LA to Miami Oct 19

[charlielou]

We are travelling with another couple in October on the Sojourn sailing from LA to Miami via the Canal, and would love to know if anyone who has sailed this route before, could recommend any must do trips.  We are visiting Cabo San Lucas, Huatulco, Puerto Chiapas, Puerto Quetzal, Puntarenas, Colon, Cartagena and Port Antonio in Jamaica.  Also, as we arrive in LA the afternoon before boarding and would like to see the highlights of the city, what would be the best way of doing this - prebooking a tour or hiring a taxi on the day?  Many many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[twodjs]

Highlights of the city would be much better with a pre-booked tour. LA is a HUGE city and taking a taxi would cost you a fortune! Also, unlike cities like London where those driving cabs are required to know all landmarks, in Los Angeles, most are probably using Google maps to find your destination, and many speak limited english. We lived there for 50 years. 

[saminina]

You're arriving from UK afternoon prior to departure?   Staying near LAX?  

 

My suggestion......choose between Santa Monica for the beach of it and Beverly Hills for the unique experience.   And I'd be changing hotel to stay in the chosen neighborhood.    IMO, best to pick a spot....any spot, rather than try to see too much.   The advise of post #2 is accurate.

[Isklaar]

Firstly, thank you very much for listing your ports. It makes it so much easier to respond to your post. 

 

We took this cruise in the opposite direction in 2015. We didn't stop at the Port Antonio. We didn't do much on this cruise, it was more of a 'ship is the destination' holiday for us after a frenetic year, we just wanted to relax. 

 

Cabo - we got off the tender walked around for 30 minutes and then returned to the ship. It was too touristy for us. Some of our friends did a whale watching tour instead which was well organised and ethical. That was a SB trip.

 

Huatulco - we walked around here for a couple of hours then went to a small beach.

 

Puntarenas - we went on the trip to a coffee plantation. The drive was about 60 minutes from the port, loved it. Costa Rica is an absolutely beautiful country.  None of our group of 6 had been to a coffee plantation before, so that was fun. There was a call at a small town on the way back to the ship for those who wanted to shop. 

 

Colon - stayed on the ship

 

Cartagena - we took a SB walking tour of the old city, went to a maritime museum, followed by the obligatory visit to an emerald shop, and then a brief coach tour around the sites of modern Cartagena. 

 

The other ports I don't remember what we did (if anything)> Will update when I've asked my partner. 

[tv24]

Los Angeles Ideas:  Unfortunately you will have just a few hours to see anything, so as the OP suggested, pick a cool area (Santa Monica, Venice, or West Hollywood, for example), stay in a hotel there and find a cool restaurant near your hotel for dinner.  Hopefully stroll around the area before or after dinner.  And that will be all you can do with your limited time.  Unfortunately you will spend time getting out of the airport and sitting in traffic on your way to your hotel.  Distances are great in LA, traffic is epic, and public transit is very limited.

[charlielou]

Thank you everyone for your most helpful replies.  With regard to choosing a hotel in the best area for sightseeing, we are already booked in at the Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey as we have taken the Seabourn Flight Package and this is the hotel they have booked us in.  Looks a lovely hotel but possibly too far away from where we would need to be!

Isklaar - thank you for your helpful port suggestions.

[saminina]

Well, there is only one Venice Beach.  If you like to walk, the hotel is not a bad location.

[2SailingNomads]

The Ritz is a good hotel and relatively close to the airport, (so long as you don't take the freeway as it will take 3 times as long as the side streets - I used to travel to Marina del Rey almost every week for business for many years and even late at night the freeway was a mess, but I am guessing transportation is included w/ your package so you'll be at the mercy of the assigned driver).  In addition to the recommendation above for Venice beach you could also head to Santa Monica - lots of good restaurants there, and is about 20 minutes away by car.