Los Angeles In January

[gwilli1]

Having stayed in both, i'd rather Santa Monica any day, but downtown is perfectly safe (I Usually stay at The Standard on the corner of South Flower and 6th, or the Westin Bonaventure, but there's sfa to do down there, I only go there when i'm in town for work).

Just don't go down around the Fashion District or down around the Staples Stadium end, and you're pretty right (I've often walked around late at night after midnight on my way back to the hotel from work and it's been fine, even with laptop).

San Francisco is my favourite place in the USA (Not been to New York yet so that may well change). Stay around Union Square if you can, and take the BART around. Embarcadero is also nice. Fishermans Wharf is touristy but a must-see (go see the Ghiardeli Chocolate Factory as well). If you can, get to Alcatraz, not just one of the boats that go around "the rock". Go on and have a look it's great.

Agree with Drewbles on the must see's in SF & Union Square is a great location to stay for shopping . With your sport , grab a Golden State Warriors NBA game out at Oakland ( near San Fran , access on the BART) , or even grab a NBA match in LA. Also if your into wine , hit Napa Valley for the day. Mate you will fall in love with San Fran .

 

[cove]

NBA may be playing by then with a bit of luck.
Ice hockey and football games mixed with sports bars seem to get my sons interested.
Ayres hotels have worked well for them.
At work we use Ayres and LaQuinta if it is a group to keep the accommodation price reasonable. When I was 21 I used Motel 6 and they are still around at pretty good prices if you want to save money to spend on concerts,sports tickets and shopping.
Go closer to the ocean if you want cleaner air.
Don't miss on San Francisco and Las Vegas.

 

[schomers87]

Having stayed in both, i'd rather Santa Monica any day, but downtown is perfectly safe (I Usually stay at The Standard on the corner of South Flower and 6th, or the Westin Bonaventure, but there's sfa to do down there, I only go there when i'm in town for work).

Just don't go down around the Fashion District or down around the Staples Stadium end, and you're pretty right (I've often walked around late at night after midnight on my way back to the hotel from work and it's been fine, even with laptop).

San Francisco is my favourite place in the USA (Not been to New York yet so that may well change). Stay around Union Square if you can, and take the BART around. Embarcadero is also nice. Fishermans Wharf is touristy but a must-see (go see the Ghiardeli Chocolate Factory as well). If you can, get to Alcatraz, not just one of the boats that go around "the rock". Go on and have a look it's great.

Agreed - downtown is fine these days given the number of people moving into lofts, apartments. 10 years ago- wouldn't have stepped foot after dark.

Walked around the staples stadium area quite late and felt perfectly fine. Although it is a bit of a ghost town down there about an hour after the game finishes. Fair bit of development going down that side of the city with new hotels, bars, restaurants. Its not all that bad. But agree with Drewbles, up around 6th street a lot better.

 

[Matthew Moore]

hey guysthanks for all your help so far!i have booked my tickets direct flight with V-Australia.Now in regards to accomodation, is it the same principal, should i be trying to book it in as soon as i can?I am trying to find a hotel for around $120/night. i would like wifi, gym (pretty standard) and one that has free parking, and self contained.i am having trouble looking on expedia, as i can find a few hotels, but cannot seem to search if they are self contained or not, as i would like to save a bit of cash by not having to buy meals everyday.

 

[Stephen65]

Three suggestions:

1 - The best area to stay in LA is in the swathe of nicer suburbs along Santa Monica Boulevard starting at West Hollywood, going southwest down through Century City, past UCLA and to the coast at Santa Monica. Personally I would stick to places north of Santa Monica Boulevard and south of the hills. Around UCLA is my favourite area. The other nice area is along the water at Venice Beach or Marina Del Ray

Do not stay near LAX or in the actual LA city downtown area as both are sketchy areas especially after dark. In fact anywhere inland of the 405 and south of the 10 is best avoided period. You can tell when you have entered a no-go zone because the only shops you will see are heavily fortified gas stations and liquor stores and people will stare at you in your new rental car.

2 - If driving between LA and SF along the coast road the better direction to go is south from SF to LA as this puts you on the water side of the road and you get better views. You should allow 2-3 days for this trip because of all the things to see along the way.

3 - You can see just about everything worth seeing in LA in 3-4 days. If you have extra time there is more to see in SF. You can easily spend a week in SF and the surrounding areas. Personally I would start in SF and then drive down to LA and fly back from there.

In January the weather is cool during the day and cold at night in LA. It may also rain. SF is colder.

 

[Blackadder]

Another option is to head down to Orange Co., Anaheim,Newport Beach,Garden Grove,Irvine,etc

 

[dfcatch]

Another option is to head down to Orange Co., Anaheim,Newport Beach,Garden Grove,Irvine,etc

Yep. Orange County is the best part of SoCal (San Diego aside).

 

[cove]

We have lived in Orange County in Irvine and Laguna Beach and now we are in Marina del Rey which is closer to LAX by the marina on the north side. We have enjoyed each of these places and I certainly prefer being closer to the ocean for the better air quality and more moderate temperatures.
We really like Santa Monica and San Diego near the ocean.

 

[PLANT]

I'm there Saturday...staying maybe West Hollywood?
Thinking Sunday SFMM, Monday KNOTTS and Tuesday Disneyland, Wednesday Venice beach?
Car hire with Novacarhire.com cause they cover insurance issues?
Always ask for 7 or 14 day hire as overall rate less than 4 or 12 day hire!

 

[Dougo]

I've only been to the Downtown area once in LA and that was enough. For me LA = LAX - the way in to the US and the way out of the US.

Having said that, I never had any aspirations to go to Las Vegas but it was a complete shock to me that I actually like it ... not necessarily during the day but the coloured lights are amazing at night. Although I rarely gamble,. you can get a realy good hotel for a lot less than what you would pay in one of the capital cities in Australia. You can also take in as many shows as you want - cheaper than NYC - and shop at their outlets north and south of the strip.

In addition, if you want to do day tours to Hoover Dam or say part of the Grand Canyon, that's also an option.

As for booking accommodation, I prefer to use a 3rd party hotel site where I can keep an eye on "flash deals" and cancel the room within the required timeframe and re-book at a cheaper rate. I also subscribe to a number of hotel sites to see if they have any deals.

If going on a tour is your thing, you could consider one of the many tours that take in the Grand Canyon and National Parks...just a thought, that's all.

Have you checked to see if there will be any games on while you're over there?

 

[drron]

just a few points.I think it is a great idea to hire a car.much more flexibility and you can get to attractions that are not easy by public transport.Also you are not limited to CBDs for accommadation.Stay in the burbs-much cheaper and can use public transport to get to CBD if you want-eg in San Fran just stay near to a BART station.
Most of the lower end chains give you free internet and a sort of breakfast.However they usually are in the burbs.We use Hilton in the states.At hampton Inns everyone gets free internet and brekkie.At Hilton Garden Inns everyone gets free internet but need status to get brekkie-if you are gold with VA you can get complimentary Gold HH status-and there are often ways to get that quickly.There are many other possibilities though like Super 8,comfort Inns etc.
Also driving you casn visit factory outlets.Good one on the Mexican border near SD.Carlsbad just north of SD,Camarillo just north of LA,the Great Mall of the Bay area just south of SF and Vacaville east of SF.Near vacaville you can have free tours with samples of the Jelly Belly factory and a Brewery.Also tours of the air force base there-though a little irregular.You also then are close to the Napa Valley.
The NBA may be a problem-the strike is still on but it will be the final weeks of the NFL-may get a game in SD with the rellies.
Keep asking and we all will try and help.