Trip to LA. Need activity ideas...

[KingOfJericho]

I've seen a hundred threads on people taking trips to NYC but never any for the west side so here goes nothing...

My wife and I have been thinking about destinations for a long weekend trip (5ish days) and LA and Miami keep coming up (wife's suggestions). I've been to Miami but never been to LA. I guess I'd like to see what's up on the left coast but I have no idea what we would do there. We have nice restaurants and high end shopping here so eating/shopping at fancy/expensive places isn't a priority and neither is laying on the beach all day.

Any thoughts on the must-do/must-see in LA? My buddy went a few years back and said he loved Santa Monica. That's about the extent of my knowledge.

The natural follow-up is also what would be the best area to stay? We usually do Airbnb and they are all over the place out there so I'm sure we can find something in any neighborhood you guys suggest.


...and GO.

[sp1tfire]

Id stay in West Hollywood/Santa Monica area, its walking distance to many things from either place.
You should visit the Universal Studios park, its memorable half of day, especially with a tour through most popular movie scenes=).
Definitely Venice/Santa Monica beaches.
You will also find directions online on how to get to Hollywood sign - great views from up there.
Depends on what you guys like (museums, beaches, hiking,restaurants, etc), plenty of everything.
Day trip to Catalina island is really nice, as long as weather is great.
Great place for a breakfast with incredible tea/coffee/sandwiches/pastry- Urth cafe (one in West Hollywood and on somewhere around Santa Monica area)
Palm Springs is a bit of drive, but has cool aerial tramway with elev. 8500 feet, great views.

[UncleWede]

Getty Villa in Malibu. Best to have reservations, as parking can be a mess. Small enough to see in a few hours, then head north up the coast to Neptune's Net for some fresh seafood overlooking the water, weekends lots of motorcycles.

[eluded]

LA is a dump with lots of traffic & smog. PCH isn't bad nor is malibu & OC and down to San Diego.

[cays]

IMO by far the best area to stay is to be within easy walking distance of the 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica. On a map look for 3rd and Wilshire, that's the northerly start of the Promenade (outdoor shopping, food, coffee, lounging, people watching etc.)...very popular with locals as a multi-use destination. Walk two blocks west and you are on Ocean, with a number of excellent restaurant choices that have very good food and are not tourist traps, and of course the SM Pier is to the south about 5 blocks away. There is no better place in L.A. to stay and get the quintessential upscale yet casual SoCal coastal experience and you'll find it very welcoming in a way that dials you into an instant comfort zone. Traffic aside, that's unbeatable as a launch-point location to activities and sights in L.A. also.

[UglyBuzzard]

all suggestions above are great. I would add a few days and stay in or around Laguna Beach for a different vibe. Plenty of resorts to fit budget or open checkbook. You will get burnt out quickly in LA.

[M3 Number 86]

Drink in Koreatown.

[PoorLurker]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

Drink in Koreatown.

After you eat at Bestia.

OP - Add some information about what interests you guys have and other specifics. Outdoor activities? Bars? Hikes? Surfing? Farmer's Markets? Types of food? Are you flying to LAX? Have kids? Disneyland? Venture to other areas like Orange County? San Diego?

For example, when I went to Hawaii recently, everyone would recommend the larger "corporate" owned types of places to eat. However, I personally like small hole in the wall restaurants with sticky floors. (Bestia is not this type of restaurant, but is one of the rare places I left not caring how much it would have cost me. Book a reservation a couple months in advance)

[1MOREMOD]

I'm here now for week with wife. Been exploring around. You can pm if wanted. Went to Santa monica, venice, walked Hollywood, sunset and melrose, down to long Beach and Newport.

[rr006rbc]

Do yourself a favor and visit south Orange County beaches; not LA.

Try Dana Point, Newport Beach OR Laguna Beach. Lots of great eats and shopping centers in that area as well. Yelp app is your best friend. They're about 45 mins to an hour away from downtown LA but worth it.

For restaurants check out Scarpetta for Italian, Mastros for steak, Water Grill for seafood and the Black Sheep for Asian fusion..there's just way too many to name..

And no don't visit Koreatown; place is a dump and filled with rudeness. Visit Little Tokyo instead for good eats and sushi. Bestia is near there as well as someone mentioned.

