Car rental in Los Angeles, Ca.

[mks18412]

I am planning a vaca to LA early next year and didnt know if I should rent a car. I have never been there before and not sure of public transportation. I know we plan to go everywhere possible. The hotel does charge a fee per day. I didnt want the car to sit there and I end up paying for a car and parking. Any suggestions on the rental car and also on sight seeing spots would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[pipervali]

This is a personal preference, but I always rent a car while on vacation if it's a city other than NYC. I find it much more convenient to be at my own whim instead of public transportation.

I'm actually doing an LA trip in October, and with four of us, I rented an SUV. We're staying in the Hollywood area, but we're planning on doing Disneyland, the beaches and driving to Vegas the last two days of our trip as well. So our situation is probably a little different than yours.

 

[madcat]

Last may we went to Vegas, the first few days we didn't have a car but we decided to rent on because we were going to L.A. and wanted to drive instead of fly. You need a car in L.A. because everything is so spread out. We were going to do public transportation but decided that we didn't want to have to be stuck waiting for it. We LOVED L.A. but I wouldn't want to be without my car. When we went to rent the car in Vegas we made a reservation online, we thought that the car rental place was at the airport well it wasnt, we had to take a shuttle to the car rental place (the rate was cheaper but boy was it a hassle to get there). When we were leaving L.A. the same thing happened, but it was 5 a.m. and in a pretty sketchy area.

 

[candy0730]

I can't help advising if a car is needed but if you decide to rent one check into Midway Car Rental at LAX. We needed a car since we drove down to San Diego for a few days. Awesome company and awesome price. Here is my review of Midway.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2873209

 

[mks18412]

This is a personal preference, but I always rent a car while on vacation if it's a city other than NYC. I find it much more convenient to be at my own whim instead of public transportation.

I'm actually doing an LA trip in October, and with four of us, I rented an SUV. We're staying in the Hollywood area, but we're planning on doing Disneyland, the beaches and driving to Vegas the last two days of our trip as well. So our situation is probably a little different than yours.

What hotel in Hollywood do you plan on staying at?? I am looking at the airport but not sure on the convience from everything we would like to do.

 

[madcat]

. Any suggestions on the rental car and also on sight seeing spots would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

There are so many things to see in L.A. The Griffith Observatory www.griffithobs.org/, The Disney Concert Hall has a really interesting building, it is in downtown L.A. www.laphil.com/, of course Hollywood and the sign. Hollywood Blvd has cleaned up a lot over the last several years there is also a Disney Soda Fountain right next to the El Capitan theater on Hollywood Blvd http://elcapitan.go.com/soda_fountain/main.html If you are driving yourself around drive down the PCH and enjoy the view stop in Malibu as well as Santa Monica and the pier. Venice beach is...interesting The Warner Brothers Studio does a studio lot tour and you can visit Universal Studios and City Walk as well. When we visited we got to see part of the Tonight Show taping a segment. One of the things that I love about L.A. is the street art, some people would call it grafitti but there is clearly a difference.

We drove from one side of L.A. to the other and there was never really a time when I didn't feel safe. Yes there were sketchy areas but when we began to think we might be going in them we just turned around and went back the way we came.They do still (like most big citites) have a very large homeless population and a section of a few of the downtown L.A. side streets had almost like a tent city set up.

hope this helps and have agreat trip!

 

[pipervali]

What hotel in Hollywood do you plan on staying at?? I am looking at the airport but not sure on the convience from everything we would like to do.

Since there are going to be four of us girls, we figured we'd either need two hotel rooms, and for the price, we ended up renting a home from HomeAway instead. Around $200 per night, plus a deposit, we have 3 bedroom right in the heart of where a lot of the activities we want to do, are. I've rented homes before when we go to Disney World, so it wasn't a completely unfamiliar process.

Honestly, if you want to stay near LAX, a car I'd say is a must. There's nothing really out there near the airport, it's southwest of the Hollywood/Beverly Hills/Burbank area. It's cheaper, but far less convenient to the area attractions.

 

[Magix]

Rent the car. Pay the parking fees at your hotel. Our public transport system is better than it used to be, but it still won't easily get you where you want to go. The L.A. area was built around cars, not public transport, so our transport is sort of an after-thought. There's a reason we all have cars and jam up the freeways.

Airport hotels are probably going to be your best bet (and you'll definitely need a car to get from there to anywhere) for a combination of decent price and nice hotel. There are a small handful of very nice hotels in Hollywood now, but they come at a high price.

What to see? Everything! Be prepared for Hollywood to be a bit skankier than you might hope it to be, although it's much cleaner and tourist-friendly now than it was a decade ago. Check the Hollywood Bowl calendar and see if there's a show you can go to during your visit. It's such an historic and wonderful venue, you'll love anything you see there (but do pay attention to the parking options and use an off-site location like Hollywood & Highland or the LA Zoo). Hit a couple of beaches, like Santa Monica and Venice. Disneyland, of course! The LA County Museum of Art is wonderful, as is the Getty Museum. You might take a stroll down Melrose Ave for some weird shopping. Drive the Sunset Strip, just to say you did. Take a movie studio tour (Paramount, Warner Bros, etc). Not sure if you'd enjoy this kind of thing, but the Hollywood Forever cemetery is pretty nifty. Just visited there for the first time myself and really enjoyed locating the graves of the famous people buried there. There are so many things to see in LA and Orange County! You'll be well-served to pick up a travel book and go through it carefully to prioritize what you want to see.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Just got back from LA for orientation at USC for my daughter, been going to Disneyland also for years for every Spring Break.

You need a car in LA. There is no efficient way to get around it and sightsee over such a large area.