Changing Plans

This June, we chose to go to Kauai, Hawaii. Many routes during our selected week, including our originally planned route to Doha, had become challenging for non-rev travel. Looking for options, I quickly searched for cheap flights. I found affordable tickets from LAX to LIH, and we decided to use my husband’s employee discount to purchase confirmed seats with the plan of a layover in LAX. Getting to and from LAX, we planned to non-rev.

Thinking it would be nice to have a break between flights and some buffer in case things went wrong, we planned to spend most of the day in Santa Monica and stay the night at an airport hotel before continuing to Kauai. We enjoyed how we chose to spend our time on our layover in LAX. Since we had purchased confirmed seats, we booked our hotels, rental cars, and a couple of activities the week before our trip. 

Saving Money on Hotels

To save money on lodging, as Kauai is notably expensive in this department, we used some of our Hilton points for one night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kauai. A prior day, I had noticed that you could transfer American Express points to Hilton points for double the value, so I had swooped in on the opportunity. We also redeemed a Hilton American Express credit card reward for $40 back with our booking at a Hilton LAX airport hotel. The resort we chose in Kauai, the Royal Sonesta, had a fourth-night free offer on the American Express travel portal, we had a $200 American Express hotel credit to use, and we got a $100 voucher to use on restaurants at the resort. 

We were also lucky to get upgraded at all three hotels with our Hilton Gold status (which comes with the American Express platinum card) and American Express booking. We had a room on the top floor with a beautiful, unobstructed ocean view from our porch. The resort also gave us a voucher for two mai tai’s and an appetizer at their beach-side restaurant. 

Navigating Santa Monica for a Layover in LAX

Upon our arrival at LAX, we hopped on the hotel’s shuttle to stow our bags. They had a room for early check-in so we could get settled before exploring. After dropping off our bags, we called an Uber to take us to a restaurant in Santa Monica. Unfortunately, the restaurant we selected was permanently closed, so we walked to another area and ate at a taco restaurant with a nice ocean view. 

Beach Party and walking Santa Monica

Following lunch, we began our walking tour of Santa Monica. First, we strolled along the Santa Monica Pier and happened upon a beach party. Here, we took Polaroid pictures in an airstream and got free face sunscreen, makeup wipes, bag patches, and holographic tote bags. We got to enjoy free dreamsicles on the pier on a comfortable couch under the shade of an umbrella. It was a fun activity to stumble upon, and the bags came in handy for the rest of our trip. (Hawaii doesn’t provide plastic bags at stores)

We wandered around some nearby parks. Tongva Park was beautiful but eerily empty, and Palisades Park had friendly, over-fed squirrels. We walked along Ocean Avenue, which overlooked the ocean and State Beach. Continuing our walk, we explored Montana Avenue. An affluent neighborhood where we had the surprise of seeing a food delivery robot rolling along the sidewalk. 

Ending our Layover in LAX

We decided to look for an Erwhon, a health food store popularized by influencers, to see what the hype was. Marveling at the prices, we each selected a bottled beverage we hadn’t tried before. Unfortunately, we didn’t see a single celebrity! Wanting to relax a little before another day of travel, we rode the bus back to our hotel (which was both cheap and easy!) and ordered room service for dinner. I discovered I was sunburned, which made the following travel day somewhat uncomfortable. On the plus side, we had confirmed seats, so we were allowed in LAX’s Centurion Lounge before our departure. 

Stay tuned for my next blog post on Kauai!

Apply for an American Express Card with this link. With your new Card, you could earn a welcome bonus (125,000 points!) and I’ll earn a referral bonus. Terms Apply.