Will I need a car to get around in Los Angeles? How's the nightlife? (San Francisco: rental car, rental)

[Lital_The_Best]

My girlfriend and I plan on possibly visiting Los Angeles sometime during the summer if we can't make it to our other destinations this year. The one thing I am concerned about though is transportation. I live in NYC and I've been to to other cities where I didn't have to worry about needing a car much because I was able to cab or take the mass transportation in that city (Chicago, Toronto, Miami, Boston just to name a few). Also, there's usually a centralized area where things are close to one another.

I always hear how in Los Angeles having a car to get around is necessary and it's a very sprawled out city, with out much of a centralized area. Plus, I hear the mass transportation is lousy.

So, I'm wondering if it would be best to rent a car to get around in Los Angeles (which I really rather NOT do). There's a lot about Los Angeles that I've been wanting to visit, especially in the art scene but one thing that is turning me off is we would need to rent a car.

Another thing I want to know is how the nightlife in Los Angeles is? How's the bars? The clubs? After enjoying the nightlife in NYC and Miami, I feel not many cities can compare to those two cities bars and clubs here in the states (thus far from my experience, other than Las Vegas, I'm sure, which I haven't been too yet).

Thanks a lot for your help!

[mayorhaggar]

The public transit is ok, some buses run frequently and the light rail/subway system is decent, but a lot of lines don't really run often enough. The main problem is that LA is such a massive area that it takes a while to get anywhere on public transit, and the city of LA itself generally doesn't have a walkable feel. I'd make a list of stuff to do and try to combine trips to stuff that is near one another rather than zig-zagging all over the place.

I don't know anything about clubs but I imagine LA has the same problem that Chicago or San Francisco do, where the public transit system becomes pretty useless after midnight and you're stranded in the middle of nowhere at 2AM. You can always get a cab but LA is a lot bigger than SF or Chicago so it could get expensive if you're not staying in a hotel near the club.

[NickSheridan]

Lital_The_Best, when you said “I always hear how in Los Angeles having a car to get around is necessary and it's a very sprawled out city, with out much of a centralized area. Plus, I hear the mass transportation is lousy.” I agree with that 100%!!! I’m 48 years old and I was born and raised in/near Los Angeles.

I’m not sure if you are coming to Los Angeles for the 1st time or not or how long you plan to stay here. Yet if you are coming for at least a week, I would highly recommend that you rent at least a sub-compact car to get around. If you are a first time visitor to Los Angeles and you have at least a week here, you may want to go to top destinations like Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Venice Beach/Santa Monica Beach, and Disneyland. Oh sure you can get around with the public transportation that we have here like the MTA busses, the MTA light rail system, the Metrolink train (to get you from Los Angeles out to Anaheim, the city where Disneyland is located), and the local Los Angeles cab service BUT you will ended up taking a lot of extra time and spending a lot more money to do so relying on those modes of transportation (speaking mainly about if you take a lot of long cab rides). Yet if you are only going to be here for 3 days or less AND you really do not want to rent a car, then I don’t think that it would be so bad, if you do something like what Mayorhaggar suggested (make a list of stuff to do and try to combine trips to stuff that is near one another rather than zig-zagging all over the place). I think that Mayorhaggar's idea is excellent, if you don't want to rent a car.

Yet if you are staying 4 or more days, I would recommend that you rent a car.

If you are into the art scene, we have our major art district in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles, and you should be able to easily catch a MTA bus to that area from almost any place in Los Angeles (yet you may have to do a transfer or two to get there).

I can’t tell you anything about the bar and nightclub nightlife here, since I never have been a bar or nightclub guy, however you may want to checkout the nightlife found on the Sunset Strip. I have always heard that was a great place to go for nighttime entertainment fun, plus they have two great comedy clubs on the Sunset Strip, not too far from Beverly Hills. Yet it would be great to see what seasoned Los Angeles bar and nightclub hopper have to recommend to you. Yet I also agree when Mayorhaggar said "The public transit system becomes pretty useless after midnight and you're stranded in the middle of nowhere at 2AM." Yet even today, when I stay out late doing non-bar/non-nightclub social activities, where I'm out on the street at 2:00 a.m., I NEVER see the MTA bus or the MTA lightrail system in operation. I only see other cars and taxis.

Good luck.

