LA stay & tour

[pujro]

Evening all, we have a couple of days in LA before the cruise departs. First time in LA, so I've been trawling the net for tours and I'm just not sure what to go for. We'll be recovering from the 11 hour flight so would prefer a half day tour, and may even consider a helicopter tour. Any recommendations? General tips about staying in LA also welcome!

Thanks.

[happycruzer]

Hi Pujro...we're doing the same thing in a weeks time ! We decided on staying at Long Beach (Hyatt Regency Hotel) as our ship leaves from the Port of San Pedro and apart from doing a whale watching boat trip from the Marina in LB we have also booked a tour with http://www.sunseekertours.com to see the sights in Los Angelese. If you have time..http://www.visitlongbeach.com will send you a visitors guide..a really handy little booklet with lots of info on the area, I'm sure ours only took a week to arrive and we're in the UK too.

The Queen Mary is docked there too as well as an award winning aquarium, lots to see and do...have a look at the area it might be what your looking for.

 

Good luck

 

Happycruzer

[Bruin Steve]

Evening all, we have a couple of days in LA before the cruise departs. First time in LA, so I've been trawling the net for tours and I'm just not sure what to go for. We'll be recovering from the 11 hour flight so would prefer a half day tour, and may even consider a helicopter tour. Any recommendations? General tips about staying in LA also welcome!

Thanks.

 

I guess I can give a little general advice...but a lot depends on what...or how much...you want to see in your couple of days here...

 

When you say "a couple of days", are those "full days"--as in you're planing on staying two nights in a local hotel? Or are we talking something like getting here one day, spending the night and boardibng a ship for a cruise the next day?

 

First, you must remember that "Los Angeles" is a very big place...Think "London" now multiply that a time or two...It can literally take hours to traverse the metropolitan area by car...We actually have several mountain ranges that cut right through the city...Los Angeles squeezes through the canyons and passes, spreads over the mountains and picks back up on the other side...

 

Just from the port to Hollywood, for example, is about a 35 to 40 mile drive...and Hollywood is close to the center of the city...I live in the Northwestern part of the city and when I cruise, the trip to the port, for me, takes a good hour and a half--depending on traffic...

 

There is quite a lot to see here...and it's spread out across a fairly sizable area...In "a couple of days", you will have to pick and choose...and plan carefully...

 

I don't know of any helicopter tours...but there are several companies that do "bus tours"...The one the poster above recommended is about the only outfit doing them out of Long Beach...There are several that operate out of the West Side/Hollywood and have "pick-ups" from many West Side and Hollywood area hotels...

 

The typical LA tours they do stop at places like Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Sunset Strip and other very touristy sites in the Hollywood area...It's a decent rapid-fire intro to LA...but not exactly the way we locals like to do things...

 

As far as where to stay in LA. the prior poster's recommendation of Long Beach is perfectly fine...if your priorities are to relax...and to stay conveniently near the pier...Long Beach, itself, has some attractions--like the Queen Mary and the Aquarium--but you are really not seeing a whole lot of what most of us think are the better places to visit in LA...Of course, if your time is extremely limited, the above poster's plan works just fine...We would hope they'd return some other time with a little more time to spend...

 

My personal recommendation for where to stay (assuming you want to experience more of the city...and you have at least a little bit more time) is Santa Monica...it's about 10 miles NORTH of the Airport...30 miles north of the pier, on the beach and convenient to the sites of the West Side: Beverly Hills, The Getty Center Museum, the Getty Villa, Venice Beach Boardwalk, UCLA, etc. It's also one of the nicer towns that make up Greater Los Angeles...with a great walking/shopping/restaurant promenade, the "Third Street Promenade", a second great restaurant district, "Main Street", a wonderful, old fashioned Pier with amusement park rides and more...Staying their gives you access to a lot more...and more of the part of LA most people think of when they think LA...The drawback, of course, is that the morning you depart for your cruise, you have a 30 mile shuttle ride to the pier...The other drawback is that a "four" or "five-star" hotel in Santa Monica costs about 3 to 4 times as much as one in Long Beach...Of course, there are also some more modest and more reasonably priced ones there as well...

