LA - a week
 

Here's our current plan for a trip with our 2 teens - thanks to some preliminary input from this board.

Wed: Occidental College/Gamble House/Cal Tech
Thurs: Pomona College
Fri: Scripps College
Sat: WB or Universal
Sun: Santa Monica(3rd street prominade), pier, Venice, Museum Jurrasic Technology
Mon: Getty, UCLA (optional)
Tues: Olvera, Grove, Farmer’s Market, la brea, Melrose avenue, union station, neon tour

Are we being overly ambitious on any day? What should we cut out? We wish we could do these other things, but not sure where to fit in:

Malibu, Getty Villa, Griffiths Observatory, drive Mulholland

I'd cut out all the colleges but I assume that is the purpose of the trip :-).

Griffith Park Observatory isn't far from Occidental. You know about the reservations, right?

Yes, the Wed-Fri colleges are the purpose of the trip! No - I don't know about the Griffith Observatory reservations ...

You can't drive up to the observatory and need timed reservations for shuttle. all the info you need is here http://www.griffithobs.org/

You might want to do the studio tour on a weekday, and move Tuesdays itinerary to the Saturday. That's a lot to see and traffic and parking will be easier downtown. Unless it's a bus tour, then never mind. You cold move the Getty and UCLA to the Tuesday. Actually that is a pretty light day, you could add something else to that day. Santa Monica isn't that far away from UCLA, there isn't all that much to see there, either.

Good suggestion aboout switching days. Here's where I am now - still feels a bit unbalanced:

Wed: Oxy/Gamble House/Cal Tech, Griffith Observatory
Thurs: Pomona
Fri: Scripps
Sat: Malibu, Getty Villa, Venice, Museum Jurrasic Technology?, Abbot Kinney Boulevard, southern beaches (Hermosa, Redondo)
Sun: Olvera, Grove, Farmer’s Market, la brea, Melrose avenue, fashion district (Santee Alley) union station, walt Disney concert hall, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, neon tour
Mon: Getty museum, UCLA, Santa Monica(3rd street prominade, pier)
Tues: WB or Universal (?), anything else?

Can you do Pomona and Scripps on the same day? Then you'd have a "beach day" to sit on the beach instead of just a drive by.

I would switch your Santa Monica time to the end of your Malibu/Venice day. Dinner at 3rd St. Promenade and an evening stroll on the pier.

If you switch your South Bay beach time to Monday, you'll have more time to actually relax and enjoy the beach.

You could do Univeral, the same day as the Farmer's Market, which is next to the Grove. Just ease on down the hill on the Hollywood side and you are 15 minutes away. I love the Farmer's Market, one of my favorite places for 50 years.

On your way from Universal to the Market, you would pass Hollywood Blvd, so you can do the quick Walk of Fame, Chinese theater footprints, etc. The stands in the market are open later these days. (If you like candy, try Little Johns.)

I would dump Melrose and La Brea, since the stores aren't that great, and spend more time downtown, which is booming. New catherdral is very interesting. Disney Hall ditto. Grand Central Market. The Library is a wonderful building, peek into the Bradbury building. Get a list of Art Deco buildings in downtown and check some out. Biltmore Hotel is fantastic. Little Tokyo, Chinatown is near by - no different than other Chinatowns in NY or SF, so I would pass.

I would do Universal and Farmers on a week day, less crowded, and do the downtown stuff on a Saturday - also less crowded. Also, on Sat, the LA Conservancy has wonderful walking tours of downtown, which would be a good way to start that day. The Art Deco tour is great. A lot of beautiful buildings, and you can get in some on the tour that you can't get into on your own.

What great responses! Here's what I have:

Wed: Oxy/Gamble House/Cal Tech, Griffith Observatory
Thurs: Pomona
Fri: Scripps
Sat: LA Conservancy tour (art deco), Olvera, la brea, fashion district (Santee Alley) union station, walt Disney concert hall, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, grand central market, Bradbury, neon tour
Sun: Malibu, Getty Villa, Venice, Museum Jurrasic Technology?, Abbot Kinney , Boulevard, santa monica, pier, 3rd street
Mon: Getty museum, UCLA, , southern beaches (Hermosa, Redondo)
Tues: WB or Universal (?), farmer’s market, grove

Does this look good? (we're still arguing WB vs. Universal - a boy who likes theme parks & a girl who likes movies - not sure which way to go).

Don't want to do Pomona/Scripps in one day - college shopping is the main purpose of this trip.

