Los Angeles, San Diego & Las Vegas Tips...

tux130582

once again appreciate the advice so far, I am gonna maybe cut a night out at the beginning in LA and fit this in somewhere else,

Im not too worried about the driving, last year we spent a month on the east coast driving from New York to Fort Myers in florida, stopping in a couple of places on the way, some of the drives were 650 miles, so this will seem like a doddle! lol.

so if i goto la how much time do i really need, i dont plan on any theme parks but would like to do studio tours and see all the main famous attractions?, what would you recommend?

Murphy_The_Cat

tux130582 wrote: »

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so if i goto la how much time do i really need, i dont plan on any theme parks but would like to do studio tours and see all the main famous attractions?, what would you recommend?

I'm not the man to advise you (or anyone else) about LA as I really don't like the place, at all, one bit.

Sorry.

tux130582

can i ask why you dont like it to see if we might instead/ we might agree with you?

im now as i said considering losing a day in LA and using it for palm springs on the way to Vegas. im 26 and my gf is 24 if that makes any difference,

as you can see from the start of the thread

we have 3 full days in LA at the start, then drive to san diego so around 4 1/2 days there. then drive to las vegas for 3 and a bit days (because of the drive) then a drive back from vegas to a beach area in la, so half a day driving back and two days on a beach (flights leave 8.30pm so not completely full day!!)

anglo1967

You dont have to cut down the time you spend in LA. The tour of Universal studios takes pretty much all day,then there's the city walk, which is a big shopping/ restaurant complex thats attached - thats one day gone. I would keep the trip to LA, but spend time visiting all the area's beaches, plus orange county (which the locals don't call the OC, btw) at an hour's drive south. Santa Monica/ Venice is ok if waaaay touristy, but each beach has its own vibe... Redondo Beach, Hermosa beach (hometown of the sketcher's factory) are both nice beach towns. When in orange county, Huntington is a great day to just enjoy the beach & has the state's longest pier at 1.5 miles.

Then there's laguna, an old artist's colony, corona del mar for great boutique shopping, newport & balboa for people watching. The beaches in LA tend to be closer together (15-20 mins average) than the orange ones (30-40 mins depending on traffic). If youre in Costa Mesa on the weekend, there's a great swap meet (new stuff no tacky) every saturday at the fairgrounds.

Go to www.visitcalifornia.com for the state guide and theyll send you cool stuff. Id look for a mid price hotel like marriott courtyard, and avoid anything downtown LA like the roosevelt, although cool and retro the extra price isnt worth the noise that youll probably hear from the door. Try www.yourla.com for the local tip direct from the news. The AAA club is free whether or not you are a tourist. Tell them where youre thinking about going and they will give you a "triptik" which is an exact map of where you want to go, highlighted so you dont get lost!!!

LA to Vegas is a breeze, youll make it less than 5 hours, thats door to door. Sedona is great, as is most of Az., but not in august!!!! (40 degree heat) Plus, Phoenix to LA is about 6 hours each way, and Sedona isnt direct (its on a crazy beautiful but semi hair raising highway) so I think that time could be spent better!

For restaurants, you should try:

www.cheesecakefactory.com (fave rest in the world!), www.Rubys.com (on the piers)., any www.yardhouse.com., or any local breweries like laguna beach brewing company. The prices are usually under $20 pp and they always have great local beers and ales.

Hope that helps ... Im quite passionate about this topic as I am a california girl, born and raised in LA and orange county, and love to share my state with my peeps!:j

Good luck XX

sturll

Too much time in LA imo. Its really really not what your expecting.

2 days is fine and one of those at Universal, 3 if you go to Disney.