 

Santa Monica also happens to be the landing place of a large population of British expatriates...I've always heard that it draws them because it reminds them of England's seaside resort towns...

 

So, I guess among the questions is "how much actual time do you have?" and "Is there anything in particular that you've heard of that you'd like to see and do?"...

[kchownj]

Hi Steve,

 

We too will be arriving on Thursday about noon for a Saturday sailing on Celebrity. We are from NJ and don't plan on renting a car. We like good food and wine and also want to see some of LA. Also we are 50+ so don't need all of the club scene but might want to have a little nightlife. Would probably want to do something on Thursday afternoon/evening and would cerainly be up for a full day Friday. Plent of sea days to relax at the beginning of our cruise.

 

Any ideaa/suggestions hotels, restaurants and sightseeing would be a big help.

 

Thanks

[Bruin Steve]

Hi Steve,

 

We too will be arriving on Thursday about noon for a Saturday sailing on Celebrity. We are from NJ and don't plan on renting a car. We like good food and wine and also want to see some of LA. Also we are 50+ so don't need all of the club scene but might want to have a little nightlife. Would probably want to do something on Thursday afternoon/evening and would cerainly be up for a full day Friday. Plent of sea days to relax at the beginning of our cruise.

 

Any ideas/suggestions hotels, restaurants and sightseeing would be a big help.

 

Thanks

 

The tough part is being in LA without a car...Public transportation here is not like in most Eastern cities...and there isn't a single particular area that is the "heart" of everything...

A lot of that is why I recommend Santa Monica...It is very close to a lot of things...and Santa Monica itself has a lot of nice stuff...especially for a two-night visit...

 

Walking distance from the major hotels, you have the Santa Monica Pier, the Third Street Promenade and Palisades Park...What Third Street gives you is a nice, relaxed, adult night life--a stroll, some restaurants, the occasional street performers, people watching, etc. The climate is perfect--with cool ocean breezes in the summer...and the town is upscale...

 

I might suggest staying there (about 10 miles from LAX), maybe look into a cab back and forth to the Getty Center (LA's world class art museum) or to Beverly Hills or to the Venice Beach Boardwalk after checking into your hotel, then back to Santa Monica for an evening dinner and stroll on Third Street...The next day, perhaps you could take a bus tour in to the sights of Hollywood for that very touristy sightseeing day, then back to the hotel for another relaxing evening...Saturday morning, you check out of the hotel and get a shuttle down to the port...

 

Santa Monica has several high priced 4 and 5 star hotels: Loew's, Shutters, the Fairmont Miramar...It also has a few more reasonably priced and less fancy places: TraveLodge or Best Western on Ocean Avenue or the CalMar...Really depends on your budget and tastes...

 

Good luck...

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Check out this thread that I basically did for you all:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=517205

See if that gives you any further thougts, ideas, or suggestions...:confused: :D

CJW

[pujro]

Thanks to everyone for all the information, much appreciated. We stay two nights, so have a day and a half to enjoy/explore. Subsequently found out that we stay quite close to LAX, so Santa Monica sounds a great idea. Leaning towards an afternoon/evening in Santa Monica, coach tour - a couple of possibles here http://www.los-angeles-tours.us/ and dollars permitting a helicopter tour! http://adventurehelicoptertours.com/index.html

 

Cheers.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'm wondering if you can let us know why the helicopter tour? I can see someplace such as Hawaii (been on such a tour over Maui) where there's incredible scenery. But I've never thought LA would be something to see via air.

[pujro]

Good question! Not sure I have a logical answer, not having visited before.

It kind of caught my eye, as it's such a sprawling place. We rarely visit a place twice for tourism(especially long haul), so I thought why not? There are several companies doing them so I suppose there is demand, then again lots of $'s required. Probably end up having a walk and finding a nice restaurant instead!

[pujro]

Result! Got our tickets today and they've switched our hotel, we're now staying in Santa Monica. To be honest, until I read these posts, this news would have meant nothing, but now we feel really pleased about it.

