We're planning a vacation to CA in July and will be staying in San Diego, then Cambria, then San Francisco. On our way to Cambria, we're planning on making a stop in LA. We're certain we want to visit the tar pits and hope to grab lunch while we're there. Would also like to check out Malibu before we head back on the road to Cambria. Any suggestions on how to best spend a few hours (maybe 4-5) in LA? We will of course have a car. Thanks!

Well if you are at the La Brea Tar Pits, Melrose Avenue for shopping, and the Farmers Market in Fairfax for lunch are not that far away.

Do I understand that you want to drive from San Diego to Cambria w/ a 5 hour break in LA. That will be a loooooong haul.

The Getty on the 405 Freeway no longer requires a reservation. I recommend it more for the gardens, cafe and views than the collections.

It might take you 5 hours just to drive through LA!

Curious

The La Brea tar pits were a huge disappointment to me. I'd skip them if I were you. Google a photo of the place and that's about as good as it gets, IMHO.

San Diego to San Francisco is a long haul. LA traffic is a bear, so I'd suggest Malibu or the Westwood area or Sunset Blvd/Bel Air/Beverly Hills Hotel area if you must stop. Otherwise, I'd drive by.
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I would highly recommend visiting the Getty museum in Malibu. The museum has a decent large restaurant. They still required reservation when we went last year. www.getty.edu/museum/about.html
The large Getty museum is also nice with a great restaurant and view over LA. I still prefer the one in Malibu.

We used to live a block away from the La Brea tarpit which is good for elementary school kids show & tell. The nearby Farmer's market is connected to newest outdoor mall in LA called the Grove which is built like a movie set of an ideal town USA with a trolley to the farmer's market. Food in farmers market is not cheap by any means despite its name and the crowd is boring.

The Sunset Plaza on Sunset has more interesting restaurants for crowd watching especially in the evenings. Our teenage daughter also enjoys the beautiful crowd at the Ivy on Robertson. Melrose is good if you're into the alternative rebel scene but it's not necesarrily ideal for everyone.

I agree with the spend the night in LA advise and split the trip. If you do the Getty, consider driving down to the bottom of the hill at Sunset and have lunch or dinner at Gladstones 4 Fish. On the ocean at Malibu, good stuff and affordable.

stumpf: I used to love Gladstones especially during high tide, but the last two visits have been dismal so we stopped going there. I find it more exciting to go there for dinner than for lunch.

My reply would depend on who "we" are. If you're traveling with a couple of young boys, then the Tar Pits & the Page Museum next door might be the highlight of their trip.
Otherwise I'd vote to get off the 405 at the Getty Center, have lunch and enjoy the city view, then drive out to Malibu and continue on up the coast.

The first thing you need to know if you’re driving through LA is this; ask anyone in LA how far away something is and they will always look at their watch and say, “if you leave now it’ll take __ mins or hours.“
If you leave San Diego about 8:30 to 9:30 am on a weekday, traffic won't be horrific.
(Don't try to leave too early b/c you'll hit San Diego/ Orange county traffic- 8:30 is the earliest.) You'll make it to the tar pits in late morning. If you want to go to Malibu, then add a little less than an hour to drive of something like 30 miles. Stay in Malibu until after 6 or 6:30 and plan on getting to Cambria at night.

Keep in mind that if you choose to skip Malibu you‘ll be seeing some nice beaches on the drive up the coast . I agree with the others about La Brea.

I would want to get out of LA by 3:30, 4pm at the very latest. You’ll be through most of the worst of the LA freeways when you’re on Wilshire Blvd (Tar Pits) or Malibu but the freeways are still parking lots if you leave at the wrong time.

Now, if you’re planning on leaving on a Saturday or Sunday, forget all the above. Consult a psychic.