Los Angeles Itinerary and transportation ideas

In Los Angeles (note spelling), a car is pretty much a must. It isn’t that public transportation isn’t available, it is just so spread out that public transportation would be quite time consuming.

I live here. Gotta have a car.

Distance from USC from the coast is 15 miles at least. SM to Dodger Stadium is nearly 20 miles.

Public transport in LA is laughable even with the Metro Rail.

Rent the car and save yourself frustration.

Will say streets, roads, freeways are well laid out.

For example, Venice boulevard goes from downtown ( DTLA) to Venice beach.

Sunset boulevard goes from East LA to the coast.

Western Ave goes from Hollywood to Long Beach .
However, it is a city of automobiles and traffic. Be prepared.

Given the fires last year in the mountains above Malibu double check opening hours for the Getty.

IMHO the 405 always sucks. Same with the 110 during commuter times.

And you are talking next April aren’t you?

Los Angeles is pretty spread out. You will definitely need a car. In 3 full days I don't think you can see all these things, at least not without rushing through them. You need to reserve a time for the Getty Museum. It is free, but parking is from $10 to $25. (Late entry costs less.) The Griffith Park Observatory is also frree There is limited parking in a pay lot near the observatory, but it is first come first served and IMO a bit of a walk. There is a DASH shuttle bus that drops you by the entrance and costs 50 cents (25 cents for seniors). It takes you through some scenic sections of Griffith Park on the way to the observatory. (See the observatory website for the DASH route and where you can leave your car.) Uber or Lyft work well also.

USC is right near Exposition Park, with the California African American M useum, the Natural History Museum as well as the space shuttle Endeavor (the real deal) at the California Science Center. You could go to USC, maybe check out the Endeavor, then drive to Venice Beach for a walk around and dinner. (Just fyi, IMO Venice Beach is a disappointment, but you may get a kick out of it.)

I assume you refer to the Peterson Automotive Museum (we have 3 car museums in the area). You could see that one day and head to a Dodgers game (if a night game) that same day. Or if a day Dodgers game, see that then go to the observatory. A Koreatown spa visit could fit in one of these two days (Really, Dodger stadium, Koreatown, Griffith Observatory, the auto museum, the "cheesy" tour...you can shuffle these around as they are within a decent drivable distance apart.) Traffic, however, is another can of worms here in LaLaLand! It slows down cars AND buses.
Our metro system can get you to just about all of the general areas of these sights, but not within walking distance of all their entrances.

If driving in LA is too intimidating (no shame in that), Uber or Lyft are your friends here, just so traffic doesn't fray the nerves.
Note that the auto museum and Dodger stadium have paid parking lots. I don't know about USC. Since traffic and getting around here is (alas!) a bit of a pain, plan for 2 things per day, spread apart in times, then add a third thing if time allows. Wish I could give you more hopeful suggestions for public transportation. It can be great, but connecting from it to the sights isn't always easy. It's that last leg that can be hard.

Warning on the rental car: scope out electrics and how you will charge it because there's a good chance only EVs will be available, no matter what you reserved.

LA may be a car town but parking is through the roof. Our Santa Monica hotel charged $70/day and it was valet so tips extra. Parking everywhere is difficult and will cost a lot.

Still for a short trip really a car is best. If downtown Santa Monica there are city parking structures $5/day on weekend, $25 weekday, by the police station.

Lisa,
Re rental cars, we live in Long Beach in LA County, and our family and friends who visit haven't had any trouble renting gasoline or hybrid cars. Electrics are available, but by no means the only ones to rent. Perhaps in some neighborhoods that is so (Santa Monica?), but in Long Beach, downtown, at the port, or at the airport, most cars are gasoline cars. LAX and Orange County airports likewise, and the train station too. There are charging stations in many locations, just about all business parking lots (grocery stores, medical offices, shopping centers.g.) I wouldn't worry too much about electric cars. But do reserve ahead of time if you do rent a car.

I feel the need to apologize for the public transportation options in LA county. It isn't the best for the tourist without a car. The county is 4,750 square miles, so its size can make being a tourist difficult. Get a good AAA map.

Thank you for your thoughtful responses! I have two new questions based on your answers.
With only three days, I am wondering if you think we would st pend an equal amount of money using Lyft than renting a car and paying to park. Any thoughts on that?

If we do rent a car, would you recommend we rent one at LAX or get to our hotel then rent one in Santa Monica the next morning?

Thanks!

I last visited LA in over 35 years ago and found the huge city is very spread out and traffic is awful. Also, parking was expensive and was concerned about theft from my car.
I would hate to think how bad it is now. The city is filled with tens of thousands of homeless people camped out on the streets and elsewhere.

Good luck.

Go to Uber and Lyft and test out how much various trips might cost - bearing in mind there may be surge pricing. Then estimate car rental costs, parking and gas. California has one of the highest gas prices in the US.

What Trotter said. Three days only.....maybe Lyft or Uber. If so, plot out your sights to avoid backtracking and save some $. Do look online for the metro options. Line E goes to/from Santa Monica and would be faster than other ground transport. Maybe mix up the metro with Lyft/Uber and a bus. The DASH bus to the observatory connects with Metro Line B. You can connect to line B from Line E at the Metro Center station in downtown LA. (Pretend you are in Paris or London! Ha ha!) The metro lines may work for you in some places.
Best of luck!

