regular fare is US$1.75, with free transfers within two hours when you tap. For one person with a backpack, that is excellent value. With cruise luggage, children or a late-night landing, it is two transfers too many.
Taxis at LAX are metered, and only cabs carrying a City of Los Angeles seal may pick up at the airport. Standard app rides collect at LAX-it; LAX says premium services such as Uber Black and Lyft Lux can pick up at the terminal. Read chauffeur vs Uber and Lyft and chauffeur vs taxi for the full comparison.
Where you stay shapes the trip
Long Beach is not one place, and the address changes the drive and the vehicle you need:
- Downtown and the waterfront. Hotels around the convention centre and the harbour, close to the Aquarium of the Pacific. The quickest drop-offs from LAX, though event weekends close some streets.
- The Queen Mary and the cruise terminal. Across the harbour from downtown. Tell the desk whether you are visiting the Queen Mary or sailing from the cruise terminal, because the drop-off points differ.
- Belmont Shore and Naples. Residential streets, canals and small hotels to the east, about 25 mi (40 km) from LAX. Add any parking or access notes to the booking.
- Near Long Beach Airport. Hotels and offices around LGB, about 6 mi (9 km) from the convention centre by road, useful if you are flying out of LGB later in the trip.
If your group is split across two hotels, a single booking can include both drop-offs, and the fixed price covers the route you booked.
Should you fly into Long Beach Airport instead?
Long Beach has its own airport, LGB, a few miles from downtown. Long Beach Airport says taxis wait at a stand outside the terminal next to Parking Structure A, and the nearest Metro rail station is Wardlow on the A Line. For domestic flights that serve LGB, it can save the LAX exit altogether. The Orange County price list includes LGB to Newport Beach from US$235 if your stay continues south. For long-haul and international flights, LAX is usually the airport.
How to book
- Flight and address. Enter LAX and your Long Beach hotel, the cruise terminal or the convention centre, with your flight number.
- Vehicle. Choose by passengers and luggage; cruise bags usually mean an SUV. See the fleet, and add child seats if needed.
- Reserve. Pay securely and receive confirmation by email, with the chauffeur's details before pickup.
Rides in Los Angeles are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk. If your trip continues to Irvine or Newport Beach, our LAX to Orange County car service guide covers that drive, and for the way home, read private car service to LAX.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a car service from LAX to Long Beach?
Long Beach is priced in the web booker for your exact address, with a fixed, all-in fare for each vehicle before you pay. It includes chauffeur, vehicle, taxes, standard gratuity and meet and greet inside arrivals. Tolls, parking and waiting beyond the included time are billed at cost.
How long is the drive from LAX to the Long Beach Cruise Terminal?
About 23 mi (37 km), around 32 minutes on a clear road. On weekday afternoons it can take an hour or more, so leave a generous margin between your landing and the boarding window, or fly in the day before.
Can you fit cruise luggage for a family?
Yes. A Business SUV takes up to 6 passengers and 6 bags, and an Executive Sprinter up to 12 passengers and 12 bags. Tell us the number of suitcases when you book, and add child seats if needed.
Can you book the return from the cruise terminal to LAX?
Yes. Give the desk the ship, the date and the time you expect to disembark, plus your flight details. The chauffeur meets you at the terminal and drives you to your LAX departures door at a fixed price.
Is the Metro a good option from LAX to Long Beach?
For one person with a carry-on, yes: a free LAX shuttle to the transit centre, then the C Line and the A Line, at a US$1.75 regular fare with free transfers within two hours. With heavy luggage or children, a private car is easier.
What is the cancellation policy?
Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup; 10% applies at 72 hours or less, 50% at 48 hours or less, and 100% at 24 hours or less or for a no-show. Refunds go to the original card.