Cheers Guys...

[pujro]

Hello again.

As I mentioned we're now staying in Santa Monica for a couple of nights. Thinking ahead, we're staying there Friday and Saturday night later in April, will we have to book restaurants in advance? Any recommended ones?

Cheers

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Hello again.

As I mentioned we're now staying in Santa Monica for a couple of nights. Thinking ahead, we're staying there Friday and Saturday night later in April, will we have to book restaurants in advance? Any recommended ones?

Cheers

Okay, now we're narrowing it down...

The great and wonderful thing about Santa Monica (which is one of the many reasons that BruinSteve and I recommend it to certain people) is that there are SO many great restaurants, shops, activities all within a close walking or taxi proximity!

 

So, just to help us to help you better...

(Because in certain ways, if this makes sense - you might as well be asking "We are going to be staying in London for a couple of nights, what hotels or restaurants do you recommend"?;)

 

That being said...

 

#1 Now you are staying in Santa Monica, what hotel (or at least what cross streets) - it makes a difference...

 

#2 Are you planning to walk to everything (which you can do in Santa Monica, and one of the many reasons again that BruinSteve and I recommend the area); or are you willing to take taxies to places/restaurants?

 

#3 From that point or idea...

Again, there are so many great places in this area, what are you really looking for? Breakfast, Beach restaurants, local native one of a kind places, chain resturants in the area that are really "typical ideals" of US restaurants in general?

More info and specifics please...

 

#4 You won't really need to make any "reservations" here, (maybe you will need to wait a little bit for a table)...

But if you give us an idea of what kind of restaurants, atmosphere, food, etc. Then we can narrow it down for specifics more (because I know that BruinSteve and I would agree on certain restaurants, but dpending on if you are walking, or taxi-ing, or what you want to do...)

Please get back to us on the board here, and we can help you more specifically...

CJW:D

[pujro]

Hi CJW,

Wow you sure go for the through approach! Almost bedtime and work tomorrow so quick answers........

 

#1 - Doubletree on 4th.

#2 - Usually walk.(but a taxi is fine for something "special")

#3 - We have two evenings, perhaps a beach front and a one of a kind with a local flavour?

#4 - That's a relief, didn't fancy making calls from here!

#5 - I know, there wasn't a #5, it's mine to say thanks for the help!

 

Cheers

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Santa Monica Restaurants

 

My favorite local place for breakfast or lunch is:

Cora's Coffee Shoppe

1802 Ocean Ave- Btwn Seaview Ter & Vicente Ter

Santa Monica, CA 90401

Try to snag a table on the patio…

 

Random Local Hollywood Hangout…

Chez Jay

Basically the little "hole in the wall" bar/restaurant frequented by celebrities.

From the Rat Pack to Julia Roberts…

No pretention, really local for many many years, good for early morning or late night…

http://www.chezjays.com/

 

Fine Dining

 

One Pico at Shutters on the Beach

http://www.shuttersonthebeach.com/restaurants/one_pico_fine_dining.html

High end California Cuisine

 

The Penthouse at The Huntley Hotel

http://www.thehuntleyhotel.com/penthouse-restaurant.php

Also very high end, but it’s at the top of The Huntley Hotel, and some absolutely amazing views of the city and the ocean…

 

Then you have The Third Street Promenade:

Which has tons of restaurants all generally good…

http://www.thirdstreetpromenade.com/bdining.html

 

My personal favorite there is:

Border Grill for unique fresh Southern California Mexican Food

http://www.bordergrill.com/BGSM/bgsm.htm

 

Then taxi rides…

Gladstone’s

http://www.gladstones.com/

BruinSteve and I both love this place, as we both grew up around here…

If you can get here during the sunset, then that is ideal, as it is right at the end/beginning of Sunset Boulevard and when you see the sunset from here, you will see exactly why they named it Sunset Boulevard…

 

Further taxi ride a bit through canyons from the beach is:

Inn of the Seventh Ray

http://www.innoftheseventhray.com/home.htm

Totally "California" in every way shape and form…

Literally built into the hillside of Topanga Canyon…

Some of the booths overlooking the creek are literally carved out of the hillside…

Voted the area’s most romantic restaurant…

 

Check these all out online, it will give a lot of ideas, and I’m sure BruinSteve or others will "weigh in" with further ideas or opinions…

Other than that, you should see some of these online here, and then know which ones "jump out" and sound the most interesting for you...

