We'll be spending 4 days in LA at the Hollywood Marriot. Will want to see all the Hollywood stuff, Pasadena, Malibu, Venice Beach (maybe?). We are used to using public transportation. I fear with a car, we'll spend most of our time being lost, stuck in traffic, or looking for parking.

Yes, you do, or want to know someone who does. Yes, you will probably be annoyed at time spent in traffic, and although finding parking may not be a problem, what you have to pay for it will be. (Unless you are from Manhattan, in which case you will think it reasonable.) However, there is no reliable public transportation that will get you to places as far afield as Pasadena and Malibu from Hollywood without an unrealistic expenditure of time and effort, and you only have 4 days. Check with the concierge at your hotel for any special programs/shuttles they may have for specific tourist destinations, but otherwise, plan to be car free while you are seeing the sights of Hollywood, and carefully plan intineraries before reserving a car for a day or two to get you to those outlying areas. (Pasadena and Malibu are essentially opposite ends of the earth, so if you were planning on spending a few hours at either one, don't do them the same day.)

Simple answer: YES!

Yes - LA is essentially non-negotiable without a car - unless you are staying in a very small area right around your hotel.

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Vs. spending all your time trying to figure out how to get where you want to go, making your way to the bus/train station/stop, waiting for the bus/train, making whatever transfers you need to make, and then walking to the actual site you want to see? Rent a car!!

FWIW . . we were there a few years ago and parked the car at the hotel and used cabs or hotel car to get around . . very easy

You absolutely need a car. Depending on where you want to go, you can avoid the freeways. Not a lot to see in Malibu. I'd stick to Santa Monica and Venice. Westwood, Hollywood and Beverly Hills are easy to get to via the main roadways. Go to Farmer's Market and The Grove in Hollywood. Take a GPS or study maps; you'll be fine. If you get a hankering for public transportation, Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus is very efficient. If this is your first trip to LA, you may want to avoid downtown LA; it's easy to get lost and wander into the wrong areas, although there is lots to see there...like Little Tokyo.

With that itinerary you'll need a car....from your hotel to Malibu is two hours on the bus, then once you get there....well...Malibu isn't exactly walkable. If you don't want to drive you can take organized tours, they pick up right outside of your hotel near the visitor's booth, but I'm not certain there are tours that include Pasadena or time in Malibu. www.starlinetours.com

Thanks all. We'll just keep the car we use to get from Monterey, and I'll pack the GPS!

Rich, I don't know where you stayed or where you went, but the cost of taxis from Hollywood to Santa Monica or the Getty Museum or Malibu or Pasadena would be "staggering" to most of us. And unless staying at a Four Seasons or something, I can't imagine a hotel bus taking you places like that.

I'd never think of renting a car in any European capital, or in New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, and many other cities -- but LA is an animal unlike all others.

We stayed at the Beverly Garland in Hollywood . . only went to Santa Monica/Malibu on the way north to SF. I don't recall staggering.

Yes. Absolutely. I'm big on public transportation when I travel, but LA is one place where I consider a rental car a necessity. It's just not practical without one imo.

Of all the cities in the U.S. where you would need a car, L.A. is probably at the top of the list.

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It's sad to say, but Yes, you are smart to keep your car for L.A. A taxi from Hollywood to Santa Monica/Malibu? yikes Besides the fact that taxis are incredibly scarce in L.A.

Get good directions from your hotel for the best route at which time of day, instead of relying only on GPS, which can be whacky.

Do not attempt to navigate LA without a GPS, and be sure you know how to use it efficiently (practice). BTW, in CA it is illegal to have a unit attached to your windsheld, and they will write a ticket for it. Be sure you have a traffic update enabled GPS so you can navigate around tie-ups. Be prepared to drive fast in heavy traffic. It is a bit of a culture shock for most people to drive 80+ mph in bumper to bumper traffic, but that is how they do it there. If you don't go with the flow, you bugger the whole system up.

Rich, sorry to question you, but you do seem to indicate that your trip to Malibu/Santa Monica was on your way north, not by taxi from your hotel. I was referring to the OP who specifically mentioned a number of places at pretty great distances from their Hollywood Hotel. Add up taxis to all those places, and again -- most of us WOULD stagger!

One of the LA subway lines has stops in Hollywood, though I don't know how close you'll be staying to one. It is certainly possible to take the subway to Pasadena as well.

There may well be a bus that runs to Venice/Santa Monica from Hollywood, but I'd have to research to make sure.

I don't think Malibu can be reached via any kind of public transportation, though.

You can take the Red Line in Hollywood to Union Station and change to the Gold Line that will take you to Pasadena. Trust me, you will want to take a car. On my excursion from Pasadena to Hollywood (and back) via mass transit a few weeks ago, it took me nearly two hours from home to destination (with a little excitement in between). It would have been about a 20 - 25 minute drive. neo is correct about taxis in L.A. Waaay to expensive for multiple trips (or even one in many instances). I've lived here most of my life. You definitely want a car.

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Proof positive that I was right in my original post, where I said:

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I did not say to navigate LA without a GPS. Read my post, please.