bernie

will be in las vegas soon and planning to drive to los angeles to spend a few days there. am i correct in assuming a 5 to 6 hour one way trip? would appreciate any suggestions from anyone who has made the trip and comments as to what areas of la to avoid.
thanks.

BeResourceful

For driving directions, distance, and estimate time of drive, use an online mapping service.
There are several; one is:

[ur]www.mapquest.com[/url]

MapsOnLine

Sorry, my attempt to use HTML markup to give you a clickable direct link to the website does not work here on Fodors...too bad.
Here's the correct address since you have to type it in manually:

http://www.mapquest.com

Cal

Yes, it is a 5-6 hour drive except on Sunday, If you travel it on Sunday during late afternoon or evening then it could easily be 8 hours or more.

You will travel on I-15 from Las Vegas to I-10 West ( near Ontario ) or 91 ( at Corona ). You take I-10 to Los Angeles or 91 to Anaheim. I-15 from Las vegas is extremely boring.

Of course if you arrive in the Los Angeles area during commute time then it will also be slower though you will be going mostly against the traffic, assuming the afternoon.

What do you mean by areas of LA to avoid? Are you talking about safety or traffic?

Emily

The one interesting thing to see between Las Vegas and L.A. (besides "The World's Tallest Thermometer" outside the Bun Boy restaurant) is the factory outlet center in Barstow. They've got a lot of good stores with good shopping!

bernie

thanks to all for the info regarding
a drive from lv to la. cal, the safety
concern we have is for areas of the
city to avoid as far as hotels.
someone suggested a hotel around
Dodger Stadium or the Convention
Center. what do you think?

Gary

bernie:

I don't know of very many hotels (or any) around Dodger Stadium, but just north of the convention center, in downtown L.A. there are a couple of nice hotels--Wyndham Checkers and the Bonaventure. (A friend recently got a great rate at the Wyndham). That area is busier at night than it used to be--not the nicest part of town, but I wouldn't say unsafe. There are also some nice restaurants nearby and the Music Center. But there are so many areas in which to stay. What's your desired proce range and what do you want to be near?

Darius

Just came back from LA...Don't stay in HOLLYWOOD, WEST HOLLYWOOD, or NORTH HOLLYWOOD...Santa Monica, Westwood, and Covina are all nice suburb areas to stay in that are reasonably priced. Why not fly from Vegas? $78 roundtrip per person..if there's only 2 of you it may be worth it to avoid 6 hours in a car plus fighting LA traffic!!

Christina

Bernie, LA is so large and most of it would be fine to stay in as far as safety, so I think it depends mainly on what you intend to do and what kind of place you want. I don't know of any hotels around Dodger Stadium; Chinatown isn't far, maybe they meant that, that's central and near good dining, but not that exciting overall. There are a lot of nice hotels downtown, not just the couple mentioned by Gary, catering to business people a lot; I like some of downtown, particularly around the old library and N of the conventn ctr, but I really don't think that is where I would stay as you probably won't want to do much around there and it's not that scenic. Pasadena would be a nice place to stay, it is north of Dodger Stadium a bit but a pretty city and has quite a bit to do right there (good restaurants, nightlife, museums, etc), plus it is close to Universal Studios/Hollywd. It really depends on you, but I personally think West Hollywood would be a great place to stay and recommend it (and I strongly advise against staying in a far-away small suburban town like Covina, why even go to LA is my opinion on that). It is very central, fun and very LA. (granted, if you have never seen a gay person or don't want anything remotely urban, don't go there); there are some expensive hotels on Sunset Blvd that cater to the entertainment industry, but you can find some very reasonable hotels around there. If I had the money (prob $200-250), I might stay at the Argyle Hotel (www.argylehotel.com, art deco, small, historic, great location, hip bar) or the Grafton on Sunset. Le Reve hotel in W Hollywood is very reasonably priced and in a good location (see los-angeles-ca-hotels.com) If you want to have fun in LA and experience it, I think that would be a great location; you are central but very close to good entertainment regardless of your interests (rock, jazz, take in a show at the Comedy Club or Improv nearby, that is a quintessential LA thing). There are tons of good cafes and restaurants around W Hollywd, also; Barneys Beanery on SM Blvd is still a great beer joint, have a bowl of chili and a beer and have fun, Drew Carey might be there; Kokomo's Cafe in Farmer's Mkt is popular, as well as many others around great places around there (Barefoot, Lucy's El Adobe Cafe, Cafe des Artistes, etc). You are also near Melrose Avenue--great again for restaurants, shopping, etc

Christina

(continued)I used to work in Hollywood and had a boyfriend who lived in that area in W Hollywood so I've hung out a lot there and like it; in case you think I'm a star-struck rube, I'm not, but I think if you're going to LA, hey, enjoy it, have fun, and experience its outrageousness and stars and entertainment business, that's what it's for. I used to live in Santa Monica also and it was great when it was a sleepy beach town; now it has turned into a tourist nightmare IMO, but that's coming from someone who felt it ruined her home (I moved out after a the highrise hotels began, around 989). I understand why tourists go there, and it's nice, but not the only place to stay in LA. (BTW, I agree staying in Hollywood itself it not that great, although there aren't many places to stay there, anyway; North Hollywood is in the valley and a cheap residential community; don't stay in the valley, downtown would be preferable). Westwood might be okay, too, as a place to stay. Really,
there are many places that would be good, if you need more advice you should
describe your visiting plans better to get best advice on areas to stay. If
you don't care about any of this stuff, prob. some other area might be better; if you are older (ie, 60+), some other area might be preferable, also.
--I just realized you asked this about a month ago, oh well, I wrote it so maybe somebody will read it and get some ideas. C.