Hubby and I will be attending a conference in Anaheim in October, and plan to spend a day in LA to see some of the sights like Universal Studios. What would be the best way to get around? Are their buses to the tourist attractions, or should we rent a car? We will not need a car once we get to Anaheim, but will get one if we need it for LA and sight-seeing.

You will need a car. So Cal is not known for its public transportation system; LA is very spread out and it is virtually impossible to get around to all the "sites" without a car unless you have several days. Just a word of warning... "rush hour" around LA can start at 3pm and last until 8pm. Good luck.

Yes, definitely have a rental car. Have a good map along as well. Finding your way around is incredibly easy. I visited with a base in Long Beach for two weeks. You can write your own directions from a map and find your way to anyplace very easily. The signs are fantastic!

It depends I guess on what you want to see. We spent a week in LA with no car. Our home base was Holiday Inn in Hollywood. We walked to Beverly Hills via Melrose, took maybe an hour and we got to site-see on the way. Stores on Melrose don't open 'till noon. Went to Universal - a bus picked us up at hotel door and it had quite an extensive pick-up list. We walked around Hollywood, "the walk of fame" with all the stars, Fredericks of Hollywood, Chinese Theatre with all the foot/hand prints, all were within minutes of Holiday Inn. Comedy Club on Sunset Blvd. was within walking distance too, but as it was night, we took a cab. Took the local transit to Dodger Stadium. Also took a bus tour to J. Paul Getty Museum (that was fabulous), Marina del Ray and Venice Beach. We had plenty of time at each to walk around and see everything. We did not miss having a car.

I must be out in left field somewhere based on your other responses. I've been to LA twice, both times rented a car (most recently this past Feb) and still have the same opinion--driving in LA takes lots of skill, patience and fortitude. The highways are even busy at 1:00-2:00 a.m. Be sure you know where you are going BEFORE you start driving and have your life insurance paid up.

We were in LA in August and definitely needed a car. We were based in Santa Monica to be closer to the beach, so a car was a necessity. I don't know if this would have been the case if we stayed in Hollywood. I liked being able to come and go as I pleased without worrying about bus schedules, or what time of day it was. I do agree that if you do rent a car you should map out where you are going beforehand, the signs are really easy to follow, but knowing which road to take, and what turn to make will certainly help.
P.S.- In case you were interested in seeing the J. Paul Getty Museum, it closed for renovation at the end of July, and will not re-open for another year or two.
L.A. was great fun, you'll enjoy your stay.

I'm a native Los Angeleno who has traversed these city streets for 35 years. Other than crazy Downtown L.A., with its many one-way streets, I think driving in L.A. is easy.

Since you are based in Anaheim (Orange County) and only plan to come to L.A. for one day, I'd suggest you rent a car (unless you only want to go to Universal Studios and that's it).

Unless you're on a chartered bus, our public bus system is something most of us avoid. You don't want to be running around town, trying to catch buses in areas with which you may not be familiar. That can be dangerous.

People generically talk about L.A., not realizing that the City of L.A. and L.A. County are not one in the same. L.A. County comprises a great number of cities, such as Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Marina del Rey, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Rolling Hills, and on and on.

So when you talk about coming to L.A., a drive into town could take from 45 minutes to 1.5 hrs+ depending on where you're going (and, of course, traffic).

Most of us in L.A. live by our Thomas Brothers guidebook. If you belong to the Auto Club, have them put together a triptik for you, telling you exactly what freeways and streets to take.

From Orange County, most people either take the 5 freeway or the 405. Again, I'm not sure exactly where you're staying so check with the Auto Club, your hotel concierge, or get onto the Internet and print out a map.

I love L.A. It has its good and bad points like anyplace else, but for the most part, I think the people are nice and there's plenty of diversity.

If you need suggestions on things to do, restaurants, etc. e-mail me and let me know what kinds of things you like and what type of food you're interested in.

P.S. I heard they opened up a 3-D Imax theatre in Irvine (Orange County). I just saw a movie at the 3-D Imax in Las Vegas' Luxor hotel and it was incredible! You felt like you were really in the picture!

Well, I think you've got the info you need -- you'll
need a car to get to Universal from Anaheim. But
I just wanted to add that I lived in LA (Santa
Monica) for 14 years before moving to Wash. DC
where I live now, and driving in LA is a piece of
cake compared to any other major city I've driven
in the US. Wash DC is a million times worse to
drive in. LA drivers drive well, generally, are
more considerate and polite than in other cities,
the roads are of better quality and better marked,
and the traffic is not even that bad compared to
here, for instance. If you've driven in any
major metropolitan area in the US, LA will be
easy. Also, the weather is a lot better which
helps a lot to improve driving conditions and
relieve traffic problems.

I agree with those native Angelenos who say that L.A. is the easiest city in the world to drive in. It's not even close! As someone who has been all over the world L.A. has 1) loads of parking lots and 2) streets with more than one lane going in each direction. As for the people going to L.A. for the day - a really inadequate amount of time. From Orange County it's about 40 to 50 miles to get into L.A. If you go early you'll hit traffic, if you go later you're going to run out of time. I recommend a good motel like the Farmer's Daughter on Fairfax just south of Beverly Bl. It's right across the street from the Farmers' Market, a fun tourist attraction and CBS Studios. You might want to call the latter to see if they will be filming something interesting you might want to attend that day. It's also a short ride to Hollywood, the Beverly Center and Beverly Hills. As for Janice...shame, shame - an L.A. native who doesn't know that Venice, Pacific Palisades and Hollywood are parts of Los Angeles city not separate cities. Just ask Dick Riordan, he'll tell you that he's mayor of those "areas" of the city of Los Angeles. For any further info just E-mail me directly.