Tourist in LA. My 2 days planning. (Los Angeles, San Diego: rental car, rental, amusement park)

[Catbelle]

Hello everybody.
I am going to California and I start my route in LA. So I would like to show you my planning and see if it is OK or we will run out of time. We are a group of 4 people from Spain.
Any advice is welcome here!!

Friday June 29.

• Arrival in Los Ángeles Airport a las 2:50pm
• Pick my rental car in AVIS.
• Drive to the Hotel.
• Visit Koreatown and this area (just because it is near the hotel, something more interesting can be added here)

Sat June 30th

• Visit to Beverly Hills: Spadena house, Beverly Wilshire Hotel (I love Pretty Woman film) and a walk in Rodeo Drive.
  
• Walk of fame: teatro Dolby , Las Palmas Av, stars in pavement , shopping center Hollywood Highland, (good pics of Hollywood sign)
• Hollywood park (we maybe avoid the previous step if we can go here)

Domingo 1st July.

Santa Monica Beach and Pier. Pacific park amusement park. . Venice beach? Santa Monica beach? (what is better for a sea bath?)

Around 11:30 or earlier drive to San Diego.

My main question is if this planning is OK for the time we are spending in Los Angeles. At the begining we planned to use public transport but we heard that using our own car is better, also, if you can give us advice about how to save money will be awesome. (Cheap restaurants, parkings, etc)

Feel free to copy and edit my plan is you have better ideas.

[saibot]

Catbelle, I can see that you are planning a whirlwind trip to the US. Forgive me if I am missing anything, but from looking at your other posts I put together this itinerary:

Friday 6/29 : Arrive in LA in PM

Saturday 6/30 : Beverly Hills / Hollywood

Sunday 7/1 : LA Beaches AM / drive to San Diego PM

Monday 7/2 : San Diego AM / drive to Las Vegas PM

Tuesday 7/3 : Las Vegas

Wednesday 7/4 : Las Vegas AM / drive to Sequoia / Yosemite PM

Thursday 7/5 : Sequoia OR Yosemite

Friday 7/6 : drive to San Francisco AM

...I don't know where you plan to go after that, but my first thought is that this is a LOT of driving in a very short time. You are looking at up to 6 hours of driving every other day, with hardly enough time to enjoy each place before you leave for the next one. Maybe this is just the kind of trip you want, but we often find that people from other countries (especially Europe) underestimate how exhausting and time-consuming all this driving is.

At the least, I would consider eliminating San Diego from your itinerary. It doesn't sound like you are planning to do anything very special there, and I think you would be happier either spending another day in LA, or arriving in Vegas a day earlier.

[Catbelle]

Yeah it is a route around California, I show you our full itinerary. I checked distances in google and except some days it didn't seem too long distances (the longest from Las Vegas to Fresno)

Friday 6/29 : Arrive in LA in PM

Saturday 6/30 : Beverly Hills / Hollywood

Sunday 7/1 : LA Beaches AM / drive to San Diego PM

Monday 7/2 : San Diego AM / drive to Las Vegas PM

Tuesday 7/3 : Las Vegas

Wednesday 7/4 : Las Vegas AM / drive to Sequoia / Yosemite PM

Thursday 7/5 : Sequoia OR Yosemite

Friday 7/6 : drive to San Francisco AM

Saturday, sunday San Francisco (2 full days)

9 July fly to Europe.



Sunday: fly to Spain

Originally Posted by saibot

Catbelle, I can see that you are planning a whirlwind trip to the US. Forgive me if I am missing anything, but from looking at your other posts I put together this itinerary:

Friday 6/29 : Arrive in LA in PM

Saturday 6/30 : Beverly Hills / Hollywood

Sunday 7/1 : LA Beaches AM / drive to San Diego PM

Monday 7/2 : San Diego AM / drive to Las Vegas PM

Tuesday 7/3 : Las Vegas

Wednesday 7/4 : Las Vegas AM / drive to Sequoia / Yosemite PM

Thursday 7/5 : Sequoia OR Yosemite

Friday 7/6 : drive to San Francisco AM

...I don't know where you plan to go after that, but my first thought is that this is a LOT of driving in a very short time. You are looking at up to 6 hours of driving every other day, with hardly enough time to enjoy each place before you leave for the next one. Maybe this is just the kind of trip you want, but we often find that people from other countries (especially Europe) underestimate how exhausting and time-consuming all this driving is.

At the least, I would consider eliminating San Diego from your itinerary. It doesn't sound like you are planning to do anything very special there, and I think you would be happier either spending another day in LA, or arriving in Vegas a day earlier.

[dvxhd]

As saibot stated, I think that's a little ambitious and very, very rushed. You need to figure into the equation that's around a major holiday, which could yield much worse traffic outside of cities, thereby slowing you down further. I don't really know if you're going to get much out of that itinerary without cutting a few things. I would cut San Diego and Yosemite, only because you're not allowing much time in either location and probably won't get much out with such a short stay.