 

The one thing is that make sure at your hotel…

Check out this thread from before…

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=397483&highlight=doubletree

Specific info about your hotel and rooms to choose, and info from BruinSteve and others…

Hope this helps…

(See what thorough specifics questions and answers get you?!?!)

CJW

[CruisinMommas]

Thank you for all your postings. I haved saved them to my favorites to examine.Even though my cruise is just short of a year away, your information will go a long ways in helping me plan our cruise. We are from the East coast and want to visit parts of LA and trying to visit Las Vegas too w/o a car. So I have plenty of homework to do in order to locate hotels that make up for easy shuttle pick up for LAX Union Train station, San Pedro Cruise terminal, to las Vegas and back to Union station.

 

How far is the LAX Union station from 900 S. Alemeda in LA to Santa Monica? There is a shuttle that will pick us up in Santa Monica and take us to Las Vegas. There is another one in Anaheim that will do the same, but which area is more central?

[Bruin Steve]

Thank you for all your postings. I haved saved them to my favorites to examine.Even though my cruise is just short of a year away, your information will go a long ways in helping me plan our cruise. We are from the East coast and want to visit parts of LA and trying to visit Las Vegas too w/o a car. So I have plenty of homework to do in order to locate hotels that make up for easy shuttle pick up for LAX Union Train station, San Pedro Cruise terminal, to las Vegas and back to Union station.

 

How far is the LAX Union station from 900 S. Alemeda in LA to Santa Monica? There is a shuttle that will pick us up in Santa Monica and take us to Las Vegas. There is another one in Anaheim that will do the same, but which area is more central?

 

You do have a long way to go...literally and figuratively...

Los Angeles is a BIG place...The distances are fairly overwhelming for most tourists...not only in terms of miles, but in terms of time as well...and, often in difficulty finding one's way...

 

LAX to Union Station (Union Station is the Amtrak Station just north of Downtown LA, near Chinatown) is about 20-25 miles, depending on your route (there is no direct route)

 

Union Station to 900 S. Alameda (Why on earth would you be going there? It's a location south of Downtown in not the best of areas -sort of an industrial area near the 10 freeway) is about 2.5 miles...

 

900 South Alameda to Santa Monica (depending on where in Santa Monica ) is about 15-20 miles

 

Santa Monica to Las Vegas is around 300 miles and takes about 4.5 hours by car...figure a little longer by bus...

 

Santa Monica is far more "Central" than Anaheim...

Anaheim is in Orange County about 45 miles Southeast of Santa Monica. The main reason anyone goes to Anaheim is Disneyland...followed by the Baseball Angels or Hockey Ducks...other than that, it's a fair distance and major traffic issue from most of the typical LA tourist sites (Rodeo Drive/Beverly Hills, the Getty Center, Getty Villa, Hollywood Sign/Walk of Fame, studios, Venice Beac, etc.) which are all a lot closer to Santa Monica...

 

Santa Monica is approximately 30 miles north of the pier in San Pedro, 10 miles north of LAX...

 

Let's ask a couple of questions:

 

If you are taking a bus to Vegas, why do you need to be near Union Station? And what is at 900.s. Alameda that you need to be at?

 

And let's take a look at planning this better:

 

Assuming this is a pre-cruise, I take it you are arriving at LAX? Why not just FLY directly to Vegas and back or route your flights to LAX THROUGH Vegas? There are plenty of cheap flights to Vegas...and you won't waste 12 hours on a bus...

 

Then return to LAX and get a shuttle to Santa Monica and stay in a hotel near Ocean Avenue, Third Street, Santa Monica Pier and use that as your base for touring LA...With no car, there's plenty to do within walking distance or easily with taxis...and you can arrange for tours that will pick you up at your Santa Monica hotel...Then, the morning of the cruise, arrange for a shuttle to pick you up at the hotel and take you to the pier...

