Want to spend 3 nights in LA area. end May.New to US.Will be driving from San Diego.Will visit Universal Studio,Disneyland ,Holywood,some of the beaches near LA if time permits.Will fly from LA international airport to San Fran on fourth day.Looking for accomodation in an area which will be easy to reach and not very far from the LA airport.i thought of Anaheim but it too far from all attractions except Disneyland.Any suggestion?Please help.

Anaheim is as central to your distant destinations as anyplace. If your LA days are week days you are going to be fighting serious traffic during peak hours. As this sounds like a family vacation, you will be able to use HOV lanes and save some time.

If you stay at one of the LAX area beaches: Manhattan or Redondo, you are about an hour from Anaheim, Universal and Hollywood. San Diego is a couple hours from LAX or Anaheim.

Have you already bought your tickets from LA to SF? If not consider Burbank as it is closer to Universal/Hollywood and a little easier to manage. I suggest the following:
Drive San Diego to Disneyland, stay at an on property resort (if possible) or Anaheim hotel 1 night;
Drive to Burbank and stay at hotel near Universal 2 nights (or drive to Hollywood and stay two nights there).
Fly out of Burbank.
If LAX is already certain, then I would still do one night at or near Disneyland and then move to a beach hotel. You will have a long drive to Hollywood/Universal but you could squeeze both into one day (you do not need much time in Hollywood) and then spend a day at the beach.

Flights out of Burbank are not only double the price (64 And 120) but take 4 hours to reach San Fran.
Can I ask what are HOV lanes.How long will it take to reach LAX if I start from Anaheim on a Monday around 3 pm?

Can you suggest any one centrally located place for 3 nights Anaheim or any other? That will save me from packing every morning.
It is a family holiday of 3 grownups

Check out the Hollywood Liberty Hotel on Orchid Avenue adjacent to the high-end Hollywood/Highland Mall with the posh Renaissance Hotel and the Kodak Theatre. Parking is free in their lot. It is quiet at the end of a cul-de-sac and the place is old and rustic like some of the inns in Europe. Room 201 is large with 2 double beds, separate kitchen with dining area, sink, coffee maker, micro wave, dinnerware and silverware. Bathroom has hair dryer. You can go to the convenience store across the street to buy shampoo and lotion if you don't like theirs. Breakfast is coffee, tea, juice and croissants, front desk is pleasant. We are two mature ladies and had no problem walking at night in the area.

Flights out of Burbank may be more expensive, but unless they're not non-stop, it's actually a shorter flight from Burbank to SFO than from LAX to SFO.

Is there a shuttle from hotels near Disneyland which will take me to LA international Airport?

Binayak: I'd suggest looking into a hotel right next to LAX airport. That'll place you pretty much in the center of things... one hour drive southward to Disneyland, one hour drive northward to Universal Studios, Hollywood. You will also be right at the beach and can take Sepulveda along the beach and access any number of beach towns: Venice, Manhattan Beach, etc to the south; Santa Monica, Malibu to the north.

The hotels there cover a whole range of prices. If you could give us an idea of how much you want to spend, we could give you names of several hotels there.

Otherwise, I'd suggest looking no further than Culver City which would put you slightly north of LAX.

There's not much difference flying out of Burbank or LAX for SFO. It's just a few minutes difference in flight time. However, Burbank itself is too far north to stay for your purposes.

Hello,

What does everyone think about staying in the Pasadena area for 2 nights to go to Disneyland and Universal Studios/Hollywood, then spend the last night nearer to LAX at one of the nearby beach cities? Of course, the practicality of moving to a beach hotel the last night might depend on how your actual time breaks down. Are you looking at something like:

Day 1: Disneyland
Night 1 - ?
Day 2: Universal Studios/Hollywood
Night 2 - ?
Day 3: Beaches
Night 3 - ?
Day 4: LAX to SFO

If yes, then moving to a beach city for night 3 would make sense.


It's a bit of a trek to get to Disneyland from Pasadena, but the freeways taken might be less congested (especially if you avoid Downtown LA) and especially depending on the day and time of day you're traveling. I'll admit that I'm not very familiar with 605 traffic patterns since I'm a SFV to Westside commuter (101, 405 & 10), so this might be an utterly ridiculous suggestion. Anyone else more knowledgeable about the traffic to/from Pasadena and Disneyland? I just know that my recommendation would be to avoid the 405 & 101, if possible.

The trip to Universal City from Pasadena, on the other hand, should be relatively easy.

Btw, HOV lanes are High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, also commonly known as carpool lanes or diamond lanes. Those lanes WILL help with your commute time since you'll be able to use them.

We just came back from our stay at the Holiday Inn Express -- Hermosa Beach ... very nice reasonbly priced rooms. Close enough to walk to the beach, includes free parking (this is an issue when near the beach). Easy drive up to LAX via PCH and on the south side of city, easy to visit Long Beach or Anahaim.

I have now a choice of three places.
Anaheim,Culver city or a motel close to LA international airport.

I am driving from San Diego

Will visit Disneyland,Universal Studio and Hollywood. beaches as last priority.

Fly from LA to SFO on the 4th day.

What is the verdict?

My choice would be one of the suite hotels in or near Manhattan Beach. (SpringHill Suites, TownPlace Suites, etc.) These are close to LAX,the freeway and the beach. Most serve complimentary breakfast.

Stay away from any LAX hotels on Century Blvd. or in Inglewood.

THE best travel advice I have ever received is, when in LA, stay in Santa Monica. It's within easy freeway travel of everywhere and, because of it's European-style layout, if you've been driving all day, you can park up and stroll around in the evening, making use of its numerous bars, shops and restaurants.

Santa Monica is at the far edge of the most traffic-congested part of the LA Basin. Since your itinerary isn't focused on the westside, I don't think it's a good choice.

There's an Ayres hotel near the 405 at Rosecrans that might work out if you're looking for a more central location. I might even look farther east (Pasadena) or south (Torrance) since you can avoid the entire 405 mess north of the "South Bay curve".