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I've never been to California. We are planning a trip at the end of June. Most of our trip will consist of Carlsbad and San Diego but we want to take a day trip to LA. We would like to make the most of our trip and we are traveling with a 14 year old girl. We thought about a hop on hop off tour bus but there are so many mixed reviews I don't know what to do. It's a little overwhelming. Our trip is only 7 full days so we are doing Sea World, SD Zoo and safari park, day trip to LA, and we aren't sure what else. Pleeeeeeze make some suggestions. The more research I do the more confused I become. Disney was a breeze to plan compared to this trip lol.
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We did a guided tour when we visited LA for the day a few years ago. I don't remember which one now, but it started in Hollywood, by the then Kodak Theatre (I can't remember its current name and we were only there in December ) so we checked out that area first, then the tour took us through places like Beverley Hills, we visited the La Brea Tar Pits and the Hollywood Bowl, saw the city centre, visited the Farmers Market for lunch and we loved the food there, and we also saw the area of the city where its history started. Again, I don't remember the name, but it gave us a really good overview of the city in a day. I think it started at something like 8:30am, so it was an early start, and it finished around 4:00pm, but we eally enjoyed that.
We have 3 days to spend in LA area, so we're doing Universal, a beach day, and one day in Hollywood. We're doing a bus tour through Starline. It seems like the most reputable. Few years ago my friend and I were in LA for one day and did a tour with a small company who was on Hollywood Blvd handing out flyers and offering deals. We did it...and were disappointed to find a van with it's roof cut off. Pretty ghetto. The tour was fine and we enjoyed ourselves, but definitely not something I'd want to take my kids in!
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We go at the end of June. Will let everyone know what we decide and how it goes I think we will go with the starline hop on hop off. They seem to have the best reviews. Thanks everyone
Just got home from our California trip. We decided to do 1 day in L.A. I have to be honest it was probably our least favorite of all things that we did. L.A. was pretty nasty in my opinion and in some parts kind of scary. We did the hop on hop off tour (you don't need to purchase until you get there by the way and we found a coupon for $6 off per person). We bought the 24 hour pass. The parking garage was hard to find and we accidently got into the wrong one so no parking validation and we had to pay $20 but we weren't moving it for $7.00. The Starline tours is set up on the sidewalk, this is where we purchased our tickets. The man selling the tickets wasn't very helpful, he gave us a map and suggested we do the yellow and red lines since we were only doing the 24 hour. I asked him if the stops were signed where you board and he said no, another lady told me they were clearly marked (they were both right) I also asked where we should avoid, apparently more gang activity near the purple line and in the center areas of the red line but you don't really go into that area unless you are wondering around.
Here is what we did:
We got there about 9:30 or 10 am. Hollywood Blvd was packed with people trying to get you to take tours, they were annoying. We decided to get on the bus instead of visiting the Chinese Theater and looking around on the Walk of Fame. We found out this may have been a mistake.
We sat on the bottom of the bus because the top was pretty full. This was the 2nd mistake. Make sure you sit on the top if you want to see anything, and if you have long hair pull it back or you will look like you have dreads LOL.
Another must make sure you have a camera that shoots quickly and has a good zoom or you will have a bunch of blurry pics. The bus doesn't slow down at the sites it just drives through. There are various stops on the line where you can stop. Our driver blew right through the 1st one after that they kind of pull over and if you want off you stand up (quickly) and they will let you off.
Our 1st stop that we decided to do was #7 which is the Rodeo Dr. stop. The bus drives down Rodeo drive and tells you they can't stop there but it will drive 5 minutes over to the next stop to let you out. The stop is right next to the city hall and you wall about a mile to get back to Rodeo drive. It was getting hot and we were getting hungry (we packed our backpack with lunch which was a good idea unless you want to spend a fortune to eat). We got lucky catching the next bus, it was sitting there. This stop is also the stop where you switch from the red line to the yellow line. We switched to the yellow and were immediately on our way.
Our next stop that we decided to take was Santa Monica Pier, everything in between just looked to nasty and rough to stop at except maybe the Beverly Hills Hotel where the Oscars are held (we opted to skip, the hotel looked kind of rinky dink compared to what I guess I had imagined Oscar worthy). I think the stop at the pier was 56 or 57 and it is also where you reboard. It was very foggy and when you step off of the bus there were a lot of homeless people lying around on the ground at the "park." They didn't approach us. We walked out the pier, my dd is a fan of Forrest Gump and this is where Tom Hanks sat on the pier in the movie, it is also the location where Bay Watch was filmed. We had appetizers at Bubba Gump. The pier is probably the best place to eat on the tour.
