Logistics for Long Beach/LA area
 

Hello!

I am hoping one (or more) of you can help me. I'm not very familiar with the LA area.

In September, I'll be driving to the LA area to drop off my car (it is being shipped) and I will later be flying out of LAX. I expect to have a half day or so to drive around before I hand over my car, then at least another day to shop/sight-see before I leave. Here are my questions:

1. I have to drop off my car at 220 West Manville St, Rancho Dominguez. Is that anywhere near an area I might actually like to stay in? Right now I'm thinking Long Beach might be my closest good option. After I drop off the car I'll need to get a cab (unless public transportation is a reasonable option) back to the hotel and then, eventually, a shuttle to LAX. I'll want to be able to walk (or take public transportation) to do something until it is time for me to head to the airport. Would getting a hotel by the blue metro line help much?

2. Any suggestions on things to do while I'm in that area that I can get to without a car? I've been to Rodeo Drive and Disneyland before. I'll also pass on beaches since I get that at home. I don't want to spend a lot of money so I'd either like some reasonably priced things to see or some reasonably priced shopping (I'm not that big of a shopper, in general, but selection can be limited in my home state). Is there a not-too-expensive place to stay that is walking distance to a shopping center and still a reasonable distance from my car drop off and the airport?

3. How much time would I have to allow for a shuttle to the airport to get there from Long Beach? I'm currently torn between booking a 9:30 flight home (which I suspect would require a ridiculously early shuttle pick up) or one around noon (which get me home a little later than I'd prefer).

Thanks very much for any help!

Karen

Karen
1. Rancho Dominguez is mostly industrial and not a place you'd want to stay. Long Beach would be fine but if it was me, I'd get closer to LAX. However there is alot to do in Long Beach, the Queen Mary, the Aquarium, you can take the Red Trolley from downtown to Belmont Shores and walk around on 2nd street, look in the shops and enjoy a nice dinner. A cab from Rancho Dominguez to Long Beach shouldn't be too costly.

2. I was originally going to suggest that you stay in Manhattan or Hermosa Beach but you said you didn't want to do the beach thing. But if you want to be close to LAX, the beach is where you will be. If you stayed in Manhattan Beach, there is Manhattan Village Mall at Sepulveda and Rosecrans. It's a smaller mall but nice. There is also the Plaza El Segundo which is like an upscale strip mall. Some nice stores and restaurants. Even though you don't want the beach, you could do some shopping at one of the malls and then go to the area by Manhattan Beach Pier which also has nice restaurants and shops. September is one of the nicest months at the beach and no matter how much I see the ocean, I love having a nice dinner with a ocean view. The cab to Manhattan Beach would be a little more than to Long Beach but in the morning you wouldn't even need a shuttle to LAX. Just take a cab and you'll be there in about 20 minutes. Anyplace else you would stay besides the beach area, would be very expensive to get to after you drop off your car and you'd be up before the sun to get to the airport on time.

3.Long Beach to LAX takes 1/2 hour without traffic so during rush hour I'd give myself an hour. I would imagine Super Shuttle would pick you up earlier than 7:30am depending on how many others they are transporting. Even if they were picking you up at 6am, I'd do that rather than get home later.

The dropoff location is in an industrial near North Long Beach/Compton. If you want to save a bit of money, you could take a cab to the Del Amo Blue Line Station (less than 3 miles away) and then take the Blue Line.. I actually might suggest going to Downtown LA rather than Long Beach.

There would be a lot more to do for free downtown, plus you can take the Flyaway Bus from LAX Union Station rather than a Supershuttle. See what you can find for your date through either Expedia, Hotwire or Priceline. (For some reason Expedia gives better pricing that going to some hotels direct)

I'd go for the later flight.

Supershuttle will probably want to pick you up 3 hours before your flight. I would lie and give them a time half hour earlier so it's two 1/2 hours ahead.

If you are on a budget suggest you cost out the price of cabs. Distances are longer than you think and they charge for wait time.

Here is a link for LB Yellow Cab. Not sure if they service this location but the rates will be similar

http://www.lbyellowcab.com/rates/

As far as places to stay, I looked on biddingfortravel and saw that someone in Aug used Priceline and got the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach for $55. In Manhattan Beach there is the Comfort Inn or the Residence Inn on Sepulveda which would be close to the shopping centers I mentioned. You can pay a little more and there is the Belmar in Manhattan Beach. Hermosa Beach also has more budget type hotels that get decent reviews. From Hermosa, you'd need a cab to get to the shopping centers in Manhattan. There is shopping in Hermosa but the stores are less upscale. I would check out the hotels in these areas on tripadvisor.

nlgb-I had thought about downtown LA but Karen seemed to want the earlier flight if possible. From downtown LA, she'd have to get a very early shuttle to LAX. I think it's all about which flight she wants.

