Los Angeles - public transport?

[SatinSheets]

2 adults, 2 teens - would it be feasible to travel around la without a car? Main areas we want to see are Hollywood, malibu, Venice, Santa monica, universal studios etc

Fine as long as you have all day to get between places.
Would you consider hiring a car with driver (town car), or better yet, taxis?

No, its not at all feasible to travel around LA without a car. Its not the sort of city you can do that (unlike for instance Washington DC) as LA is a vast series of interconnecting cities linked mainly by freeways.

Agree with others - LA is a huge, sprawled out city. You need a car. GPS on your phone and on the car will help you find your way 'round.

And a fun tip - consider getting Cirque de Soleil tickets while you're there. The show takes place under a huge tent next to the Santa Monica Pier. Dd and I went in March and enjoyed it immensely. (You can arrange tickets and parking in advance via their website).

Ok so car is a must.

Secondly, what would be the best/cheapest way to book? Travel Agent or seperates? First Choice quoted us £4900 for the four of us.

Also considering staying in 2 different hotels. Maybe a week in Venice and a week in Hollywood? would this work out more expensive? is it pointless if you have a car?

Also, how "easy" is the drive from LA to San Fransisco? how long would it take and what is parking like in LA/San Fran?

Ok just got a quote for £3462 staying in Hollywood. What do you reckon?

Two weeks in LA is a long time. What do you plan to do there? Driving from LA to SF is fine, plenty of nice places to stop at on the way.

What does that cost cover?

Flights and 14 nights at Hollywood hotel. (Chicago connect) and taxes and fees.

What else do we need?

Also it says it's near the metro which can get you to universal, venice, santa monica etc?? is it safe to use? Something about a $5 all day ticket?

When I went to LA i used the metro and the buses and it was fine. Went to Hollywood, Universal and Santa Monica. Very easy.

I wouldn't stay in Hollywood, I'd stay in Venice, it's much nicer. The Metro is the bus service. The only people who use the bus service are people too poor to own cars. I wouldn't use it unless I were absolutely desperate.

Venice and Hollywood are just different parts of LA. It's like staying in Greenwich and then travelling to Regents Park or something. It's about 1/2 hour's drive

I lived in Southern California ten years ago. Only went to LA for Disney once, Hollywood once and the Getty Museum twice.

If I were you I would book flights and a night in a hotel, car hire, and then go wherever the fancy takes you.

2 weeks in LA is way too much unless you're staying with mates or spending the entire time clubbing. Going to San Francisco for a week would be really nice.

SatinSheets,

What time of year are you thinking of visiting (Las V can be damn hot in the height of summer).

Hollywood as an area is not nice to stay in.

I have travelled on the Metro between Hollywood Blvd and Universal and it is quite efficient and safe in daytime hours.

Would fly direct if at all possible; Chicago is a huge sprawl of an airport and you would need plenty of time (say no less than 3 hours between arriving into Chicago and your next flight to LAX) to do the whole transfer process successfully.

I would look at Tripadvisor to read up on hotels and book it all online rather than use a travel agent.

Parking in SF can be Hellish, but not impossible. Easy thing to do is park on the hills & walk 10 minutes to get anywhere interesting.
Alcatraz visit needs to be booked at least a day in advance, we found.

Parking in LA is nearly always easy.
Traffic in both places can be desperately Hellish, avoid rush hours (7-9am, 3-8pm)

A week in LA(ish) is about right, with 1 week somewhere else.

Who is the £3462 quote with?

I would agree 2 weeks in Los Angeles is too long, and also book everything separately and use trip advisor - there are so many direct flights there shouldn't be a need to change.

Also, don't overlook San Diego - 2 hours south of LA, it's fab - I'd be tempted to stay there most of the time, it's got great beaches, loads of night life and is a lot nicer than LA.

We did 2 weeks with 2 adults and 2 teens at Easter, flying into LA, spending 3 days there, then 5 days skiing in Mammoth, then 2 days in Death Valley, then a couple of days in Santa Barbara and the wine country round there. We did hire a car, but traffic in LA is horrendous (very busy at rush hours, think 7 lanes in each direction, nose to tail. OK though as long as you have Satnav and a good navigator too).

If you're going to Venice Beach don't just walk along the boardwalk (ie along the sea front). Go inland a couple of blocks and explore the canal area - its beautiful, very peaceful and full of quirky houses. Don't think you would need a week staying in Venice though - several days, using it as a base, would be fine. LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) is brilliant - amazing architecture (reallly tall external escalator), good exhibitions, and is within walking distance of the La Brea Tar pits and the Farmers Market area. (also the LACMA has a good underground car park). we did Warner Bros Studio Tour - more working studio than theme park, my teens loved going onto the set of Big Bang Theory, seeing lots used for Sex and the City etc. Griffith Park and Griffith Park observatory great for views over the city and the obligatory photos with the Hollywood Sign in the background.

If you are not going in the summer, Death Valley (desert) is fantastic. Once you are out of LA, driving is very easy, PCH one northwards along the coast is lovely - we now want to go back to do San Francisco on a separate trip.

Not a huge fan of L.A. but agree 1) two weeks is wasted on it. 2) do need car really, you will waste so much time otherwise and things like Disney aren't in L.A.

Do not need a car in San Fran. Better without in many ways.

Want to add my voice for a side trip to San Diego, we live here and it is lovely.

There is so much more to see in Califormia than just LA! Make the most of your trip and explore!

San Diego hopandaskip

Huh?

MrsCog envies (ie ) you living in SD, Hopandaskip, because she likes it there!

Ahh ok, thank you for the translation, it looked like an angry face and I was 'what on earth did I do?'. If it is any consolation it is overcast today and our boiler broke down so I don't have any warm water.

Gosh so sorry hopandaskip - I completely confirm it was just envy! Hoping to visit again someday but with 12 week old ds and a diminishing bank balance it's not looking like a short term goal! Even the overcast day we had was amazing!