Nick

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by NickSheridan

I can’t tell you anything about the bar and nightclub nightlife here, since I never have been a bar or nightclub guy, however you may want to checkout the nightlife found on the Sunset Strip. I have always heard that was a great place to go for nighttime entertainment fun, plus they have two great comedy clubs on the Sunset Strip, not too far from Beverly Hills. Yet it would be great to see what seasoned Los Angeles bar and nightclub hopper have to recommend to you. Yet I also agree when Mayorhaggar said "The public transit system becomes pretty useless after midnight and you're stranded in the middle of nowhere at 2AM." Yet even today, when I stay out late doing non-bar/non-nightclub social activities, where I'm out on the street at 2:00 a.m., I NEVER see the MTA bus or the MTA lightrail system in operation. I only see other cars and taxis.

Good luck.

Nick

Buses (2 Bus - Sunset Blvd and 4 Bus - Santa Monica Blvd) on and adjacent to the Strip run 24/7.

Any chance you have a Zip Car account? There is a Zip Car office in Hollywood and I have seen at least 6-10 cars parked just in the area between Hollywood and Highland and Hollywood and Vine.

If not I would recommend staying Downtown or in Hollywood and using the PT for most things, and then if you want to go to Malibu or the beach cities rent a car for a day, as they are tougher to get to via public transit.

PS. The metro is not just light rail - there are two heavy rail lines in LA

[nslander]

About the only thing greater than my desire to see LA develop its mass transit as thoroughly and as soon as possible is my pity for licensed drivers enfeebled at the prospect of driving a car anywhere in the United States. Its a car. Left-sided steering columns, GPS. As already said, plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel. The chances of you getting car-jacked are about as good as the Knicks advancing past the second round of the playoffs. You can do this.

Nightlife here is tremendous; anybody who says otherwise simply has no idea what they are talking about. The city does not reveal its charms easily to visitors, which tend to be clustered in nodes spread over a very large area. I've cut down considerably, but I still prefer old school Hollywood, and live music. There are thousands of resources to research this.

Oh, make sure to carry $100 cash at all times when for you do get carjacked.

Have fun!

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by nslander

About the only thing greater than my desire to see LA develop its mass transit as thoroughly and as soon as possible is my pity for licensed drivers enfeebled at the prospect of driving a car anywhere in the United States. Its a car. Left-sided steering columns, GPS. As already said, plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel. The chances of you getting car-jacked are about as good as the Knicks advancing past the second round of the playoffs. You can do this.

Nightlife here is tremendous; anybody who says otherwise simply has no idea what they are talking about. The city does not reveal its charms easily to visitors, which tend to be clustered in nodes spread over a very large area. I've cut down considerably, but I still prefer old school Hollywood, and live music. There are thousands of resources to research this.

Oh, make sure to carry $100 cash at all times when for you do get carjacked.

Have fun!

[yamota]

Originally Posted by Lital_The_Best

My girlfriend and I plan on possibly visiting Los Angeles sometime during the summer if we can't make it to our other destinations this year.

So LA is just your back up plan...Nice!

[TheKiwi]

Just rent the car. My boyfriend and I visited LA a few years ago and were so glad we did! We picked it up and dropped it back off at the airport. We used a smaller independent rental company instead of the typical Avis or Budget and the prices were better than the big name companies! Couldn't have been easier and it made our trip much more enjoyable because we didn't ever have to wait at any bus stops or anything or worry about being stranded late night. You'll have the luxury of time and not have to race for a train or a bus. Good luck!

[nslander]

Originally Posted by 1200RT

Oh, make sure to carry $100 cash at all times when for when you do get carjacked.

Ommited a word. Nice catch.

It's local custom to pay your carjacker in cash.

[saybanana]

10-20 years ago, I would have said that a car is an essential must need if one is to visit Los Angeles. These days a car is essential need for some places, while other places it not so much. For example, going to beaches like Malibu or OC beaches are needed, checking out the views from the Getty Center, Griffith park, Kenneth Hahn park, Mulholland Dr. a car is needed, and partying late into the night is needed. Also Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland, Magic Mountain are too far to take public transit.

Places like Downtown LA, Hollywood, Old Town Pasadena, and Universal Studios can easily be reached by Metro rail. Some other places of interest can be reached with a short bus ride from a metro rail.

Taxis are available, but its not easy just to flag one down. Prices are competitive with other cities, but considering LA metro is huge, it does cost a bit of money. If you want to party in the Sunset Strip and go back to your hotel in Hollywood, then it isn't that much money.

A weekly rental car can be a good deal at times. You don't need to use it everyday, unless you want to, but traffic and parking fees does add up to the expense of time and money. Have fun.