I haven't dropped la brea tar pits - wouldn't that be fun for my 15 year old boy? or is over-hyped? or for younger kids?

We've already done the Grumman Chinese theater/Hollywood sign/Beverly Hills stuff.

Any thoughts on hotels - not terribly expensive, and not too basic, but comfortable for a family of 4. about $150 per night (i'd prefer less, but not sure it's possible)?

Thanks - this is so helpful for someone who doesn't know the area.

Pomona College and Scripps are right next door to one another, and each is a very small campus. We visited them, and a half day each is a fair amount of time to visit, especially if you're organized and have appointments set up w/Admissions.
They are nice campuses, and excellent schools. What about Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine. . . . I'm kidding-- too many schools, too little time!
:)>-

Looking better. You could slip Hollywood into the day that you do either the Grove or Griffith Park.

As to hotel - I haven't stayed there, but you might want to try the Magic Castle motel. It is next door to the Magic Castle, which is the world's only private club for magicians. You have to know a member to get in, but I believe that if you stay at the motel, which is not technically part of the club, they have passes. Ask to make sure. (This is embarassing because I am a member and don't know.) The kids could not go. Adults only, very strict. Formal dress code. But if the motel has passes, it is worth it. There are three show rooms with magic shows, and members are doing tricks in the other rooms.

Former members included Cary Grant, J. Carson, and a slew of others.

See if the motel can get you in. If so, dump the kids for the night and treat yourself.

I guess I'm the only one who thinks your plans for Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday are way too ambitious.

Personally, I don't get the attraction to 3rd Street, Santa Monica, but you've also listed The Grove which likewise wouldn't be on my radar for such a short trip.

I'd spend Thursday night near Scripps and Pomona. No need to make that round-trip twice. BTW, the drive back into L.A. on Friday afternoon will be yucky.

You might want to Mapquest all of this to see the driving times between places.

Will make 3rd street and the Grove optional. anything else optional? wb shorter than universal - maybe we should consider this.

what time should we drive back to LA from Claremont? Are there things to see in the Claremont area - we can't put Pomona & Scripps on the same day - we've already set up the interviews.

Would you stay in the Magic Castle Friday - Monday (we want to spend Tuesday night at LAX to return our car in time).

Thanks again!

We've done Universal and the Getty on the same day...and you can drive Mulholland, or at least a few miles of Mulholland, in between the two. The Getty is open until 9pm on Fri and Sat, and you can make reservations to dine in the restaurant there. A bit pricey, but you can share items if you're on a budget, and the sunset view is spectacular.

Now you're adding Claremont? Time for a map! I count five colleges in different directions. Six if you add UCLA which isn't near the other five. And, I'm curious, why isn't USC on the list?

I reiterate my suggestion to Mapquest this all out. You may not have as much extra time as you think, and many of the things you mention are far from the colleges you're visiting.

Claremont is the town that is home to the Claremont colleges, including Pomona, Claremont Mckenna, Scripps, Pitzer and Harvey Mudd. These 5 have adjacent campusses.

Personal experience from my family (includes 4 teens) says that the Griffith Observatory is at least 4 hours on premises (includes waiting in line for tickets for and watching the planetarium show - highlight of Observatory). The Getty is also at LEAST 4 hours. Haven't done Universal in a long time but for us it would be a full and exhausting day on its own.

Occidental and CalTech are compact campusses but we have seen 2 colleges in one day and it IS hard if you are trying to do an organized tour and info session.

UCLA is a LARGE campus, parking and walking eat time.

After you have your itinerary worked out, look for hotels that will minimize your rush hour commute. Pasadena and Claremont are hot in August and September.

Good luck and have fun.

Jean is inviting abuse from Bruins.

USC = University of Second Choice.

USC = University of Spoiled Children

Sorry, ikemarrus, I missed your earlier mention of Scripps, so you haven't added another college....

As to the USC v. UCLA debate, things that are better usually cost more.

Jean, you may be right...USC paid Reggie Bush quite a bit.

okay, I'm outta here :-).

I'd re-schedule the appointments with Scripps and Pomona. Seriously, that's quite a drive to do twice. Or, spend the night near Claremont, although there's not much else to do there for tourists.

The idea to mapquest all this is a good one. For instance, you also plan to go from UCLA to the southern beaches. Why not go to the nearer beaches, like Malibu and Zuma? That would save you a cross-town drive. Traffic in L.A. is rush hour 24/7, you know.

