Visiting LA (Los Angeles, San Diego, Pasadena: how much, transfer, neighborhood)

[sailo]

Just like to also ask where abouts is the olympic park (home of '84 olympics)? Is it safe and worthy to go? Any public transport from Hollywood?

Also, is Knotts Berry Farm similar to Disneyland or totally different?

[Bunjee]

The Coliseum is downtown-ish near USC. I lived on the other side of USC, but as an attraction...? To take the time specifically to go there...? My blunt answer would be no, though you may be attracted to its Olympic history. Rent Rebel Without A Cause and go the Griffith Park Observatory instead.

As for Disneyland vs Knott's Berry Farm, well, I like Knott's because it isn't Disneyland, but growing up we'd go constantly so that's just me. Knott's would be closer, but if you're visiting then Disneyland is iconic and bigger and more extravagant. Go there and have a fantastic time.

[Brandon26pdx]

Avoid Greyhound if you at all can. Before I wised up on this one I found myself on a Greyhound or two back in the day. I can vividly recall that Greyhound station in downtown Seattle. What a toilet. I can only imagine how the downtown L.A. hub of the most desperate way to travel must look.

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by sailo

Just like to also ask where abouts is the olympic park (home of '84 olympics)? Is it safe and worthy to go? Any public transport from Hollywood?

Also, is Knotts Berry Farm similar to Disneyland or totally different?

-The Olympic Park was at the "Colisseum" located in Exposition Park next to the campus of the University of Southern California. This is located just south of downtown L.A. Exposition Park is also home to the California Science Center, Los Angeles Natural History Museum, the California African American History Museum, and some beautiful rose gardens.
-To get there you can take the Red Line Subway south from a station in Hollywood to 7th Street/Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles. Then transfer at street level to LADOT Dash Bus Route "F" with headsign ExpoPark/ USC. During the weekday, a Dash bus on route F will arrive at Metro Center every 10 minutes and you just get off at a stop adjacent to Exposition Park on Exposition Blvd.

To help you (becomes tons of buses will be passing this station and it gets confusing), be specifically looking for a DASH bus and make sure it says route F. They usually look like this picture:

Credit to fredcamino: DSCN2202.JPG on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


Disneyland vs. Knott's Berry Farm: In my opinion there is no comparison, Disney parks are on their own tier around the world. The themes are great and the park is run really well. The biggest downside is it is more expensive than Knott's Berry Farm, but Disney offers a larger park and better shows and entertainment throughout the day. Knott's is more of a "local" park in my opinion, good for Southern California's looking for $50 worth of entertainment for the day and more intense rides (there are more rollercoasters at Knott's vs. Disney).
-If you pick Disney, it will be an all day excursion and you will want to get there when it opens to get the most you can for the $100++ dollars you will spend there.
-How to get to D-Land: Red Line from Hollywood to Union Station in Downtown (20 minutes). Transfer to either Metrolink or Amtrak trains heading south and get off at Anaheim. Metrolink has two morning trains that head south (#682 or #600). See Metrolink schedule here: http://www.metrolinktrains.com/sched...tml.php?id=241
For more flexibility, you can take Amtrak, plan your trip here; Amtrak. Anaheim's station code is ANA. You need to time your connections to the trains and make sure you get on a subway in Hollywood early enough. Also be sure trains come back late enough for you to return to Los Angeles.
-You can use Anaheim Resort Transit to get from the Amtrak/Metrolink station in Anaheim to the Disneyland Resort. See schedule here: Anaheim Resort Transit

[sailo]

Hey guys, thanks so much for so many advice. I need to wrap this up asap for this weekend's departure.

I am just wondering:

1. Is Union Station internally connected to any one of the metro station?
I am trying to seek a best way to/back to LAX to/from hollywood.
Option 1, metro to downtown metro, then flyaway from union station back to LAX or
option 2, metro all the way to aviation, but I am not sure if the free airport shuttle is right outside the aviation station.

2. I almost mixed up timetables with Metro 10 vs Santa Monica 10. I was trying to seek a bus from downtown to santa monica. Can anyone post a picture what a metro bus look like and what a santa monica bus looks like?

3. Since I already got free admission tickets to Knotts Berry Farm from Go LA card, What's the best and quickest way to Knotts Berry Farm via public transport from Hollywood? See if I have time to squeeze it in.

