los angeles bus 445

[Cruisin' Chick]

Tommy's brings up memories of weekends at my UCLA dorm when someone suggests a Tommy's run (no jokes about the punniness potential here) -- but the one on Roscoe, not the one near SC. Lots of times at Cantor's (which isn't true kosher, btw) and even been to the Pantry (owned by previous mayor Riodan, I think).

 

Here's one LA memory that I will never forgot: just a few hours after becoming a married woman, we were on the way to the LAX Marriott to spend the night before flying to our honeymoon. My hubby asked the limo driver to make a stop in Marina Del Rey. There we watched our first sunset as a married couple. Over the Pacific Ocean.

[snoopy]

Rayz thanks for reporting back on your LA stay. I'm glad you had a great and safe trip! What maps did you find particularly helpful and where did you get them?

[rayz]

had detailed Rand Mcnally map of LA and also smaller maps from magazine sent to me from seemyla.com good metro maps too I should say that the tour we took of Hollywood, Downtown LA and the trip to Long Beach was by metro This was a good choice for those areas The last cruise day we went to Long Beach and rented a car to see Malibu , Santa Monica etc It was a Sunday and traffic seemed fairly light. Able to stay off the freeways and stuck to PCH and other smaller roads. We had about 8 hours and never really had to hurry much. Stopped in several different places with no problems. Busiest place was Santa Monica Pier and Promenade with lots of people everywhere.Went from here to LAX car rental and then shuttle to airport was very fast. Other than Flyaway bus and rental car shuttle bus we did not take other buses and I was glad because there schedules seemed not too convenient compared to Metro subway and train lines which come about every 10-15 minutes even at night. Poster above who says not to listen to me may need to reevaluate his opinion. I have traveled the world often doing similiar things that I did in LA. It is NOT that different from many other places and in fact I felt safer in LA than in many places in Europe such as Naples, Barcelona and even Rome. Often homegrown natives of cities do not seem to be aware of the best ways to see the sites of their own areas. Talk to travelers who are more experienced such as those on tripadvisor.com. Much better advice there for travelers wanting to get a feel for the places they visit. Sorry, but many posters here just do not understand that the cruise is only one part of the experience. Seeing the home ports CAN be done independently, inexpensively, and enjoyably with a combination of buses, subway, trains and occasional rental car. Do some studying, it pays off. Taking cruise ship tours in LA or Mexico would not have been nearly as enjoyable or exciting. The areas in LA served by subway and trains are very easy to tour using the the Metro. I do agree though that you need a rental car for the beach towns, Beverly Hills, Malibu etc due to time constraints and less reliable bus services.

[rayz]

Also eating at local popular restaurants is not our idea of touring a city had lots of great food on the ship We did see some of downtown LA on foot like Disney Hall and Dorothy Chandler but Hollywood was our main interest so we spent much more time there. Mexican area did not interest us as we were on our way to Mexico by cruise ship Once again Downtown LA is conveniently central for travel to Holywood and Long Beach for cruise travelers. The LAX airport hotels are in a less interesting area that is not as convenient for traveling to Hollywood or Long Beach unless you want very expensive cab rides back and forth which would be time consuming as well because of the greater distances to cover. Also many people complained about long waiting times for LAX hotel shuttle buses. We waited 10 minutes for Flyaway bus which allowed us to leave somewhat chaotic airport area quite quickly. Downtown Wilshire Grand Hotel was very nice, maybe we got one of the better rooms but many others at the hotel seemed quite happy. Was very quiet and we slept well.Morning red line trip to Hollywood was quick and easy especially after a Starbucks coffee at the hotel lower level. Posters here need to keep more of an open mind. There are many different ways to have a good time in a big city other than going to restaurants and bars. Do not knock local transportation that is safe,frequent, inexpensive and often more convenient. Once again though these plans do not apply as well to the west side and beach areas where it is better to have your own rental car in order to make the most of your time.

[Jana White]

All I can say to Rayz is that you certainly did not experience the LA that we natives LOVE and would not trade for the world. I understand your need to see it your way and respect that, but missing some of the great recommendations on this thread. Wow! Steve and CJW are assets to this site, they give clear, concise and caring posts and love LA just like I do. They have excellant ideas and taylor them to every kind of traveler. I thought I knew LA well, but they are experts in the most positive way possible. We are all glad you are safe and had a good time, but you do not know our fine city. And yes, I will agree that Downtown LA is safer than in Naples, but not Barcelona or Rome.

[rayz]

I do not disagree but I still believe that all the talk about how unsafe certain areas are was exaggerated. Downtown LA and Metro lines should not be avoided. For what we wanted to do it worked out very well. Hollywood was better than expected and was easy to get to and from on the red line. Likewise Long Beach was at the end of the blue line which did not take long. I have a better feeling about the metro as I am from a city which has a similiar subway/train metro and is widely used by all- rich and poor alike. I guess if you are not used to it it could be quite intimidating. There should be an extension of the LA metro to Santa Monica and a direct route to the airport. You do need a rental car for the western side of this huge city if you have time constraints. Metro is fine for Hollywood, downtown LA and Long Beach.

[rayz]

check out metroriderla and tripadvisor for other similiar ideas on touring LA in a short period of time It can be done if you study a little.

[critterchick]

There should be an extension of the LA metro to Santa Monica and a direct route to the airport.

 

Ain't that the truth! The taxi & limo lobby kept the Green Line (which you didn't use) from going all the way to the airport. Instead, it stops one mile short.

 

As for Santa Monica, there have been a number of efforts to get a light rail system in place. The NIMBY forces have kept that from happening.