I don't know when your trip is, but you might have time to get free tickets to Jay Leno's Tonight Show. It's fun to see it done live. More fun than a tour IMHO.

Your list of things to do is unique. No drive down Sunset Blvd., Bel Air, Rodeo Drive?? They are all close to UCLA, you know. Stop in Westwood for the kids to get a look at where UCLA kids hang, and to buy a souvenier, get a bite.
:)>-

I also think some days are ambitious, but you can decide which things are more important. (Jean, I'm right there with you about 3rd St. Promenade and SM Pier, but that's what most visitors want to see.)

The WB tour is only 2 hours, so you could technically do both WB and Universal on the same day. If your daughter likes the Gilmore Girls, she will love the WB tour. They show lots and lots of Gilmore Girls sets. It would be a busy and expensive day. I would switch it to Monday, though. This way, you could move your Getty then relaxing beach day to Tuesday, your last day. The South Bay beaches are closer to LAX, so you can check right into your LAX hotel afterwards.

Your hotel budget will be tight for your west side stay. For your night at LAX, check out the suite hotels on Aviation Blvd in El Segundo/Hawthorne (adjacent to Manhattan Beach). For your other days, you might try a Universal City hotel, or the Hotel Angeleno, right off the 405 freeway. Check Travelzoo to see what specials are running.

I believe you have to be 18 to get into Jay Leno and most show tapings. If attending a show taping interests you, check out www.tvtickets.com. You can see what shows are being taped when you are here, and the age requirements.

I'm not sure what's so strange about our college visits - we are going to visit 3 colleges with my daughter - she's interested in going to school in California, and she likes these particular small liberal arts colleges. 2 of them, Scripps and Pomona are in the same town - Claremont. While there, we'll also look at Harvey Mudd - another Claremont school that my son might be interested in when he's of college age - because we probably won't get back here. The other college, Occidental, is fairly close to Claremont (30 minutes?). While we're there, we'll see Pasadena and walk through Cal Tech. We are not really visiting UCLA - just thought it would be fun for the kids to walk around Westwood - but that's optional. These colleges visits and interviews are the main purpose of our trip. But we made it longer so that we could see a bit more of LA. We've already done Disney and the Hollywood things, which is why they aren't on the list.

Thanks for all the advice. We will mapquest this.

Any other hotel reservations or advice is most welcome. This has been very helpful.

Sara

There is nothing strange about the college visits, you just stepped into the UCLA vs USC rivalry. We toured Occidental and really liked it. It is about 35 miles from Claremont. Time estimate? 1 - 1 1/2 hours depending on (like all else LA) traffic.

I'm no expert on the LA area, but my daughter was living in Santa Monica, and now Century City neighborhood. We've stayed at the Best Western Gateway in Santa Monica - it's in your budget range - and the room was good for the money. Ask for a corner room for more space. My husband has also stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on Olympic in Century City. He said it was clean, comfortable and a bargain. It is centrally located and not far from LAX. As others advised, check a map. Both places are not that far from the 405.
Have a great time!
Keep in mind The Getty Center is closed on Mondays, but Getty Villa is open. The Getty Villa is wonderful. A fun dinner might be to get take-out food (from Whole Foods perhaps) in Santa Monica and have a picnic dinner on the beach.

Have you thought about staying in Pasadena? It's between Occidental and Claremont, more or less, and although it might be warmer than staying in Santa Monica, you would save some travel time. It's also fairly convenient to a number of the places you mentioned seeing (like Gamble House and Cal Tech, Olvera Street, Union Station). You could probably do much better there than on the westside with your hotel budget.

Could we stay in pasadena the whole time, or would we have to move for some of the sights?

Not really necessary to move if you would rather not. Pasadena is really centrally located for everything you have listed. It's about 25 miles Pasadena-Santa Monica as Pasadena-Claremont, and everything else you've listed is closer. Freeway convenient as well, best times to travel are approximately after 9:30 am and not between 4 pm and 6 pm.

You could stay at the Marriott in Pasadena...close to old town for shops and dining as well as the Gamble House Huntington Gardens and Cal Tech...don't know what type of a hotel your looking for but there is also the Ritz-Carlton / Huntington Hotel in Pasadena...great hotel...and only 5 min to Cal Tech and Lake Ave shopping

Did you go?

Did everyone have fun?

Which colleges did you most like?

Yes, what did you think of the Claremont McKenna schools in particular? We liked Pomona College pretty much, except it's so small.
:)>-