A lot of people recommend car hire, but I am not that confident in driving left handed. Rather spend more time sightseeing than stressing on the road.

So, this is how I planned my 5 days so far. What you guys reckon?:
Day 1 at Hollywood
Day 2 at Universal Hollywood Studios
Day 3 at Downtown & Santa Monica
Day 4 at Long Beach waterfront
Day 5 at Coliseum, Paramont Studios & Chinatown

The metrolink train link given, I supposed that's another company's operation?

Cheers

[missionhome]

1. Union Station is a metro station. Above ground is the commuter/long distance trains like Amtrak and Metrolink. Light rail trains for the Gold Line to Pasadena are above ground as well. Below ground is the subway where the Pink and Red Line are. One side of Union Station is the beautiful Spanish building, a waiting room for the longer distance Amtrak/Metrolink trains. On the other side is the Patsaouras Transit Plaza where all buses (like Flyaway) will drop you off to connect at Union Station. The two sides of the Union Station complex are attached by tunnels, with the trains in between the two sides. Just follow the signs and you will be fine.

-To get back to LAX, just take the Red Line subway from Hollywood to Union Station, follow the sign to Patsaouras Transit Plaza and wait for a Flyaway Bus that will take you directly to your terminal at LAX.

2. Santa Monica's Buses are called the "Big Blue Bus." They are easy to identify as they are totally covered in blue and say "BIG BLUE BUS" in big letters along the side. They look like this:

Credit to LA Wad: Big Blue Bus New Flyer, Santa Monica, Ca. on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Los Angeles Metro Buses come in several colors depending on the route type. However, the bus will always has the metro symbol on its front and side (a M surrounded in a black circle or say "Metro Bus" Pic of Metro Symbol:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ametro.svg.png

To further identify a Los Angeles Metro Bus, be on the look out for its distinct colors. Metro Local Buses are painted bright Orange or are white with an orange stripe. They usually operate route 0-399. There are various types of buses, but the paint job usually is like this or white with the orange strip saying "Metro Bus" on the front:

Credit to bravoinsd: Metro Local on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Los Angeles Metro Rapid Buses are painted Red, operating the 700-799 routes. Example pic:

thanks to channanna: http://www.flickr.com/photos/channaanna/892785688/

Finally, in Blue are the Metro Express buses operating routes 400-599.

Thanks to BuckeyHermit: LA Metro bus on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

^^^
Also, always check the headsign because they sometimes might run a Metro Local painted bus for example on a Metro Rapid route. However that is only within the Metro operation. You won't see a Metro bus running a Santa Monica Big Blue Bus or a Big Blue Bus running a DASH bus route. The number is what matters in the end, but hopefully this helps. Santa Monica= Big Blue Bus with big words on side, LA Metro= Orange/White with Orange strip (Local), Red (Rapid), and Blue (Express).

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by sailo

...

1. Is Union Station internally connected to any one of the metro station?
I am trying to seek a best way to/back to LAX to/from hollywood.
Option 1, metro to downtown metro, then flyaway from union station back to LAX or
option 2, metro all the way to aviation, but I am not sure if the free airport shuttle is right outside the aviation station.

Union Station is a hub/transfer station so, yes, there is a metro station there. Getting to LAX from Union Station looks simple enough: Red Line to Blue Line to Green Line. According to the map, there is a shuttle to LAX.

http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/ma...s/rail_map.pdf

Originally Posted by sailo

2. I almost mixed up timetables with Metro 10 vs Santa Monica 10. I was trying to seek a bus from downtown to santa monica. Can anyone post a picture what a metro bus look like and what a santa monica bus looks like?

I think the MTA Metro buses have a large METRO script on the side while the Santa Monica buses have a large BIG BLUE script on the side. In the worst case scenario, you could always ask before getting on which bus it is...[[edit: missionhome had the answer]]

Originally Posted by sailo

...3. Since I already got free admission tickets to Knotts Berry Farm from Go LA card, What's the best and quickest way to Knotts Berry Farm via public transport from Hollywood? See if I have time to squeeze it in.

A lot of people recommend car hire, but I am not that confident in driving left handed. Rather spend more time sightseeing than stressing on the road.