That being said, Koreatown does have some interesting and underrated sights. You can see a lot of older architecture in the area, and there is no shortage of dining options. On top of that, from some areas you can get a decent view of the Hollywood Sign, albeit not as up-close as parts of Hollywood Boulevard. You can ditch the car for a short subway ride to downtown and see Olvera Street, the old theaters on Broadway, and the Fashion District. Likewise, you can take the train to Santa Monica if you want to see the beach and skip the hassle of driving and parking.

[(901)]

I would eliminate Vegas and San Diego

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by (901)

I would eliminate Vegas and San Diego

This is excellent advice!

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by saibot

Catbelle, I can see that you are planning a whirlwind trip to the US. Forgive me if I am missing anything, but from looking at your other posts I put together this itinerary:

Friday 6/29 : Arrive in LA in PM

Saturday 6/30 : Beverly Hills / Hollywood

Sunday 7/1 : LA Beaches AM / drive to San Diego PM

Monday 7/2 : San Diego AM / drive to Las Vegas PM

Tuesday 7/3 : Las Vegas

Wednesday 7/4 : Las Vegas AM / drive to Sequoia / Yosemite PM

Thursday 7/5 : Sequoia OR Yosemite

Friday 7/6 : drive to San Francisco AM

...I don't know where you plan to go after that, but my first thought is that this is a LOT of driving in a very short time. You are looking at up to 6 hours of driving every other day, with hardly enough time to enjoy each place before you leave for the next one. Maybe this is just the kind of trip you want, but we often find that people from other countries (especially Europe) underestimate how exhausting and time-consuming all this driving is.

At the least, I would consider eliminating San Diego from your itinerary. It doesn't sound like you are planning to do anything very special there, and I think you would be happier either spending another day in LA, or arriving in Vegas a day earlier.

Relatives from Europe want the same basic trip as shown above except that they want to add the Grand Canyon to it too. They don't understand the distances here.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

Relatives from Europe want the same basic trip as shown above except that they want to add the Grand Canyon to it too. They don't understand the distances here.

Yes it long distances plus random California summer traffic jams along the way to popular destinations. In a quest to see everything they will end up seeing almost nothing.

I would defintitely recommend eliminating San Diego. They could see Newport Beach,Balboa Island,Balboa Peninsula and Laguna Beach while in the LA/OC area without the additonal drive to San Diego. This is at least just as good as visiting La Jolla without the additional driving.

I would avoid Las Vegas during July. I will take summer perfection along the LA coastal beaches for an extra day over 100+ temps in Las Vegas. I will only visit Las Vegas from November to May.

[Angelino19]

Since your arriving at 2:50PM Friday, and renting a car, you probably won't get to your hotel near Koreatown until 5:30 or 6PM.

Park your car at hotel and catch the Metro Red Line or Purple Line subway train heading to Downtown LA (Union Station). You'll reach downtown in about 15 minutes. Get off at the Metro Center Station and walk to the Wilshire Grand Hotel, only two blocks from station. Catch the elevator and go to the Hotel Lobby on the 70th floor. You'll see spectacular views of the city from the lobby of this hotel. Exit hotel and walk south on Figueroa Street for about 5 blocks until you reach "LA Live." There are several good restaurants in that area, as well as the Grammy Museum and Staples Center (Home of the Los Angeles Lakers).

If you still have some energy, get back on Red Line subway heading to North Hollywood. Exit at Hollywood/Highland Station. There you'll find the Dolby Theater and Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On Saturday get up early and drive to the Griffith Park Observatory. It's a short drive from Koreatown (4 miles or less). The city views and view of the Hollywood sign are excellent from the Observatory. The Griffith Park Observatory gets very crowded on weekends, so it's important to get there early (9:30 - 10AM is good). An hour is enough time to take in the views and explore the Observatory.

By they way, because the the downtown Wilshire Grand Hotel and the Griffith Park Observatory and so close to koreatown you can also use Uber to get there. I don't imagine it would cost more than $10.

If you decide to visit the 70th floor lobby of the Wilshire Grand Hotel, downtown LA, take an uber from there to the Arts District. It's a fun and interesting downtown neighborhood, especially on weekends.

You'll have to rest of the day to see the Pacific Ocean and Beverly Hills. I recommend driving to Venice Beach or Santa Monica first for views of the Ocean and nice stroll down the Venice Beach Boardwalk or "3rd Street Promenade" From there you can drive to Beverly Hills.

[TravelingBoat]

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a dump. Go to the Griffith Observatory instead.
Venice beach is a freak show of mostly homeless people. Go to the Santa Monica Pier then walk on 3rd Street Promenade (walking distance from the Pier). Maybe rent some bicycles while you're near the pier. That way you can ride to Venice Beach... and get the hell out of there quickly.