Santa Monica Pier Private Tour With Driver: How to Get to Santa Monica Pier by Car, Drop-Off Points and Sunset Timing

Where is the Santa Monica Pier, and how do you get there by car?

The Santa Monica Pier is a wooden pier with a small amusement park, a carousel, restaurants, fishing rails and a view along the whole curve of Santa Monica Bay to the Malibu headlands. It opened in 1909 as a municipal pier, and the 1916 Looff Hippodrome with its carousel is one of its older surviving buildings. The pier itself is public and free to walk; the rides at Pacific Park are paid separately.

This guide is for visitors who want a Santa Monica Pier private tour with driver, or a plain answer to how to get to Santa Monica Pier by car. The pier is small but the surrounding streets are not: Ocean Avenue, Colorado Avenue and the beach-level lot are all busy, and weekends from May to September bring heavy congestion. The notes below cover which road to take, where the car can stop, and how to fit the pier into a bigger day on the west side.

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Five ways into town

The pier is at the west end of Colorado Avenue, with the ocean on one side and the bluff-top Ocean Avenue on the other. Which route you use depends on where you start.

1. From LAX. Take Sepulveda Boulevard or Lincoln Boulevard north, about 14 km (9 mi). Typically 20 to 40 minutes. Our LAX transfer page covers pickup zones.
2. From downtown Los Angeles. Use the I-10 west, which ends at Pacific Coast Highway a few minutes from the pier. About 24 km (15 mi), 30 to 70 minutes. The I-10 is slow in both directions at rush hour.
3. From Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Use Santa Monica Boulevard or Wilshire Boulevard west, about 14 km (9 mi) from Rodeo Drive and 22 km (14 mi) from Hollywood, 30 to 60 minutes.
4. From Malibu. Follow Pacific Coast Highway south, about 21 km (13 mi) from the Malibu Pier, 30 to 60 minutes. Summer Sunday afternoons are the slowest.
5. From the Getty Center. About 14 km (9 mi) by I-405 and I-10, 20 to 40 minutes. See our Getty Center guide.

Our Los Angeles limo service page explains how city bookings work if you are starting from a hotel.

Where a car can actually stop

The pier area is built for walking, not for cars, and there are three realistic drop-off plans.

• Ocean Avenue at Colorado Avenue. The top of the bluff, a short walk down to the arch and the entrance. This is the most practical place for a quick drop and the simplest to find. Your driver pulls in, you step out, and the car moves on.
• The beach-level lot beneath the pier. Pacific Park's directions tell drivers not to drive onto the pier, but to turn onto the beach road from Ocean Avenue and reach the lot under the pier bridge, with stairs at the southwest corner leading onto the pier. Parking here is paid and limited.
• The Pier Deck lot. The City of Santa Monica describes limited spaces typically available Monday to Thursday. Do not count on it on weekends.

The City also points visitors to the Civic Center Garage at 4th Street and Olympic Boulevard, close to the I-10 exit and across from City Hall. Pacific Park's directions mention improvement work on the pier and altered traffic patterns, so allow extra time and ask your driver to check the Santa Monica visitor page the day before for current conditions. We do not quote parking rates because they change; they are posted at each lot.

Pacific Park, the carousel and what's free

The pier deck is open to the public from early morning until 10 pm every day, according to the pier's own site. Walking, fishing and the views cost nothing. Pacific Park, the amusement park on the deck, has its own hours, which vary by season: it commonly opens around 11 am, runs later in summer and closes earlier in autumn and winter, and its published hours can change at short notice. The Pacific Park hours page is the authoritative source.

What a first-time visitor usually wants is simple. Walk the length of the deck to the end, watch the Ferris wheel from the west side, and take the sunset view from the rail. Rides are paid per ride or by wristband, and lines are shortest on weekday mornings. Parents with young children usually allow two to three hours; couples who just want the walk, an hour.

The Route 66 end marker

Santa Monica is the traditional western end of Route 66. The city's Route 66 history says the pier was dedicated as the symbolic "End of the Trail" in 2009, and a sign at Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard marks the end of the old highway. Technically, the highway's original route ended at Lincoln and Olympic Boulevards, a little inland; the pier became the traditional spot for photographs. For history and a Route 66 walking guide, the City's visitor site is the best source.