I have paid $25 for a cab from my daughter's house in North Redondo to LAX so it would be less from Manhattan Beach. Looks like SuperShuttle from Long Beach to LAX runs around $30 and this is a shared van.

Wow, thanks for all the great information and advice! I guess I should also clarify, I love the beach, it just isn't a priority like it would be if I lived further inland. If I can stay near the beach and have good access to other things, I'm all for that.

mlgb - I hate to admit it but I'm not actually sure where "downtown" is in LA after looking at the map. I see Chinatown marked but nothing else specific (clearly I'm going to need a bigger map!)

Thanks, again, for all your help. If you have more thoughts, suggestions, those would be most appreciated, too. Because I'm driving across the country to LA, it's a little hard to plan exactly what time I'm going to arrive. I'll feel much better if I, at least, have a plan for where to stay and what to do once I get there!

Karen

If you use Downtown Los Angeles on Google Maps it will give you a starting point.

I guess I missed an earlier posting.

Things to see downtown that are free or nearly free (some may be closed on certain days)

Olvera Street
Chinese American Museum ($3 suggested donation)
FIDM Museum
Union Station
Little Tokyo (First Street)
Los Angeles City Hall (go up to the top of the tower) weekdays only
new Cathedral (inside is amazing)
Disney Concert Hall (you can walk around the outside for free, or visit the cafeteria. The concert hall itself is usually closed for rehearsals)
Central Library/Bunker Hill sculpture walk
Grand Central Market
Biltmore hotel public areas
MOCA and Japanese Museums have free admission on Thursday evenings and $10 or less the rest of the time

Check out the Downtown News for free outdoor activities (concerts, etc).

Thanks, mlgb, that's fabulous information! Most appreciated. You've pointed out so many things to do that I'm now considering adding a day on to my stay in the LA area. Right now the Redondo\Manhattan Beach area seems like a likely place for me to stay and then I can catch the Metro to visit things downtown. The Sculpture park sounds particularly exciting and I was happy to find it (or at least the library) on the transit map and near to a station. I also figure out where the Central Market is, relative to the Metro, and it looks like most of the other places you mentioned are on the transit map so I should be able to explore fairly easily. Thanks for all your fabulous help!

Aloha!

Karen

You're welcome.

Redondo Beach is not particularly easy to reach even with a car. I can't imagine using public transit.

Before you book a hotel try Google Maps you can actually ask for transit directions (when you select directions you'll see a little tram symbol to click).

Can you drop your car anywhere else besides Rancho Dominguez?

If you want to see downtown LA, then you should stay downtown. Getting from Redondo/Manhattan Beach to downtown will take at least an hour and a half and it's a combination of walking, bus and metro line. Go on Google map like mlgb suggested. It's not something I wouldn't want to do and the lines don't go through some of the best neighborhoods although I would say it's safe. You can get a room through Pricline in downtown for a good price and that might make up for the extra cab/shuttle fare. Just know that you will have an early shuttle time if you take the early flight and stay in downtown LA.

meant to say "It's not something I'd want to do".

Take a look at the Ayres Hotel, TownePlace Suites or SpringHill Suites in the Manhattan Beach/Hawthorne area. They are relatively convenient to the Metro Green line terminal, LAX and the beach. Some may have free shuttles to LAX. They are right off of the 405, so the cab ride from Rancho Dominguez shouldn't be too bad, either.

Get a rental car. Intown Long Beach car rental companies will pick you up. Hertz and Avis will let you return the car to LAX next day at no extra charge. Definitely decide to add a day to your visit if it is a Sat or Sun as traffic in the morning is very light and you can get out and see a lot. And you can stay wherever the heck you want instead of worrying about cab rides from Rancho Dominguez and shuttles to LAX etc. Lastly, it'll probably cost you about half of what cab rides and shuttles will run you, especially if you choose a hotel with low or no-cost parking.

And now the question becomes, what would you LIKE to do, see and experience for a couple of days instead of what CAN you logistically get around to.

divineMissM-I agree since the OP is going to stay an extra day, a car rental would be more convenient and less expensive. As far as what she wants to do, she already mentioned things on mlgb's list that interested her. I am assuming based on her poster name that she lives in Hawaii which is why seeing the beach areas wasn't that important.

She actually listed what she was interested in in her initial post (bullet #2) and I made suggestions that I thought fit her desires.

Your list was great.