[cays]

You should get this book. It'll give you a sense of the scale and scope of L.A. area restaurants and cuisines. Obviously the city is sprawling and visitors won't have the insiders' knowledge of beating traffic but combine that info with Yelp to find recommended places to eat near where you'll be or on your way to a particular destination.

http://store.latimes.com/jonathan-go...ants-2014.html

[BLuRRYM3]

OP, what are your interests? LA has something for everyone. Just depends what experience your looking for.

[RickFLM4]

For vacation I'd go SF / Napa before L.A., so I'd say rent a car and drive North.

[PoorLurker]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

I'm here now for week with wife. Been exploring around. You can pm if wanted. Went to Santa monica, venice, walked Hollywood, sunset and melrose, down to long Beach and Newport.

Haha! I thought you were joking and took an old photo of C5!

Hope you enjoy stay!

What other plans do you guys have?

[1MOREMOD]

Leaving tomorrow. Wife has been working so I've done the exploring around. Going back Santa Monica and venice tomorrow then home.

[Conti.]

Wurstküche in downtown area has some amazing and exotics brats with a variety of tasty brews. if you can rent a nice car Mulholland Drive is really scenic and fun to drive through, i wish i had my car for that drive. Also, griffith observatory has some nice views around sunset. gets a little crowded around that time but still nice nonetheless

[HFW003]

There is a great Australian Chef who has a restaurant in Beverley Hills called Maude.

We werelucky enough to dine there last year and it is absolutely exquisite, one of the best meals I have ever eaten. It books out very quickly as it only seats about 12.

My wife thinks he is very handsome as well so maybe a bit of eye candy for your lady

We did a half day tour which went throughout the city with a stop for lunch at the Famers Market, this was a great way to see a bit of the city.

Try and catch a show at the Bowl as well.

Take a trip down to Santa Monica pier, we were brave enough to catch a bus there and back, made it out safely.

We really loved LA even though everyone recommended to give it a miss. Wish we spent more time there than some of the other places we went (Orlando)

Have fun.

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by rr006rbc

Do yourself a favor and visit south Orange County beaches; not LA.

Try Dana Point, Newport Beach OR Laguna Beach. Lots of great eats and shopping centers in that area as well. Yelp app is your best friend. They're about 45 mins to an hour away from downtown LA but worth it.

For restaurants check out Scarpetta for Italian, Mastros for steak, Water Grill for seafood and the Black Sheep for Asian fusion..there's just way too many to name..

And no don't visit Koreatown; place is a dump and filled with rudeness. Visit Little Tokyo instead for good eats and sushi. Bestia is near there as well as someone mentioned.

Little Tokyo has nothing on ktown lol

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Leaving tomorrow. Wife has been working so I've done the exploring around. Going back Santa Monica and venice tomorrow then home.

You in la and didn't tell me?

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by rr006rbc

Do yourself a favor and visit south Orange County beaches; not LA.

Try Dana Point, Newport Beach OR Laguna Beach. Lots of great eats and shopping centers in that area as well. Yelp app is your best friend. They're about 45 mins to an hour away from downtown LA but worth it.

For restaurants check out Scarpetta for Italian, Mastros for steak, Water Grill for seafood and the Black Sheep for Asian fusion..there's just way too many to name..

And no don't visit Koreatown; place is a dump and filled with rudeness. Visit Little Tokyo instead for good eats and sushi. Bestia is near there as well as someone mentioned.

You didn't have the right guide. Koreans will be rude to non Koreans

[M3 Number 86]

SoCal is so large you won't enjoy half of it in a 5 day trip. So many areas to go out and so far apart.

In-n-out
Some street taco vendor
Beverly Hills dining
South OC beaches (as mentioned above)
Downtown LA bars (pretty dirty though)
Old Towne Pasadena (bar crawl with fairly a normal crowd)
Little Tokyo (the only place I go there is Hama sushi or Far Bar)
Alhambra for Chinese food
Koreatown for kbbq and drinking debauchery plus call girls (I'm Korean and all we do is bottle service at a regular bar)
Santa Monica is meh to me (I'm Asian that's why)
Venice Beach is meh to me (I'm Asian that's why)
Then you have Burbank if you want to tour the studios and go to universal if you're into that stuff (I can get discounts)
Hollywood to see the most randomest shit - some strange characters.

If you're into driving (this is a car forum) and you have a decent rental, drive mulholland highway through the snake (read not mulholland drive) or ride Angeles crest highway.

There's also downtown Glendale if you want to be somewhere different.

Too many different places to be.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

You in la and didn't tell me?

I thought you are bay area?