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Los Angeles/Santa Monica -- how many days and where else?

Los Angeles/Santa Monica -- how many days and where else?

Old Aug 21st, 2016, 04:23 PM
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Los Angeles/Santa Monica -- how many days and where else?

We are going to Santa Monica for the Los Angeles Marathon in mid-March. It is our first time in the city, and I've already booked a hotel in Santa Monica, although I can change the length of that reservation if I should reserve elsewhere for a night or two. I'm seeking advice on several fronts -- how long to stay in the area, fun activities to do while we are there, and if we should venture up the coast for a day or two. We are two middle-aged adults and two college-age young adults.

We arrive on a Friday evening, the marathon is on Sunday, and we will fly home on Thursday. Is a bus tour of the area fun? Movie studio tour? Renting bikes sounds good, if we are sufficiently recovered from running. Should we travel north, maybe to Hearst Castle? What else is interesting to see along the coast between LA and Hearst, or is that too far to try?

I am just starting my research for this trip, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Old Aug 22nd, 2016, 07:37 AM
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March is a great time to be in LA, although we can have rain, or we can have a heat wave.

Personally, I'd stay put and take the Expo Line (Metro) to different parts of the city. Get a $2.00 tap card and load a $5.00 day pass on it, and you have access to all of the Metro lines (light rail, subway, and bus). You can catch the Expo line at 4th & Colorado in SM downtown. You could stop at the Expo Park/USC and visit some of our wonderful museums (history/science & space), or the Coliseum, current home of the Rams and USC Trojans. Or you could travel to the second to last stop on the Metro line to the Pico station, and visit Staples, Microsoft Theatre, and the Grammy Museum. If you take it to the last stop (7th Street), you could transfer to the red or purple line to Union Station, then visit our beautifully restored train station, Olvera Street, and China Town.

Other places to visit that can be accessed by Metro are Universal Studios (where you do a movie tour) and the Hollywood Walk of Fame (although, frankly, I've never seen the thrill). You could get free tickets to Jimmy Kimmel, assuming he's not on hiatus. That show is in a building across the street from the Hollywood/Highland center.

Places where you'd want to drive would be Griffith Park and the Observatory -- gorgeous views, great hikes, neat shows in the Planetarium. The UCLA campus is so beautiful -- great place to walk around -- in Westwood, north of Wilshire. Sunset Strip is fun in the evening -- check out who's playing at the Roxy or the Whiskey. The Viper Room is also cool, but you have to be 21+ to enter that venue.

If you have the energy and the weather is with you, definitely rent bikes and ride down the bike path towards LAX/Redondo Beach. Stop in Marina del Rey.

You could also drive up the highway and spend a day in Malibu. Paradise Cove, or visit Dukes, or check out Malibu Lagoon State Beach . . . it's pretty awesome.

If you find the need to travel out of LA and want to go north, forget Hearst Castle, and just drive up to Santa Barbara and spend a few days there.

OR, head over for a few days in Catalina, if the weather is decent.
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Old Aug 22nd, 2016, 08:10 AM
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Scroll through my California Dreaming posts and you will find dozens of things to do in L.A. area. Hearst Castle would be quite a schlep (hopefully it's still there...wildfires are very near). Personally, I find Hollywood to be a pit (and incredibly crowded) unless you like having people dressed like Superheroes block the sidewalks, but I know many people like to go there. If you do decide to go to Hollywood, I would suggest a weekday...traffic is a nightmare on the weekends. Getty Villa is near you in SM as is the Getty Museum.

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/california-dreaming-1/
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Old Aug 22nd, 2016, 11:30 AM
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Hearst is too far north unless you stayed overnight in Cambria.
I would go to Santa Barbara or else drive up to Malibu, visit the Getty Villa, stop for lunch at Duke's (they are closed for lunch on Monday I think). You might have time to work in the tidepools, or maybe drive through Pepperdine.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 03:33 PM
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This is good information. Thanks! I'm curious -- just how bad is the traffic in the Los Angeles area? I've driven in Chicago and Denver quite a bit; is this much worse or more confusing?
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Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 04:13 PM
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Traffic depends on where you're going, what day of the week, what time of the day and whether it's raining. Not surprising, Friday afternoons and Monday mornings are tough. Santa Monica is farther from many L.A. tourist attractions than people think and getting back to the beach in the late afternoon can take patience and time. You can try the Waze app on your phone to help you get around, but I'm not always convinced that it's faster, esp. for someone not very familiar with L.A.

As Surfergirl pointed out, you can now go a lot of places entirely by Metro. And anywhere the Metro can't take you, you can probably reach using the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus.

https://www.bigbluebus.com/

I would take the L.A. Marathon shuttle from Santa Monica on race day. So much easier than having to get back to Dodger Stadium to pick up a car.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 05:05 PM
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All sounds like great advice. Since the metro is going to so many places, you could take Uber from a stop to your actual destination. Don't drive in LA if you can help it. You will probably need a car, but use it as little as possible.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 05:33 PM
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I actually liked driving in LA, and I'm usually a transit person. But I stayed off the freeways (of which there are many) during rush hour.

It's a different experience from driving in Chicago. I personally think Chicago is worse. LA is definitely set up for cars, and the parking seemed plentiful and cheap, even in SM.

I'd bike from SM to Venice and back. I loved LA County Art Museum. La Brea tar pits were pretty interesting. You can kill at least a day in just SM window shopping. If you have time- visit one or two of the California missions- my favorite was Santa Barbara. I also like the public market in LA for food, and I enjoyed downtown in general.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 05:35 PM
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I would also venture up the coast, as far as you feel like driving. I'm not sure if I'd waste a day on Hearst Castle. It would be most of a day- it takes more time than you would think to just get into it, and then you still have to wait for your tour.
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 03:58 PM
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"visit one or two of the California missions- my favorite was Santa Barbara."

Agree that Santa Barbara is a gorgeous mission.

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/old-mission-santa-barbara/

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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 06:22 PM
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It's not "worse traffic" or "more confusing than Chicago" as all the streets in LA run straight east to west or north to south. Take a wrong turn and you just circle back around. The problem is that the streets and freeways can become parking lots in an instant, especially before 10am and and between 4 and 7pm. Never venture out with a near-empty tank of gas, and always have drinking water!
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