Id be more inclined to consider the following:

15 - Arrive
LA – Town
16
LA – Mariposa/Yosemite
17
Drive to Bishop
18
Bishop to Las Vegas through Death Valley
19
Las vegas
20
Las Vegas
21
Las vegas
22
Drive to Laughlin
23
Day in Laughlin
24
Drive to San Diego
25
San Diego
26
San Diego
27
San Diego - Drive up to LA
28
LA - Beach
29
30th Leave
LA- Beach

Things you'll see:
Universal, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Yosemite national park, Death Valley, ghost towns, natural spring pools, Las Vegas, Drive in theatre, hoover dam, willow beach, grand canyon, airport graveyard, san diego zoo (and the rest) Laughlin (Americas hottest city)

If you fancied doing a tad more driving slice a day of SD and make your way up to Lake tahoe and avoid Yosemite but base from Reno beofre you head down to Vegas.

Murphy_The_Cat

tux130582 wrote: »

can i ask why you dont like it to see if we might instead/ we might agree with you?

im now as i said considering losing a day in LA and using it for palm springs on the way to Vegas. im 26 and my gf is 24 if that makes any difference,

as you can see from the start of the thread

we have 3 full days in LA at the start, then drive to san diego so around 4 1/2 days there. then drive to las vegas for 3 and a bit days (because of the drive) then a drive back from vegas to a beach area in la, so half a day driving back and two days on a beach (flights leave 8.30pm so not completely full day!!)

with an apology to anglo1967 who is from LA and who likes the place - I found LA to be a dirty, intimidating, oppressive, smog filled unpleasant place where I didn't feel safe from the moment I arrived to the moment that I left. For me, it had one redeeming feature, the road that took me out of there.

If you do decide to go to Palm Springs (and man alive, it will be REALLY hot there) consider driving another few miles and staying at Palm Desert instead. IMO, it was a much nicer place and you'll get quite a bit more hotel for your $$. If you do go in August, the Palm Springs Aeriel Tramway is a 'must'. Its a really spectacular trip, plus its about 30 degF cooler at the top than the bottom !

Happy planning



p.s. LA seems to be a bit like Marmite :beer:

Baz_2

15 - Arrive
Santa Monica
16
Carmel
17
Carmel
18
Yosemite
19
Yosemite
20
Midway stop Yosemite/Vegas
21
Vegas
22
Vegas
23
Vegas
24
Vegas
25
San Diego
26
San Diego
27
San Diego
28
LA
29
LA
30th Leave

Is what I'd suggest, but ideally maybe a few more days would make it better? You could then do San Francisco for a few nights and maybe a stop at Palm Springs to shorten the drive to San Diego. The drive form Vegas to San Deigo is a long one so maybe some rejigging may be needed.

Really there are so many amazing places in California, why would you want to stay in LA? When we stayed we drove from San Fransisco to Yosemite and the down the pacific highway. When we hit LA we just kept on going down to San Diego.

Really the place isn;t all it makes out IMO.

Yosemite is amazing, if you in that part of the world you owe it to yourself to go.



And carmel is the most relaxing place we have been to.

GEt yourself onto google maps and websites such as tripadvisor and www.roadtripamerica.com to find out where to go. If you have a car and dont mind 4,5 or 6 hour drives then there really are some amazing places to see in California, just not in LA.

DKLS

I hated SD with a passion, only redeeming feature was a very good fish restaurant in Old Town. La Hoya wasnt a bad place, but overall would never go back.

Baz_2

DKLS wrote: »

I hated SD with a passion, only redeeming feature was a very good fish restaurant in Old Town. La Hoya wasnt a bad place, but overall would never go back.

What a random statement considering there isn't anything about San Diego to hate with a passion.

Sheel

I agree that 2 days is enough in LA. We stayed HERE which was in a great location , short walk to the Chinese Theatre where we joined a tour of Hollywood and the stars homes. Think I booked it on Expedia and it's called the Grand City & Movie Star Homes Combo Tour. We also went to City Walk at Universal , but I would just say a half day is enough there.

Another alternative to Palm Springs is Twentynine Palms. We stayed HERE where U2 stayed when they were working on the Joshua Tree album.

Yosemite is absolutely breathtaking. I would personally much rather go to San Fran than LA , but each to their own.