Kymjon

I am from Australia and have NO insights into LA apart from what i can glean from studying maps, trip advisor, Fodors etc.

So, my question is.... we are driving from Las Vegas to LA this coming January. It will be a longish, tedious drive from what i can gather. We will have a rental car, and have 4 days in 'greater LA' from which to explore the touristy things (yet to look into what these may be) before we drive out to Anaheim (of course-! we are travelling with 2 active sons) where we will give up our rental car and get about as the locals do. So, can anyone suggest a hotel (or even a region of town) that is in the $100 - $200 price bracket, on the Las Vegas side?? of LA to allow us to get there easier after our drive, but that allows us to branch out and explore the city easily enough. We are happy to take public transport or drive, though the idea of driving in LA is a hairy one! Do we position ourselves right in the middle of everything (which is where?) or stay on the outskirts of town and manouvre from there?

Any local advice is heartily welcomed and will be listened to!

thank you very much.

Kym

janisj

>>where we will give up our rental car and get about as the locals do.>on the Las Vegas side?? of LA to allow us to get there easier after our drive,

Kymjon

thank you for your reply.
when we are in Anaheim, there are shuttle buses to get us around, and also, I am hoping to pick lidging that means we can walk to Disneyland and restaurant etc, so a car shouldn't be necessary.

I will look into areas in teh central/western areas by the sounds of your advice.
Again, thanks.

Kymjon

Can you tell I am tired????

Jean

I think you need to figure out what you're going to see/do in L.A. before looking for a hotel.

Where are you going after Disneyland? And how will you get there if you don't have a car?

janisj

Yes - there are a lot of hotels directly around Disneyland. But if you plan on going anywhere else - the beach for instance, you'll want a car. But if you are going to Orange County exclusively to visit DL, then no, you don't need a car there.

Kymjon

We have 8 days in the whole LA area. The first 4 are for us to sightsee around LA (hollywood, Universal Studios etc) then the last 4 days are for Disneyland. On our last day, we are catching an airport shuttle to LAX and flying home. I
I was just tying to work out where to base ourselves in LA to do the first 4 days. It seems that wherever we are, we will need to travel to see and do things, and we have the car for this (with GPS!!). So, just figuring out where to stay is my main priority at the moment. I have somewhere in Anaheim. Los Angeles is just so immense and knowing nothing about it's layout (apart from maps etc) it is tricky trying to work out where to start with accommodation. Of course, suggestions about what to see are also appreciated, though I can get this from the guide books and websites. We have JUST 4 days, so we are limited to seeing the biggies.
Thanks again. This forum is just so wonderful to have access to.
Kym

clarkgriswold

Where to base yourselves really depends on what you plan to see and do. Without knowing the age of your sons, I would say Universal, Griffith Observatory, La Brea Tar Pits/Page Museum, The Science Center/Museum of Natural history, Petersen Auto Museum? Hollywood is central for all that as you could do some of it via metro subway...but Hollywood is not particularly family-oriented (again, depends on the age of your boys). In your price range look at Best Western Sunset Plaza, Hotel Celebrity, Farmer's Daughter Hotel, Wilshire Crest Hotel. The first two add $20 per night parking, when checking other hotels in the area also check their parking charges if you want to stay under budget, as they can be $30-$35 (ie Holiday Inn Walk of Fame.) January is not high-season so no reason to panic...just book something that's changeable/cancellable and check back in October/November when special rates/deals will start popping up and you can finalize your plan.

If you prefer to stay east of the city, maybe Embassy Suites in Glendale or Residence Inn Burbank, or something in Pasadena. But you will have to avoid traffic hours to get to most of your attractions (7:30 to 10am, 4 to 7pm generally) though if you drive in on Sat & Sun it's a bit easier.

If you leave Vegas by 9am and stop for lunch, you should be in Hollywood around 2pm so no need to stop east of the city if you're just trying to avoid traffic.

Kymjon

Thank you Clarkgriswol, you have anwered my questions perfectly. Our sons are 9 and 10, so the activities you have listed sound just right for them. Thank you for the tips about the parking fees. they seem to slug you for this in a lot of places. We were trying to avoid traffic driving into LA in the afternoon, but going on what you wrote, we should manage this ok from Vegas. We are not locked into the prices I have given, it just seemed a reasonable amount. I will certainly investigate all the places you have listed, and I appreciate your time.
You said that Hollywood is not family-oriented, what do you mean? I really think that on most days, we will leave our hotel and spend the day getting around. It seems from reading previous forums, that getting around is quite difficult if you rely on public transport, but then driving in LA fills me with dread. I have been driving for 25 years, but the whole 'other side of the road' thing is a bit freaky.

ladyj7

Public Transportation can be possible. If you were in the Valley (near Universal Studios/Burbank) you can easily hop on to the Metro. The Red Line easily goes to Hollywood/Highland stop (tourist attractions). In my opinion it has cleaned up. The next stop would be near the Pantages Theatre. The city of Hollywood isn't necessarily family friendly in that there's not too much to see. It's more nightlife-centric or bars/restaurants. But with the El Capitan Theatre may have an event (owned by Disney).

You can easily continue onto Downtown Los Angeles. The various Metro Lines meet in Grand Central Station. If you wanted to see Pasadena, many stops are along the way. However, Pasadena area attractions are better accessible by car.

The Getty, beach area, Westside neighborhoods are NOT accessible via Metro. The museums on Miracle Mile are also not easily reached by the metro. But I believe you would need to get off a station and then board a bus.

Many people I know use UberCar (taxi like service) to get around.

Guenmai

I have had a lot of overseas friends, over the last 35-plus years and what I ask them all to do is make a list of all of the places that they want to visit and send it to me. Then, I can either recommend a hotel area or if they're staying with me, I can group the sites into various days. L.A. County is 500 square miles/800-plus square kilometers large, supposedly the largest county in the U.S.

I happen to be a Pasadenean, of 49 years, and when a lot of my overseas friends come to L.A., they stay here, either in a hotel or with me. They have all loved staying out here and some have taken public transportation into L.A. from here, some have had a rental car, and others have done a combination of both, along with me driving them places. Wherever you stay, you'll need to drive at some point anyway. Plus, we have Old Town Pasadena which is totally walkable and with plenty of restaurants/shops etc. So, when my overseas friends have finished with doing all of their daily L.A. stuff, they love coming back here where it's calm.

http://www.oldpasadena.org/

As for driving in L.A. being a hairy one, I don't find it hairy at all and neither have my overseas friends. We are a car culture and it's a lot easier driving here than it is in a lot of other places in both the U.S. and the world. And as for the traffic, yes, it can get heavy, but one can work around many of the heavy traffic situations.

Happy Travels!

starrs

I would stay in Santa Monica -
http://www.santamonica.com/visitors/what-to-do/

jamie99

Just avoid rush hour 6:30am-9am and 3:30pm-6pm and you should be fine. Our streets are nice and wide with good signage.
Remember you will be paying a 15% hotel tax on top of the rate.
starrs' idea of Santa Monica is good, you won't be beachfront but you might be able to get the Travelodge or Sea Shore for $150-200. Motels in Anaheim are fairly inexpensive so that might partially offset having to spend more in LA.