Los Angeles - 3 days only

poormaria

Hi all,

I've got 3 days in LA in October and was wondering if anyone had any ideas on where to stay, best area, what to see and do.

The only things I have on my list at the moment are to hike up to over the Hollywood sign and then see the stars outside the Chinese theatre.

We thought of staying at the Chamberlaine West Hollywood, currently £136/night. :j


Any help will do!!

Thanks in advance

phatbear

a couple of quick points:

(1) you cant hike up to the hollywood sign

http://www.hollywoodsign.org/seeing-the-sign/

http://www.hollywoodsign.org/

i would suggest heading to griffith park observatory for a decent view of the sign and a decent view over LA too.

(2) the stars outisde the chinese theatre are seriously underwhelming.

on a trip a couple of years ago we stayed in west holywood before heading to vegas, then anaheim, then venice beach.

west hollywood was probably the most disappointing stop of the lot i was suprised at how average the place is, personally i would stay somewhere like santa monica and pay a flying visit to manns chinese theatre and the stars on the side walk etc

Westin

Agree with phatbear and another vote for Santa Monica. Or at least stay around a beach area and simply drive to the sights you want to visit.

Apart from LA Live, downtown LA is disappointing so wouldn't suggest that hits your itinerary either.

If you planned to do Disney then Anaheim would be the place to look. Anaheim and Buena Park also offer better value hotels rooms if you need to cut your costs.

Westin

Sorry, should also have added, Long Beach might also be worth considering. Quite a few reasonable hotels there and shops, bars and restaurants in the town which is walkable if you select a hotel in the centre. I have stayed at the Hyatt a couple of times and would return.

A few of the airlines certainly use to put crews in Long Beach. Swissair crews used to turn up each day at the Hyatt and British Airways crew were up the road at (I think) the Marriott.

A tour of the Queen Mary which is in a static dock at Long Beach is interesting and will kill a few hours. It's also a hotel.

poormaria

Oh thanks I did not know that! I saw someone say they did it but maybe they were breaking the law. Yes think we would like to be near a beach. I've read that you HAVE to get a car? Is this strictly true as the thought of driving in LA scares me

lozwinter

poormaria wrote: »

Oh thanks I did not know that! I saw someone say they did it but maybe they were breaking the law.

There is a hike trail that leads you to behind the Hollywood sign/security fences.

Kernow666

LA is amazing , going back for the 3rd time in 2 years for halloween

Alan_Bowen

I would say a car is virtually a necessity, like you on my first trip over 30 years ago the thought of driving was terrifying but in fact it is really easy and I would never dream of going without one. The distances in the LA area are just so great, its more than 50 miles from east to west, that a car make sense.

Don't stay in Hollywood, completely underwhelming in every sense but with only three days, and a good shot of jetlag on day 2 by the evening, you need to plan what you want to do. If Disney is your thing you need to be somewhere like Huntington Beach or Newport (think OC if you ever watched it) and I love Catalina Island which is a one hour cruise out of Newport but go to the library, assuming your council hasn't closed them all down and get reading. We all like different things and you need to decide what is important for you.

poormaria

Hi,

Thanks for all your help!

I won't be suffering jetlag as only flying in from Hawaii.

Disney isn't for me unless everyone thinks it's a must do?

The hike behind the Hollywood sign is what I mentioned earlier but was told it's not possible. Have you any details?

poormaria

Also I need to consider distances from LAX

Voyager2002

The main railway station is worth seeing, and the train ride to San Diego is a good experience.

There is an extensive bus network, but be prepared to be the only non-Mexican on your bus.