Hi All,

Four of us girls are driving up from LA to SFO. We have alot planned in the middle but we only want to spend about a half day at most in LA before heading north. There is so much to see! What do you recommend to so we can say that we "were there". Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Blvd, (passing on the Hollywood sign), etc...

Thanks, Kim

Less than half a day? From the 405 (better yet from PCH) take Sunset Blvd east and cruise Beverly Hills. Then the sidewalk of stars in Hollywood. After that maybe 101 north to I5 north.

What time do you arrive and start your "half day"? Might seem like a silly question but traffic is a big factor. What day of the week?

Why don't you try to book one of those half day tours ahead of time? In about 4 hours, they'll take you all over the city to see the highlights, including a drive down Rodeo Drive and around some "stars homes" in Beverly Hills, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Chinese Theatre, and the old Mexican section.
Are you all stopping to see the Hearst Castle in San Simeon on your drive north? THat is well-worth the stop!

Santa Monica, Venice, Getty Center, Hollywood, and a studio tour (I prefer Warner Brothers).

Hi All!

Thanks for the suggestions so far! We are picking up the rental car around 9 am Thursday morning and I wanted to head out of town early afternoon. We are headed to San Luis Obisbo for the night and then Hearst Castle (the reason for the trip in the first place) Friday morning.

I've been told it is 45 miles from SLO to Hearst Castle. Should I plan an hour travel time or longer. I was planning on 10 am entrance time - also does that mean you get on the bus at 10:00 to get up to the castle or you are up there by 10:00. Anyone know? If it is hot, I'd rather go earlier in the day.

I appreciate the information!
Kim

Personally, if you're not spending more than 3 or 4 hours, you can't see much of anything. Maybe run up to Venice Beach and have a bite on the Boardwalk. The LA metro area is enormous.

mrwunrfl's ideas are not bad except for one thing: From LAX, you don't get PCH coastal views heading north until Santa Monica. To take this driving tour (which will take an hour or more), the easiest route will be I-405 north to I-10 west to PCH (CA-1) north. Follow up to Sunset, then that will wind you into Beverly Hills (it's a LONG drive and VERY twisty). You can follow Sunset all the way to the US-101 west (north?) on-ramp (heading to Ventura), and that will give you a taste of LA in all her variety. But this is barely a hint of a taste....

Is your tour time at 10 am? If it is you should get there early. Maybe an hour or so before. They have a nice visitor's center there that you could check out before the tour starts.They bus you up to the castle from the visitor's center. At least that is what they did they last time we went about 4 years ago. We did an early tour and it lasted about an hour and 1/2 I think and it did get warm so layer yourselfs and wear good shoes for the walk around the castle. What tour are you taking? As far as LA in half a day, you might not be able to see what you want. I would head up the coast and go to Venice and Malibu. Venice boardwalk will give you enough to make your head spin. If you drive through LA to the beach you can see Beverly Hills anyway.
Good luck and have a fun trip.

When we went in April, our reserved time was the time of our tour. But we were instructed to arrive approximatlely 45-50 minutes ahead for the shuttle up. We actually arrived about 90 minutes early, and they bumped us up to an earlier tour. Do stay for the movie, either before or after your tour. It's a bit of good press, but it is very well done.

From the car rental I'd drive north on Lincoln Blvd through the marina and Santa Monica, head north on the coastal route 1 to see some of Malibu, turn right on Sunset Boulevard and take it to Sepulveda, go north to the Getty Center for lunch. Afterwards a quick shopping trip to Rodeo Drive and maybe some sightseeing around Bel Air, then the 101 freeway northbound to San Luis Obispo.

It would be nice to stay in L.A. until about 7:30 when the traffic dies down, the sunset drive up the coast is very nice and you'd be arriving late in San Luis Obispo (11pm) but so what?

The drive time is probably 1hr 10 min from SLO to Hearst.

Are you crazy. The only thing you are going to see is the 405 freeway. Either add to the time you can be in LA or just forget it.

clark: I thought about doing the non-freeway route, and the problem is that the way to PCH is not particularly clearly marked. But Kim, if you'd like to try it:

-- Leave rental lot, get on Sepúlveda Blvd going north. Get into the leftmost lane immediately to follow Lincoln Blvd. north (which splits off from Sepúlveda).

-- Follow Lincoln through Venice, Marina del Rey (WARNING: these are the ugliest parts of the cities involved-- Lincoln is a purely commercial street) up into Santa Monica. Turn left on Colorado.

-- Follow Colorado to Ocean. The Santa Monica Pier is straight ahead; if you want to try to park and walk around, fine. Otherwise, take a left then an immediate right to get onto PCH. Sunset will be about 5-7 minutes up, and Malibu maybe another 15.

But my gut feeling is that if you don't want to spend more than 4 hours in LA, why bother? I mean, it's only the largest city on the West Coast-- no big deal....

I agree that the time you have to "see" LA is too tight. But, if you want to visit just one area there, I'd agree with the Sunset Blvd route: a drive-by of Rodeo Drive is enough to get a feel for it, then a quick look at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and a sneak peek at the Bel Air mansions. UCLA is there, too, if you like campus life, and the Westport area right near it for a bite to eat.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I've been to LA a few times now and for this trip, I want to have time to spend driving up the coast, Hearst Castle, etc.. So perhaps the half day tour will give my friends a nice tease of LA so they know what there is to come back for.

Thanks for the explicit driving directions! I need to get a map but these are great ideas to give to my friends for them to choose from!

Happy summer!
K

In addition to buying a good map, I'd spend some time using Mapquest to plot out your moves. It will tell you exactly where to turn when, distances, driving times, etc., and could save time trying to figure out where you are on the map or negotiating your way in/around Beverly Hills which has some one-way streets.

The problem with the suggestions about going to Beverly Hills are twofold: If you're not familiar with the area, you could easily get lost. And Beverly Hills is not close to the freeways. You'll spend 30 minutes getting there from the 405 and another 30 minutes getting back to the 405. That's a big chunk of your half day.

Just a caution re: Mapquest or any other web-based service like it. The times I've used it, I've received directions that may have been the most direct route "as the crow flies", but took me through some very unpleasant neighborhoods and had me turning every block or two. I prefer a route that is easier to follow, and through safe neighborhoods.
I digress-- but once, going into downtown Baltimore in the evening, we went through the worst neighborhood I've ever been in. Once at the hotel, they couldn't believe the route I'd been given on-line, which had us take an early exit off the freeway and wind through several very dilapidated streets, literally with drunks pounding on our car doors. This was when it was just me (Mom) and my teenage daughter, who was starting college at Johns Hopkins U. Now I'm more famiiar with that city and know there's a much easier, safer and more direct way to downtown Baltimore from the airport, and I'm amazed every time I see that exit I took the first time!.