We really wanted to visit Venice Beach it is on the green line but we didn't want to do the entire line. There was another kiosk for Starline on the pier so we asked our best option. This lady was very helpful. She suggested we get on the green line stop at the stop at the beginning of the boardwalk (I can't remember the number but the map is clear) so this is what we did (the bus driver informed us that it wasn't the "heart of the action") but we told him we wanted to walk the boardwalk. Be aware if you go here. Everyone wanted $1.00 to take pictures haha, some man wanted us to contribute to his marijuana use, people will bother you to buy stuff. Hold on to your belongings. I really enjoyed the different culture that is sooo far from my comfort zone, it was entertaining to say the least. The bus driver had told us where we needed to catch the bus. He told us to turn on Windward (I think) and go to the next stop across the road. This didn't feel like the safest place to be but there were still a lot of tourist around. We had a hard time locating the stop but luckily we saw the bus and he saw us and waited. (the stop to get on the green line at the top of the pier in Santa Monica there was a wait of about 20-25 mins for the bus). I think we got lucky catching the bus to go back to the yellow line without a wait.
We transfered back to the yellow line (another 35-30 minute wait) and rode it back to the red line without getting off (trust me there was nothing to see). We transfered back to the red line at the "Rodeo Dr" stop.
We only had to wait about 10 mins at the transfer stop. We got back on the red line. Here is where the trip went downhill for us. We decided the only other 2 stops that we wanted to do was Pinks hotdog stand and stop number 15 which where you are supposed to be able to see the Hollywood sign I'll tell you more about that in a minute.
The farmer's market stop would have been good if you want to shop but it was getting late for us, also the Berra Tar pit is near the end so if you want to do these 2 things it might be best to skip something else.
Okay, now our mess. I really, really wanted to go to Pink's. It was in a very scary area (we didn't know this when we got off). The hotdogs weren't all that. We ordered ate and went back to the stop (it is not marked here and is next to a parking lot but it is the same place you get off). I believe there was a drug deal or some kind of something happening in the parking lot. I was very uncomfortable here. We had to wait nearly 30 minutes to reboard the bus here and there were no more tourist around. So here we stood 3 very touristy, out of place people standing on a corner the sun starting to go down. DO NOT stop here it was soooo not worth the time it took!!!!!!! But you will have a hard time getting a pic of Pinks if you don't because it is down another street and you pass it before you know it on the bus. We didn't feel safe here at all!!!!!!!! When we got on the bus and started to show our ticket (oh yea you have to show your tickets everytime you board) the bus driver hurried us on and said not to worry about it "safety comes first" not real sure what he meant by this, traffic safety or crime.
So now it was getting late and we were a little unnerved at this point. We get to stop 15 the "Hollywood" sign stop. We get to the stop and the bus driver says he wouldn't suggest getting off here because it was about 12 blocks from the last stop which is also the 1st stop of the tour. He also said it wasn't a pleasant walk. After our experience at Pinks we were afraid to get off. A few people got off anyway. Well guess what you are really no where near the sign anyway. You would have to walk down any number of roads to get a very far away look at it but at least you can get a pic if you have a good zoom. The area wasn't as bad as the Pinks area and I wish we would have gotten off. There were lots of people around and you are on the Walk of Fame but it would've have been a long walk. I would think there were probably a lot of pick pockets too so just keep stuff close. We arrive back to the beginning quite disappointed because we didn't get to see more than a glance of the famous sign. Oh well. And now it was dark close to 8:30 or 9 pm. It was very hard to get good pictures of the hand prints at the Chinese Theater and the stars on the Walk of Fame. Also, couldn't get very good pics of the theater so take them in the morning before you leave.
Overall. I'm glad we did it once and it was the best idea to take the bus and not try to drive (the people are nuts when it comes to driving). I wouldn't do it again. Not all stops have signs but I think most of the main stops do. Plan on it being an all day thing. Take snacks. Ride on top of the bus. Don't plan on getting off and on at every stop. Plan on waiting at the stops for at least 20 minutes or more which eats up a lot of your time so plan your stops based on things you really want to do. Realize there are some bad areas. You will see lots of homeless people. You will get to see interesting things. Plan on walking quite a bit if you get off. If you really want to shop get off at the farmers market stop. If you have a daughter who loves American Girl Dolls there is a store that looks quite large at this stop. If you want to see the Hollywood sign make sure you get off at stop 15 but be aware you will not be close at all at least not from the red line. I'm not sure if the purple line would get you any closer but remember I was told by an employee (who said not to tell that he said this) that there was a lot of gang activity along the purple route and really didn't even hear mention of the route on the bus. If you are going to do a tour I would suggest the Starline tour. They were pretty nice for the most part and most of them were helpful. Also, in L.A. a lot of people and I mean a lot of people do not speak English not even the employees. The attendant in the garage couldn't speak English, just a few words, it was very hard to communicate and understand. Get a coupon for the tour it was $44.00/person without it. Make sure you don't lose your ticket or you won't get back on the bus. Make sure you know what time buses stop running in certain areas. The traffic going into and out of LA is horrible plan for this. It took us about an hour longer than we expected. It is worth doing once. Have fun and be watchful of your surroundings.