The beach path to Venice

Below the pier, the wide beach is public, and a paved path runs along the sand. Walking or cycling south takes you to Venice Beach and its boardwalk, about 4 km (2.5 mi) away. It is a pleasant one-way stroll if the weather is clear, and you can ask your driver to meet you at the other end. The beach is also the quietest place on a busy afternoon, though the water is cold for most of the year and swimmers should watch for lifeguard flags.

Sunset and the evening

Sunset over the Pacific is the best reason to visit in the evening. In mid-October the sun goes down at around 6:15 pm; in June, after 8 pm. The pier lights come on at dusk, and the rail on the south side gives a good view of the arc of the bay toward Palos Verdes. Weekend evenings bring crowds, so arrive 60 to 90 minutes before sunset if you want a spot at the rail.

If you are staying near the pier, dinner in Santa Monica is a short walk away, and the driver can collect you from the hotel afterwards.

The hardest moment of any pier evening is the exit. When the sun sets, hundreds of people order cars at the same minute, and pickup points on Ocean Avenue and Colorado Avenue fill with idling vehicles. A pre-booked chauffeur avoids the scramble: the car is already assigned, tracked by the desk, and told which corner to approach. Ask for a pickup one block away from the arch and the driver will keep the car out of the queue until you step out.

Palisades Park and the Third Street Promenade

Two walks start within minutes of the pier and are worth adding if you have an extra hour. Palisades Park runs along the top of the bluff on Ocean Avenue, with lawns, palm trees and benches facing the sunset, and it is the quiet counterpart to the crowd on the deck. The Third Street Promenade, a car-free shopping street, is a few blocks inland; the E Line station sits at its southern end, so the two are easy to link on foot. Neither needs the car. A good rhythm is to be dropped on Ocean Avenue, walk the park, drop down to the pier by the Colorado Avenue ramp, and message the driver from the Promenade at the end.

Weather, the marine layer and event days

The coast is cooler than the inland valleys most days of the year. Late spring and early summer often bring a morning marine layer that hides the sun until midday, and winter storms can bring large surf and warnings along the beach. In the evening the wind picks up at the end of the pier, so a light jacket helps even in August.

Events change the traffic. Summer concerts, holiday weekends and fireworks displays bring road closures around Ocean Avenue and Colorado Avenue, and the city posts them in advance. If your date falls on a holiday weekend, tell the desk at booking so the driver is given a drop-off point beyond the closure. For the same reason, we recommend arriving by midday on a summer Saturday rather than late afternoon, when the approach roads stop moving.

How to get to the Santa Monica Pier, compared

Metro's E Line ends at the Downtown Santa Monica station near 4th Street and Colorado Avenue, about 0.8 km (0.5 mi) from the pier, so reaching it from downtown Los Angeles by train is easy and uses the Metro rail map. If you are coming from the east side and do not have luggage, the train is the sensible choice. From LAX, the car is much faster and avoids the transfers.

A west-side day built around the pier

The pier fits into several kinds of day. Two combinations work well.

Coast and culture. Start at the Getty Center for the morning timed slot, then drive about 14 km (9 mi) to Santa Monica for a late lunch and the pier at 3 pm, leaving in time for the sunset. The Getty is closed on Mondays, so choose Tuesday to Sunday.

Beach road to Malibu. Reverse the order. See the pier in the early morning, when the light is soft and the crowds are small, then drive north on Pacific Coast Highway for about 21 km (13 mi) to Malibu for lunch and beaches. The Rodeo Drive shopping district is about 14 km (9 mi) inland if you prefer a retail afternoon.

Multi-day plans across Los Angeles are described on the private tours with driver page; the attractions hub and the North America directory list the neighboring guides.

Book a driver for the day

Accessibility and family logistics

The pier deck is broadly level. The beach-level lot connects to the deck by stairs; Pacific Park and the pier's own website list the accessible routes, which differ from the stair route. Tell the desk at booking if anyone in the party uses a wheelchair, so the driver can drop at the nearest accessible point and the vehicle can be assigned accordingly.

Ask for a child, toddler or booster seat when you book. On hot days, bring sun protection; the deck has little shade. Official information on the pier, events and closures is on the Santa Monica Pier site.