Cruising out of LosAngeles
 

We are sailing out of LA the end of Sept. and have 3 days in LA before the cruise. Could anyone let us know about distance from LAX to pier and the best way to get there, where to stay, renting a car, and best sites to see in 3 days? We appreciate any input since we have never been to the West coast.

The weather at the end of September should be very nice and a good place to stay would be Santa Monica, which has some lovely hotels right on the beach. You can pick up your rental car at LAX and return it there and take a Super Shuttle to the pier for your cruise. It could take you 30-60 minutes depending on the traffic.
I do not know what your interests are, but a few highlights to see would be the Getty Museum (with dinner reservations on Thursday or Friday night); the King Tut Exhibit at LA County Museum; walk along Rodeo Drive; drive up to Santa Barbara; Venice Beach; and perhaps a performance at the Hollywood Bowl just to name a few things.

Another option would be to stay in the Orange County area in one of the lovely beach towns such as Laguna or Newport Beach. There are lots of artsy places, nice beaches, great shopping at South Coast Plaza, some of the very best restaurants, you could visit Disneyland or go to an Anaheim Angels baseball game. You could even do an easy day trip to San Diego if you wanted to see the zoo or Sea World.

To answer your original question, LAX is approximately 25 minutes from the pier in San Pedro. LAX is a lousy airport to fly into IMO. It's a madhouse. Easier airports are Long Beach or John Wayne.

First of all, the only car rental agency at the pier is Enterprise. The others do not have offices down there. As for places to stay, I'd choose along the beach (I lived in LA for years). Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Marina del Rey, Santa Monica would be among my first choices. It all depends on how much you want to spend for a hotel tho. If you are going to be out sightseeing all day long I'd not invest a fortune into a hotel, and keep in mind some hotels charge for parking (and it can almost be as much as the rental car fees !!). There is a Holiday Inn Express in Hermosa Beach (on Pacific Coast Highway) that we stayed in twice. It is very nice,clean, and breakfast is included. You do need a car to get anyplace from there but it is a short ride to the beach and the hotel does not charge for parking.

LAX to the pier is about a $45 cab ride, and maybe 30 min. ride. It really depends on traffic tho.

Not knowing your tastes it is hard to recommend sights, but my favorite is the Getty Museum. The views are fantastic! You may be intersted in Universal Studios, Disneyland, etc. but bear in mind the LA area is huge and traffic is horrendous most of the time. Allow double time what you think to get places -- if it does not take that long be happy :-) You might consider a ride up the coast to Malibu, if you do not live near the ocean this can be a nice way to spend a few hours.

LAX can be a madhouse, but so can any airport. It really depends how many flights are landing/departing at the same time yours is. We've been through LAX on good days and bad days.

Thanks to PMB, petlover and Lori. Your responses are greatly appreciated and will make our trip much more enjoyable.

Until recently I lived in Los Angeles, CA. IMO, I'd stay in one of the beach towns in Orange County or even Manhattan Beach (LA county). Los Angeles county seems more congested than Orange County for somone not familiar with the freeway system. My personal favorite is Laguna Beach.