Last edited by scmiller777; 07-01-2013 at 05:43 PM..
Sorry it was not what you hoped for..
Now you know why we left California 25 years ago
We are pretty familiar with Orange county & LA as my grandparents lived near "the farmers market" & CBS" & we spent our childhood going all over the area but it has really gone downhill since then.. We had just been to LA a few months back when my Mom passed away & the service was up next to Griffith park.. What I saw on the way was very sad not at all what I remember.. Don't have ant desire to ever go back..
Sorry it was not what you hoped for..
Now you know why we left California 25 years ago
We are pretty familiar with Orange county & LA as my grandparents lived near "the farmers market" & CBS" & we spent our childhood going all over the area but it has really gone downhill since then.. We had just been to LA a few months back when my Mom passed away & the service was up next to Griffith park.. What I saw on the way was very sad not at all what I remember.. Don't have ant desire to ever go back..
We were still glad we did it but it wouldn't be something I would want to do again. I can't imagine why they have let it run down so much. It was really shocking that they didn't keep their streets cleaner and in better shape. I guess I am from an area that prides itself on the beauty of it's surroundings. On the other hand I loved Carlsbad!!!!! It was so nice there and San Diego was good too. LA was the only place we really didn't care for. We had an awesome vacation in Cali and I do want to visit again at some point. There were some really beautiful areas. We loved the San Diego Safari and enjoyed the zoo, as well as Sea World, and Lego Land.
To clear a few things up... Having grown up in the Midwest and moved to LA 11 years ago to work... LA is a huge area with great diversity as with many cities there are nice areas and those that are less desirable. Also since we don't get much rain here, once thing I noticed when moving here are nice areas are even dirty since we don't have nature to help clean off buildings and soot... Things just don't stay new and clean looking as long unfortunately. There also is a wide diversity of culture out here.. Which is reflected throughout the town.
Next when people refer to LA it's really the while county not just the city. To be honest the city is where people work. Not much else.
What to do in LA for one day?
1. The hoping/off bus gives a nice tour of the cliche LA and Hollywood, rodeo drive, etc... Group on and living social have deals often. Hollywood has turned around in the past 11 years, much better than it was, but with tourist come panhandlers, people dressed in costumes wanting tips for photos, and a bit more dirt and grime. But it's sill fun to go see the "stars" and Hollywood. You can see the sign from Hollywood and highland shopping plaza, there is a viewing area. It is NOT light up at night!
2. There are many fantastic museums in town, near 3rd & fair fax where there is an outdoor mall and a "farmers" market area there are several popular museums in the area... Peterson automotive, la brea tar pits, modern art museum, etc. all great places to visit. The museum of tolerance is a great education experience, I highly recommend it... But it's not open Saturdays I believe.
3. The beach... There are tons of beaches out here that offer different things... Santa Monica has a pier with rides and close by are restaurants and shopping... But it's crowded and busy. Long beach is nice and clean, has some great places to eat and a nice aquarium and even a harbor boat tour.
4. There are numerous amusement parks ranging from Disneyland, knotts berry farm, universal studios, six flags. Universal studios is perfect for one day, it gives you a real feel of Hollywood and film production. Not far from there is Burbank where several studios are...you can see them on the outside but most, although a few, don't offer tours. Burbank is a lovely city to visit for dining and shopping.
Enjoy your visit to California. You may want to just check out San Diego more as well. The gas lamp district is fun to walk and eat. Their is little Italy with some great Italian food. And some great beaches as well.
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) so we checked out that area first, then the tour took us through places like Beverley Hills, we visited the La Brea Tar Pits and the Hollywood Bowl, saw the city centre, visited the Farmers Market for lunch and we loved the food there, and we also saw the area of the city where its history started. Again, I don't remember the name, but it gave us a really good overview of the city in a day. I think it started at something like 8:30am, so it was an early start, and it finished around 4:00pm, but we eally enjoyed that. 
Oh well. And now it was dark close to 8:30 or 9 pm. It was very hard to get good pictures of the hand prints at the Chinese Theater and the stars on the Walk of Fame. Also, couldn't get very good pics of the theater so take them in the morning before you leave.
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