can anyone help? where to stay- la trip....? (Huntington Beach, Orange: appointed, 2015)

[natntx]

hi i am planning a birthday trip to LA and Vegas. Problem is I have been trying to find where to stay in LA but i can't find anything anywhere that suits what i am looking for and in my price range. I don't even know how many days i would need for my itinerary which is the obvious:
Hollywood Heritage Museum, Hollywood Museum, Hollywood Wax Museum, Madame Tussauds, Hollywood WAlk of Fame, Hollywood Sign, and possibly the Grammy Museum. anyone got any suggestions/recommendations where to stay on a budget and would two days be enough for my initerary? thank for your time and all.

[SpaceMonkyPunks]

Originally Posted by natntx

hi i am planning a birthday trip to LA and Vegas. Problem is I have been trying to find where to stay in LA but i can't find anything anywhere that suits what i am looking for and in my price range. I don't even know how many days i would need for my itinerary which is the obvious:
Hollywood Heritage Museum, Hollywood Museum, Hollywood Wax Museum, Madame Tussauds, Hollywood WAlk of Fame, Hollywood Sign, and possibly the Grammy Museum. anyone got any suggestions/recommendations where to stay on a budget and would two days be enough for my initerary? thank for your time and all.

You didn't tell us your budget. Try koreatown tho.

Also just FYI, the Hollywood stuff/area is vastly overrated and kind of sucks, even for tourists. Besides the sign (an unoffensive little hike, nice but nothing lifechanging) everything on your "the obvious" list is stuff that's super boring and skip-able, IMHO. You're missing the real sights completely, and if you're trying to see a celebrity or something, you're definitely looking in all the wrong places.

Things I'd recommend over Hollywood any day:
-LACMA
-Any number of beaches
-Downtown/Little Tokyo
-Natural History Museum
-The Getty
-Catch an improv show
-Or go to a TV show taping up in the valley

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkyPunks

You didn't tell us your budget. Try koreatown tho.

Also just FYI, the Hollywood stuff/area is vastly overrated and kind of sucks, even for tourists. Besides the sign (an unoffensive little hike, nice but nothing lifechanging) everything on your "the obvious" list is stuff that's super boring and skip-able, IMHO. You're missing the real sights completely, and if you're trying to see a celebrity or something, you're definitely looking in all the wrong places.

Things I'd recommend over Hollywood any day:
-LACMA
-Any number of beaches
-Downtown/Little Tokyo
-Natural History Museum
-The Getty
-Catch an improv show
-Or go to a TV show taping up in the valley

And Auto Museum, MOCA, Huntington, etc. Hollywood is a waste of time

[426HemiCA]

A few things to check out while in LA that you might like according to your list. If you want to view the sign and walk around some hit Griffith Park, great views. Best Beaches to visit: Manhattan Beach, just a beautiful place, Venice for the Freak show, Santa Monica Pier if you like to People Watch, Huntington Beach if you in Orange County, nice walking beach, great waves to watch people Surf on, Malibu Beach is nice too. If you are into Cars and want to visit a Museum the Peterson Museum is great, also the Nethercut Collection is great, the admission is free but you have to make reservations. There is a difference between the Museum (Not Free) and the Collection, the Collection is better and has a beautiful Pipe Organ in it. Some fun/nice places to eat, breakfast or Lunch, Polly's on the Pier in Redondo Beach, cheap but pretty good food. Other lunch/dinner places the Terrace in Venice, Malibu Seafood and Neptunes Net, a little more pricey but good is Dukes in Malibu, Enterprise Seafood in SM, Sunset in Malibu, all good Seafood places.

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkyPunks

You didn't tell us your budget. Try koreatown tho.

Also just FYI, the Hollywood stuff/area is vastly overrated and kind of sucks, even for tourists. Besides the sign (an unoffensive little hike, nice but nothing lifechanging) everything on your "the obvious" list is stuff that's super boring and skip-able, IMHO. You're missing the real sights completely, and if you're trying to see a celebrity or something, you're definitely looking in all the wrong places.

Things I'd recommend over Hollywood any day:
-LACMA
-Any number of beaches
-Downtown/Little Tokyo
-Natural History Museum
-The Getty
-Catch an improv show
-Or go to a TV show taping up in the valley

Agreed. No offense, op, but the only thing obvious about your itinerary to an LA native is the sheer suckage of it. Avoiding Hollywood proper is one of the keys to enjoying a tourist visit to LA. Unless you like traffic, grime, and standing around with a bunch of people from all over the world going " wtf why did we come down here?"

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by boulder2015

Agreed. No offense, op, but the only thing obvious about your itinerary to an LA native is the sheer suckage of it. Avoiding Hollywood proper is one of the keys to enjoying a tourist visit to LA. Unless you like traffic, grime, and standing around with a bunch of people from all over the world going " wtf why did we come down here?"

And then coming back here when they get home to tell us all what a let down LA was, how much it sucks etc

[tan clutch]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkyPunks

Things I'd recommend over Hollywood any day:
-LACMA
-Any number of beaches
-Downtown/Little Tokyo
-Natural History Museum
-The Getty
-Catch an improv show
-Or go to a TV show taping up in the valley

I think it's because I started my LA tourism in the bolded area that I have such a good impression of the city.

And I'm sure we've all heard stories of foreign tourists leaving LA disappointed because they went to Hollywood and saw the Hollywood sign and didn't know what else to do.

[tombombadil333]

Go to the Griffith Observatory. You won't regret it. Get there around sunset. You get the best views of the Hollywood sign, and walk to the front of the building and you'll get the best view of the entire LA basin. It's breathtaking. Go inside the museum if you want it's pretty neat in there.

[SoCalMomma]

There is a Sheraton in Culver City that's reasonably priced (some relatives recently stayed there and it was about $150/night). Its a good location to see lots of the things that others have recommended. Nothing is more than about 10 miles from Culver City.

I agree that Hollywood is disappointing. If you must go, then just drive down Hollywood Blvd and 'see' it from your car. The place stinks like urine, there are homeless people everywhere, it's just not worth wasting your time. There are so many more worthwhile places. Not sure where you are from, but I would suggest one day alone to go along the coast and see our beautiful beaches. Getty is gorgeous, then downtown LA there are museums. LA Live area is fun at night if you are into the bar/club scene. Venice Beach and Santa Monica pier are fun places to visit.

Hope you have a great time, no matter what you choose to do!

[eureka1]

IF you want the full Hollywood experience check the Hollywood Roosevelt. They may have a special going.