 

Of course, if we learn a little more of what you are trying to see...and howm many days you are planning for the area, we can help even more...

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was wondering about the train too. Are you taking the Southwest Chief between Vegas and Downtown LA? One thing to note is that Amtrak runs pretty behind on the western routes. We took the west coast trip on the Coast Starlight a few years ago and the 36 hour trip took 40 hours each way, getting us into Seattle (and going south Oxnard) around midnight. It was a scenic trip, but we did build in the extra time so it wouldn't cut took much into our Seattle stay, which was the first time for my hubby and daughter. At least the train station was close to where we were staying. I would not suggest staying near Union Station in LA.

 

I too would recommend flying directly into Vegas. Do your Vegas thing and then fly into LAX or Long Beach airport. A lot quicker.

[CruisinMommas]

Thank you both for your helpful suggestions. Santa Monica is what I needed to hear. I DO NOT FLY. We plan to train in 2 days before the cruise taking the southwest chief. Yes I know it is long and the trains are late. This happens when we train to MI. I figured the area around the train station was not good.

 

After the cruise Originally I was going to Vegas on the train and to get off the train in Needles CA and get to Vegas from there. They have no transportation to hotels or anything at midnight. So that was out. The alternative was to get a shuttle to Vegas and spend a day or two. I have come across a tour co. that will take you to Vegas with a hotel and bring you back but they only pick up in Anaheim. There is another company that will pick up in Santa Monica, Marina Del Ray and one or two other spots.

In LA I want to do the touristy things The Walk of Fame, HOLLYWOOD Sign, Graumanns, the day before we cruise. We will continue to work on scenarios.

I wanted to do Vegas after the cruise,because we celebrate our 40th anniversary and did not want to be celebrating on the train. This and one other cruise was the closest to our anniversary.

Thanks agan for taking the time to answer.I am sure we will chat again either on this thread or another.

[CruisinMommas]

Bruin Steve, I will get the mutiple quote button down one of these days. I thought that the 900 S Alameda address is where the trains come in according to the Amtrak list. Seems that wherever trains stop is not to great.

Trying to burn the candle at both end pre and post is going to be a feat, but I do not know if I will ever get back that way again. I am not real old( might see it that way to some), but only young at heart. Take Care.

[Sally Forth]

Curt, I forgot to thank you for the great OC tour you posted a couple of months ago. We decided to do it north-south, leaving our hotel in Santa Monica working toward the cruise terminal in San Pedro, and had lunch at the diner on the Redondo Pier. The girls absolutely loved it.

 

Viv

[Cruisin' Chick]

Cruisinmommas, I'm a nervous traveler, so I understand. Our last flight was on March 2001, which was our little one's first time on a plane, and before we went onboard, my hubby said to me something along the lines of "don't you dare show your fear." Fortunately, the girl didn't pick up on my nervousness and she enjoyed herself ("faster, faster" she said right before the plane left the ground). Nowadays flying means long lines for security (esp. LAX) and hubby hates standing in lines, so we have selected cruises leaving from San Pedro, about 50 miles from home. The one exception was that train trip I just mentioned. The problem is that the train tracks in the west aren't well maintained and that they are owned by the freight companies as far as I know. Everytime an Amtrak train meets up with a freight train, guess who gets sidetracked?

[CruisinMommas]

Cruisin Chick, I do know about the set aside. One time I was coming back from Pittsburgh on the train. We waited from 7:30 to 11:00 for a dern freight train. They would not even let us board the train.

I have flown and am claustriphobic. If I ever fly it would have to be in 1st class. My dh would either have to knock me out or slip me a mickey. My dd's good friend told her little one they were going on a big bus, while they were flying to DW. My gd loves going to DW on the plane with her parents. I am a pretty patient person train to LA, ship to HI so I know it will all work out just need to use some fore thought and patience.

Have a great day we are just getting good weather in the East.