Vacation around LA or San Fran. Where to stay? Prob LA (San Francisco: rent, hotels) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

kgeorge78 · 10-08-2007, 04:30 PM

Hello All,

My Wife is wanting to go to Cali on Vaca - I live in Canada right across the border from Detroit so I"ll be flying from Detroit.

Originally, we planned to go to San Fran on Either the weekend of Oct 27 or Nov 3rd for 3-4 nights (Thurs - Sunday)

Looks like LA might be the cheaper route - I know it's a huge area but I'm curious where is the best play to stay. What city? Downtown LA? Beverly Hills? Hollywood? Santa Monica?

Money is not that big of a concern but I don't want to spend $400 a night - Maybe $250 or so a night should score me a nice Hotel.

We will probably do the normal tourist stuff. Shop, Eat (We love nice steakhouses), Sightsee, Look at nice houses, .... Rent a car and drive.

Anyone have any ideas? Any Hotel recommendations? Where to drive?

Thanks!

I've never been to Cali and may not have anyother chance so I want to do as much as I can in 4 days.

ProLogic · 10-08-2007, 04:48 PM

San Francisco is pretty fun to visit. A LOT of unusual things to see if you catch my drift.. LOL!

kgeorge78 · 10-08-2007, 04:49 PM

Thanks, I heard. But I'm leaning towards LA

Desertho · 10-08-2007, 05:26 PM

Hotels shouldn't be that expensive now that it's off-season. Go to Cheap Flights, Airline Tickets, Cheap Airfare & Discount Travel Deals - Kayak.com or travelocity.com for prices.

Have you thought about staying in Pasadena? Unlike the Westside locations (Santa Monica and BH), you can use rail (the Gold Line) to see LA, from Downtown to Hollywood. Pasadena itself is worth a day. It has Old Town Pasadena, the Norton Simon Museum, Huntington Library and Descanso Gardens.

kgeorge78 · 10-08-2007, 06:27 PM

No I havent. Is downtown LA as bad as people say it is? Much to do walking distance?

I'll probably rent a car so that's not a concern.

Is it safe?

jessemh431 · 10-09-2007, 12:04 AM

directly in downtown is safe, but dont walk around areas near it at night. not much to see around it though.

try venice beach. very popular tourist place. it's biking distance along the beautiful bike bath to the famous santa monica pier and manhattan beach. its within driving distance of universal studios and disneyland if thats what you're into and downtown.

to save time, the first day, you should rent bikes and ride along the bike path north to santa monica and go on the pier, maybe ride some rides.

come back and eat dinner on washington blvd somewhere near the hotel (try the mexican place next door as mexican food is a must here). for dessert go to cold stone creamery. get a good night's sleep. next morning wake up quite early and head off to universal studios which is probably the only good theme park that adults will enjoy (unlike disneyland that only kids like). stay there for a while. on your way back, take the 101 north to the 405 south and get off going east on wilshire blvd. make a left on gayley ave. you will now be in westwood village. there is tons of shopping and good restaurants. park anywhere in the village as everything is withing walking distance. tons of restaurants to choose from, i won't even start naming them.

head back home.

next day, leave early again. take the 405 freeway north to the 10 east. get on the 110 north and you will be in downtown los angeles. make sure you check out the staples center, olvera street, union station, and go inside the Bonaventure Hotel. go to the lookout /observation deck on the top floor that spins around, giving you complete panos of all of LA. snap some pics from there. walk around a little if you'd like. return to car and take the 110 either north or east (cant remember) towards pasadena. get off at old town pasadena and explore for a little. if you'd like, you can head towards the Rose Bowl. not sure what streets to take, but i'm sure ther'es signs. then take the 110 south and get onto the 101 north. take melrose ave exit west, turn south onto normandie, right on 3rd street. and continue a few miles. enter The Grove, the most famous shopping center in all of LA, maybe the western united states. you may not be able to afford things there, but it is a great experience. they sometimes have live music. you have to have dinner there in their huge outdoor market with all types of food. stay there as late as you'd like b/c you will never want to leave. when leaving, take 3rd street west to fairfax and go south. go to venice blvd. and go west several miles until you reach pacific coast highway or sepulveda blvd. and go south. now go west on washington blvd and you will end up back your hotel.

kgeorge78 · 10-09-2007, 05:40 PM

Wow, thanks for the help.

Now what about San Fran??

Looks like we might stay at the Fishermans Warf.

Radison, Hilton, Sherdon are all Avail for Nov 1 - Nov 6th.

Is 4 nights enough? What About the Financial District? The hotels are much nicer there and I dont mind a nice walk but how far is the financial district for the Warlf?

jessemh431 · 10-09-2007, 05:40 PM

only been to SF once so i can't tell you. sorry

tstone · 10-11-2007, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgeorge78

Wow, thanks for the help.

Now what about San Fran??

Looks like we might stay at the Fishermans Warf.

Radison, Hilton, Sherdon are all Avail for Nov 1 - Nov 6th.

Is 4 nights enough? What About the Financial District? The hotels are much nicer there and I dont mind a nice walk but how far is the financial district for the Warlf?

Is 4 nights in SF enough? Yeah right!! You need to spend at least a couple of busy weeks there to really see it all! If I had to do my Cali vacation over again, I would have skipped LA and spent that time in SF instead.

I think the wharf is a couple miles from the financial district. You can take a mix of some public transportation or just walk along the bay east and south, down the Embarcadero. Bring a light jacket with a hood or a hat because it can get chilly-windy in your ears.

california_guy110 · 10-12-2007, 01:59 PM

It depends on what you like, LA and San Francisco are essentially in two different states in that the weather is different as well as the culture and pretty much everything is very different. If you want to go to the beach, see the sights of Hollywood and the things that SoCal has to offer than go to LA. You should do some research on both places to see what you would want to see in either place to make a good decision.