ONE DY ONE NIGHT IN LA
 

Hey everyone,

My partner and I will be flying into LA from Aus, We land in LAX at 6am or something so will have a full day and night to spend before we fly off to Vegas,

I've done the Hollywood thing before so more interested in staying towards the beaches, Would Santa Monica be the best place to stay, would preferably like to be in walking distance to as much as we can, or catch cabs, would any specific area be best to be able to walk, sight see, restaurants and all that jazz?

Manhattan Beach is closer to LAX and less hassle than SM.

I have not been to Manhattan. But I really enjoyed SM in terms of restaurants, shopping, and walking around.

In terms of sightseeing, though- if you mean around LA, I did not find it a very convenient location for that. It could be different now, with the metro line.

The traffic between SM and LAX is often horrendous,

Santa Monica would be an excellent choice for a tourist. The place you want to visit would be 3rd Street Promenade. This street is where most of the restaurants, shops, and street performers are. This is an iconic place in L.A. and is safe to walk at night. There are also many quality lodging options in the area.

I agree with janisj except that I would say the traffic between SM and LAX is usually (rather than often) horrendous. Unless your day here is a Sunday, but then your drive back to LAX would be on Manic Monday.

I live in Manhattan Beach. There is no "sightseeing" per se (depending on what you mean) but loads of good-to-great restaurants and lots of shopping. Two miles away is Hermosa Beach with more restaurants, more shopping.

MB is nowhere near the size of SM in geography or population, and for a single day I'd say that's a good thing. The biggest drawback is the lack of moderately priced hotels close to the ocean. The best bet is:

http://www.theseaviewinn.com/

If you can splurge:

http://mb.shadehotel.com/

If you don't mind being 1-2 miles (but an easy walk) from the downtown center:

http://www.pacificahotels.com/thebelamar

Not clear if this is a layover or if you are spending the night.

Either way I prefer Manhattan Beach, although as Jean said the hotels are mostly not on the beach. You could rent a car and then your hotel options expand.

Thanks everyone,

We are staying the night,
I think Manhattan Beach will be the most feesbale option,

thanks again!