Planning March 2016 Trip

[Traceymb96]

We are planning to arrive LAX 3/9 @ 8am. We were planing on renting a car for the week.
We have only have reservations so far 3/9 & 3/10 at the Fairfield Inn North Anaheim to do 3/10 & 3/11 DLR. we want to do Hollywood star walk, see the sign, Chinese theatre.
Other things would like to see Queen Mary, USS Iowa (Long Beach area) we talked about Newport Beach or Huntington Beach, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills & Catalina Island.
Not sure how we should plan as these are all over (North & South) of LA. We leave super early on 3/16 so our plan was to stay at LAX on 3/15. We need to figure out where to stay/what to do the day we arrive & 3/12-15. I am now worried about traffic as I read how bad it was.

My original thinking was do Long Beach the day we arrive drive to Anaheim to spend night. DLR 3/10 & 11 being Thurs/Fri. Then heading down doing Newport Beach or Huntington Beach & Caralina Sat/Sun. Then head up to Beverly Hills to see that Hollywood & Santa Monica Mon/Tue. But maybe we should do Hollywood/Beverly Hills the day we arrive the head south?

I need some suggestions. Thanks. We also plan on staying at Mariott Chain as we have Marriott points to use/earn

 

[PHXscuba]

I can't really comment what order to do the LA stuff in. It depends on how much you want to fit in the day you arrive and how much time to have at the end.

Catalina is a full-day trip. If you want to spend the most time there you will need to be at the ferry early.

There is a very nice beachfront Marriott in Huntington Beach in a good location close to downtown HB and the new Pacific City area.

PHXscuba

 

[Sherry E]

As far as the Catalina portion of your plan -- it is lovely and it's a great place to visit for a day trip, but unless it's something you can devote a fairly full day to it (as PHXscuba mentioned above), I would skip it. Also, if you were planning to take a boat out of Newport Beach to get there, or out of any terminal other than Long Beach or San Pedro, I wouldn't bother with it just for a day trip. For a day trip I would suggest taking a boat out of Long Beach, with San Pedro in second place. if you were going to spend the night or do a longer trip than a day trip, then taking a boat out of Newport Beach or Dana Point might be okay as well.

I also agree with PHXscuba about L.A. -- it all depends on what you want to do, how much you want to fit in, etc.. If you just wanted to drive around for a few hours, or maybe stop at the famous Original Farmers Market (which I recommend!) for lunch, then you could easily do that on your arrival day and then just head down to Anaheim.

I live in Los Angeles (right around the Farmers Market, La Brea Tar Pits, etc.) and Catalina Island is one of my specialties here on DISboards, so feel free to ask questions if you want more info.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Your choices in Hollywood can easily be seen in one afternoon or less. Go to the Hollywood & Highland shopping center (located at Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave.). You can park there for 2 hours for $2 (get a validation from any store or restaurant or from the guest services kiosk). There is a viewing area/photo spot for the Hollywood sign on an upper level. The Dolby Theatre is there (home of the Academy Award ceremony). The Walk of Fame is right out front. The Chinese Theatre is next door. Disney's El Capitan Theatre is across the street. After that, I would head for the Farmer's Market, as Sherry recommended. The Grove shopping center next to the Farmer's Market is also very nice.