First time visitor to Los Angeles (Santa Monica, Culver City: credit, how much, hotel)

[the ghost of]

hello everybody,

i´ll be traveling to los angeles later this year, it´ll be my first ever visit there, and as much as i am looking forward to coming there, i also have a few questions, mostly about communting... if posted and responded to elsewhere, please link me up and close this one. I am a bit familiar with these here forums, but if this thread is wrong in here, please re-direct.

anyway, i´ll be arriving at LAX at about 8 pm and have to go to east hollywood then - hollywood/vermont to be precise. i figure i´m best off to go there by cab, any ideas about how long this ride might take? i´m particularly interested in this because when i leave LA, i´ll have to take the same route back to LAX where my flight takes off at 6:30 am. again i´ll go there by cab but figure that the traffic situation that early in the morning is not too severe - any estimates on how long a cab ride from hollywood/vermont to LAX takes me at about 4:30 in the morning on a monday?

also, one of the things i´m looking forward most to is going to the beach - not to relax there, but I really am looking forward to seeing the Pacific Ocean. What´s the best way to go to, say, Venice with public transportation? generally, i prefer subways to buses but have no problems using the latter obviously.

since i am also into music and everything related, i plan on visiting the typical joints such as the whiskey, viper room, roxy, and all these popular bars at sunset strip. touristy, i know, but for once i would like to see it. will i have any issues being allowed into these bars? are there any lines? do i have to clothe flashy or can i go there as i am? i am not a troublemaker, in fact the exact opposite, and i don´t intend to get hammered there. just maybe watch a gig and see what these bars are all about.
as mentioned, i´ll be staying at hollywood/vermont (seems to be located in little armenia, what about this area?), is it feasible to walk there from sunset strip by foot? i´m a walker (love strolling around big urban areas), so no issues with the distance back to my hotel, just want to avoid having to walk through particularly dangerous areas. i figure catching cabs won´t be any problem though, right?

i figure all LA-residents will probably shake their heads upon this, but as said - first time visitor, not clued up. thanks a lot for any insights, support and information!

[PDF]

You could take the FlyAway to Union Station and go from there, much cheaper and it's just as fast and pretty nice. You won't be able to take the subway to the beach, but there is a good bus service that goes to the beach. Also check out Santa Monica.

Have fun!

[DCNita]

There's always Super Shuttle that will take you to your destination from LAX and also pick you up and take you back to LAX when you leave LA.

The best way to see LA as a first time visitor in my opinion is to take the Starline Hop On Hop Off bus. It gave me a good overview from downtown LA to Santa Monica and all places in between.

[munchitup]

What they said - Don't take a cab from LAX to Hollywood unless you are a millionaire (gonna cost you at least $60+). There are countless cheaper options that only take slightly longer, from the FlyAway to Union Station / Red Line ($7 + $1.50), Super Shuttle directly to your address (~$18) or if you aren't in a huge hurry take the free shuttle to the Green Line and go Green / Blue / Red Line ($4.50).

It is kind of a unique idea but using the StarLine to get to Santa Monica might actually be the most efficient transportation out to the beach. Any bus from Hollywood (720 / Wilshire, 704 Santa Monica) takes about an hour and some to get to the beach. It's not terrible, but kind of a long ride in a bus.

As far as walking from Sunset / Vermont to the Strip - it really depends on how much of a walker you are. It is about a 5 mile walk... The issue isn't safety, you'll be fine as your trip basically just takes you through the middle of Central Hollywood and then back out the other side to the Strip, which is actually in West Hollywood. For pretty much the entire walk you'll have stuff to see although there are some dead spots on Hollywood Blvd (as in, not a ton of pedestrians and almost exclusively residential) near Fairfax. Another issue is that the Strip is up on the top of some pretty steep hills, so it's also a steep incline once you get to about Crescent Heights or Fairfax.

[phel]

We live right around Hollywood/Vermont and cabs to/from LAX have cost us up to $80 each way. I agree with munchitup. Don't take a taxi unless you've got money to burn.

[the ghost of]

thanks a lot PDF, DCNita, munchitup and phel, this is highly appreciated and very welcome indeed!

no millionaire by any means, just figured that, since I´ll be flying in from munich, germany via washington/dulles, which basically means that i´ll be traveling for like 16 hour straight, a cab would be the most convenient means to bring me to my hotel, but the Super Shuttle or the FlyAway sound much better and equally convenient.

i will also check upon the StarLine. as you see, i haven´t really put much thought into this vacation although i am pretty looking forward to it - by the way, i´ll be there late october but figure I won´t have to bring any winter gear, am I assumung right?

5 mile walk sounds about fine - at least once i will be doing this. thanks again for your support and the useful information!

[saybanana]

If you want to get to Venice Beach or southern Santa Monica, the fastest way I found from Downtown Los Angeles is take the Expo line from 7th/Metro to Culver City in 30 mins. Catch the 733 or 33 bus on Venice Blvd. which takes you to Venice Beach or in 20 minutes or Santa Monica in 25min on Main Street. There is a Metro 534 Metro Express bus at Culver city station and gets you to near Santa Monica Pier in 15 mins via 10 freeway bus costs an extra dollar or 2 more. You can go from Hollywood to Downtown in 15 mins using the red line subway. I choose this way over a really long bus ride like the 720 bus even if they are about the same time.

[jaypee]

Originally Posted by poojbear

Listen, I'm
not the biggest baller on the planet but for my boyfriend's birthday I thought I would splurge a little. I contacted
these 2 great guys Luca&Luca (http://www.lnlpromotions.com/) and they REALLY gave us the hook-up. No lines,
sat at their table which had the most attractive people, and the dudes new everyone which meant we got
the best service. I never shamelessly promote a company, but we just had the most amazing night of our lives
and they can be accredited for all of it!

Two posts to your name and you pimped your bizness in both of them.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by jaypee

Two posts to your name and you pimped your bizness in both of them.

Hahaha - for a good laugh I would definitely recommend checking out their web site.

Do companies like this actually get any business??? Reminds me of that entertainment 720 company that Tom Haverford starts on Parks and Recreation.

[nighthouse66]

Originally Posted by PDF

You could take the FlyAway to Union Station and go from there, much cheaper and it's just as fast and pretty nice. You won't be able to take the subway to the beach, but there is a good bus service that goes to the beach. Also check out Santa Monica.

Have fun!

i HIGHLY reccomend this. i took this and i was shocked at how fast we got there. that bus driver was hilarious as well. announced that if we did crack we would have to put it away now because the bus was leaving. and he just tore through the streets like he had done it a million times. that guy would merge like a madman. we got there in something like 25 minutes.

while you are here, ride the train. i ride it all the time now for school and shopping and i love it. i MUCH prefer it to driving. no parking hassles, and it goes all over the city. union station is a must-see anyway, and a day pass is only five bucks, and there are park-and rides all over the place.