Los Angeles trip and onward ideas

[Fibonaccithesequel]

We’re going to LA in July 28 for the Olympics. Our tickets are over 5 days. Any must dos in LA, where did people stay that worked well, and where would you go before and after? We have 2-3 weeks. I’m think July will be too hot for Palm Springs and Grand Canyon, don’t fancy Vegas.

We have our kids (boys) but they are early 20s - they will enjoy a combination of film, vintage stuff, iconic sights and beach time.

We’ve been to San Francisco and down to Big Sur on the Coastal Highway , Yosemite, Sequioa before.

Any input/ideas/experiences would be amazing - thanks.

Well, I love Vegas 💁I wouldn't really go there for culture and sight-seeing, but if you love gambling and tacky shows it's awesome 😄I've been several times and I know my daughter will love it.

I posted up thread about La Jolla and San Diego. What the teens loved actually was doing surf lessons at La Jolla, brunch on the pier at San Clemente and we also stayed in the Mission Beach area, the teens liked that as its quirky houses.

Agree about La Jolla - gorgeous place! We went to La Jolla Cove last time and watched the seals and sealions playing in the surf and this time we're going sea kayaking, which will hopefully be fun! Our kids are teens and very physical, so I'm hoping they do most of the paddling

Getting excited now! I’m thinking South California will suit us better. Any beach towns in particular for young adults? La Jolla sounds nice although I’m a bit nervous about kayaking 🦈 If we can squeeze 3 weeks then Hawaii sounds good, but the journey home will be painful. 😬

Yeah, the return trip from Hawaii would be brutal. I'm not sure which town would suit your 20-somethings best OP. What are they into? Some of the towns are definitely younger and more lively, whereas others are quieter and attract an older crowd. AI might be your friend here - at least to give you some pointers.

I’ve only done a short break in LA of the night but lots of recommendations as planning my return!!

it’s difficult to understand how the place works before you go ( I know you have been before)

we stayed at the garland near universal which was a lovely lovely hotel near universal. Would recommend. it shad a lovely pool and as you are there a long time this would be some much needed down time. I would also recommend stating in more than one location. It just takes so long to get around.

I would do Santa Monica. Everywhere has it drawbacks. But everywhere I really enjoyed even the super tacky Hollywood walk of fame!

We did the grove and the farmers market that was great.

Other things I want to do
griffiths observatory, Warner bros tour, la brea tar pits (prehistoric maybe the fossils you mention?) Star bus tour in the Hollywood hills
Dodgers stadium
Hollywood bowl event
outlet shopping
trader joes shopping
raising canes chicken fast food

If you go to joshua tree then get up in the dark, make sure you take lots of water, have all your maps offline as no gps or mobile signal in the park, its very easy to drive into the park and go to a great location to watch sunrise. Then you can drive and hike small loops seeing the eerie scenery and sstunning views. Read about the route in advance. If you get there super early (which you won't mind if you're still on UK time) you can be back by the pool in Palm springs by noon. I stayed at the Hilton.

The other thing to do that's literally cool in palm springs is the cable car up mount san jacinto. It's cool at top and views are amazing.

We then went to temecula wine region which again you can stay on uk time get up super early and have a hot air balloon ride over the vineyards as the sun comes up.

From there we went to San diego which I loved.

We only used LA as our flight from the UK was 9 hours direct which was great. We didn't bother with the city as we've been before and didn't get on with it.

We loved the Griffiths Observatory and Warner Bros studio tour.

A highlight was the balcony where spiderman hangs upside down in the rain (my marvel obesessed teen was wowed by this) and the hats from the movie of My Fair Lady. Warning. You'll never watch TV or movies the same way as you can spot all the studio locations!

Santa Monica was awful. Grimy. Would never go back. Santa Barbara was good we had a motel and enjoyed it. Loved SF

Thanks everyone! I am a really keen hiker but my kids less so. They are more party boys into sport, bars, beach, music, film. But maybe in two years time they will be more into the outdoors?! 🤔 😁 The Joshua tree stuff sounds amazing but I wonder if it will be too hot and wasted on them. Maybe one for another trip? There sounds like loads to do in LA and south California to keep us busy. They actually like a lot of down time (as does my husband) so won’t be keen to do sights every day. I think we’d definitely could stay in 3 or 4 locations over 2/3 weeks. Is Long Beach a good base for the central LA sights (thinking that that’s where the beach volleyball is). I’m hoping they will improve public transport for the Olympics!

I’m actually thinking they could be the perfect age for LA! Film/music/vintage clothes and beach! They were fossil geeks when young so the tar pit sounds fun. Also the set tour sounds amazing. My husband is not a city guy, so he may struggle but he will have to dig deep 😁

We stayed at Marina del Rey, made a good base for what we wanted to see (previously stayed in Burbank with friends).

Public transport barely exists. Santa Monica is way nicer! It’s just got better access to lots of places but it can be ultra busy. You have hotels with pools for relaxing.