I'd get a one day car rental for that trip. My opinion. I wouldn't worry about the left vs right side driving bit. You probably drive better than some of the locals do and if you don't, who would notice?

Originally Posted by sailo

...So, this is how I planned my 5 days so far. What you guys reckon?:
Day 1 at Hollywood
Day 2 at Universal Hollywood Studios
Day 3 at Downtown & Santa Monica
Day 4 at Long Beach waterfront
Day 5 at Coliseum, Paramont Studios & Chinatown

Days 1-4 are okay although I'm thinking you could almost combine your Days 1 and 2 destinations into one day. Day 5 seems lacking. I don't think the Coliseum is worth the trip - Griffith Park Observatory is better. Paramount Studios with its tours seems interesting but why not do that while you're in Hollywood on Day 1? Since you're visiting Chinatown, you could see Olvera Street (across the street from Union Station), Little Tokyo (not far south of there), or maybe add some walking tours if you're interested in local history/architecture:

Los Angeles Conservancy:
Los Angeles Conservancy | Home

[sailo]

Thanks missionhome. That info and pic is really helpful. I paid too much attention on civic centre and didn't even notice union station on the red line.

Mikeetc: Day 1, I have kodak theatre, hollywood walking tour, warner bro. studio (bus 222 from hollywood, right?) planned so there isn't much time left for universal hollywood stuido or paramount studios. I assume Universal Hollywood Studio is similar to Disneyland, right?

Do you have an address to Griffith Park Observatory and how to get there from Hollywood / Downtown on public transport?

Paramount Studio is a bit far to walk from Hollywood. I know there is a metro 10 bus going there from downtown, is there a better option?

BTW, is tap water over there safe for drinking straight out from the tap?

Cheers

[missionhome]

Here are some things I would change:

---Move Downtown from Day 3 to Day 5. Downtown is near the Coliseum and Chinatown so you can do those all in one day. My advice on Day 5: Subway to Downtown and do some exploring on foot around the towers, see the Staples Center and L.A. Live, see China Town, walk down Broadway Ave. and see the historic architecture (maybe do tour), visit Olvera Street, and then hop on a bus down to Exposition Park and see the Coliseum (and maybe visit a museum there). Then around dinner time get back to Union Station and take the Gold Line light rail (will take about 30 minutes) to the lovely area of Old Town Pasadena (Del Mar or Memorial Park station), a great city full of eclectic shops and places to eat: Old Pasadena: The Real Downtown
To get back to your hotel from Pasadena, take the Gold Line south to Union Station and connect to the Red Line north to Hollywood (remember trains stop at midnight).

Leave Day 3 for Santa Monica and include Venice Beach in the visit as well. To get to Santa Monica from your hotel take the Red Line subway south to Wilshire/Western Station. Get off there and transfer to the Metro Rapid Bus Route 720 west to Santa Monica. Total trip one way should be around 1 hour. Spend the day in Santa Monica, enjoy the beach, visit the pier, explore the shops, and also head down to the Venice Beach (see Big Blue Bus route map) water front to meet California's more "unique" characters.

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by sailo

Thanks missionhome. That info and pic is really helpful. I paid too much attention on civic centre and didn't even notice union station on the red line.

Mikeetc: Day 1, I have kodak theatre, hollywood walking tour, warner bro. studio (bus 222 from hollywood, right?) planned so there isn't much time left for universal hollywood stuido or paramount studios. I assume Universal Hollywood Studio is similar to Disneyland, right?

Do you have an address to Griffith Park Observatory and how to get there from Hollywood / Downtown on public transport?

Paramount Studio is a bit far to walk from Hollywood. I know there is a metro 10 bus going there from downtown, is there a better option?

BTW, is tap water over there safe for drinking straight out from the tap?

Cheers

1. Yes, bus 222
2. On the weekend you can get to the Observatory by public transport, but Monday-Friday you will need to call a cab company or hail one on Hollywood Blvd. and have them drive you up the mountain to the observatory. On the weekend you can take the subway to Vermont/Sunset Station and connect to LADOT shuttle up the hill: Observatory Shuttle A cab is about $15 each way (cabs are expensive in Southern California).
3. Bus 210 goes from Hollywood down Vine and you can get off on Melrose about .75 miles from Paramount.