Our “EV only” experience was at LAX, about 4 pm, Budget I think. Having a horrendous experience @Charleston where it was also EVs only 2 years back (spent an hour in a Walmart parking lot most days charging up) we waited 45 minutes at LAX for a gas car. Ultimately the electric in LA would have worked, only would have needed 1 charge. I think the parking structure we used had them on the top floor.

toby,
I guess I misread your post. I thought you meant there were only EVs at all the rental companies. I can see if perhaps one company was out of gasoline cars, especially if something big(ish) was going on in the LA area at the time.

As others have mentioned, if you are referring to the Getty Museum, you mean the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, right? The Getty Center, aka Getty Skirball Cultural Center, is located in LA right off the 405 freeway/Supelveda Pass. The Getty Center has amazing views and a nice collection of art, antiques and manuscripts. I just heard that it will be closing soon for a remodel in anticipation of the 2028 Olympics.

The Getty Villa is where I visit regularly. No admission but charged parking. Read the website about the ability to make a reservation and the recommended use of public transportation. The art and antiquities collection is amazing. The ocean views, exterior perastyle and gardens are stunning. Modeled after an ancient Roman Country House.

I highly recommend a visit, especially since your hotel will be close by.

If you intend to visit the Petersen Auto Museum, consider the La Brea tar pits and associated Page Museum (not very large) which are catty-corner across Wilshire Blvd. Use the LA County parking lot at the Page Museum for both.

Alas, the wonderful Page Museum/La Brea Tar Pits are closing in Jukly for nearly 2 years, to prep for the 28 Oympics. Re the Getty, I assumed you meant to museum on the hill, not the villa. Either one is definitely worth a visit. Enjoy!

If we do rent a car, would you recommend we rent one at LAX or

LAX. Otherwise you're also paying for an Uber to get to your hotel. We vacationed for a week in LA last year and rented our car out of LAX and it was easy. We looked at SM hotels but I recall hefty parking fees, so maybe as others have stated, Uber might pencil out to be cheaper, but doubtful as many of your activities seem to be on the other side of LA.

Food: While in Koreatown, eat at Park's BBQ (reservation). When visiting USC, hit the Mercado La Paloma food court for lunch or dinner, specifically Holbox. Musso and Frank or The Formosa for great food and old school LA vibes.

Instead of a cheesy Hollywood tour, I'd recommend a studio tour (WB or Universal).

As a former Tv and Film location scout I’ll share a secret. Different neighborhood, different parking regulations i.e. Hollywood meters or lots different than Santa Monica in cost. K town costs different than Venice beach.

Since I live in Hollywood not sure what a cheesy Hollywood tour entails. Suspect Graumans but be advised Hollywood is nothing like you imagine. In fact it’s a trashy waste of your time. All the shops along Hollywood and Sunset Blvds are full of tat and overpriced trinkets. If at all possible see if you can arrange a tour of Warner Brothers Studios or Universal Studios in Burbank. Pricey but they are both well done. Otherwise rent a car and drive around Beverly Hills, Hancock Park and Silverlake on your own. You could also just visit Gelson’s supermarket on Franklin Ave. Over decades of living a few blocks away I’ve seen Diane Keaton, Tim Curry, Helen Mirren, Lily Tomlin, Chris Pine and other “ notables” whilst shopping.

Claudia gives you great advice.

I spent 8 nights in the Los Angeles area in December 2022. I reserved a rental car in advance. My plane arrived at Burbank airport. I picked it up at the same airport. The traffic was much better than I feared it would be. The parking situation was too tight. If I was going to travel to the Los Angeles area again, I would not rent a car because of the difficulty I had in finding parking spots. I would use Uber or Lyft.

As someone whose lived here for 35+ years - you must have a car to get around, whether or not you rent one or use lyft/uber that is up to you. Just keep in mind that car companies like uber/lyft will 100% have surge pricing rates during what we call "rush hour" (3pm-7pm with 5pm-7pm being peak pain times) and 630am-9:30am in the morning. If you are visiting, I 100% recommend NOT attempting to drive the "freeway" aka parking lot from hell during that time. If driving or using an uber, anticipate disruptions and at 15-30 minutes extra to get to your destination. 8 minutes if its under 6 miles away, and 15-20 if its 10 miles and maybe 35min if 20 miles away. That way you are not rushing. Most of our freeways you get on the next freeway using the right two lanes; but this doesn't hold true for parts of downtown los angeles. Use google maps. Under no means park in downtown LA in an open lot with no security guard after about 7pm. Do not leave valuables in your car (or exposed in any way). K-Town is a so-so neighborhood, not amazing not terrible. J town is far scarier esp as you approach the zombieland as we call it of 6th street/alameda skid row. At night (like after 8pm) a lot of the copper was stolen in downtown LA, so there may be very little street lights and only traffic signals in some of the bad parts of the town and maybe some areas of ktown. So just be careful when driving.

Venice.. sigh. Venice Beach is also really sketchy as we call it. Travel as a pack, don't look too much like a lost tourist and park your car in a paid for lot. Now it does depend on the restaurant you are going to, some of them have dedicated parking, but if its just the "beach" area you will probably want to park in the parking structure or the flat lot that has the security guard. Again pretend its zombieland and leave nothing valuable in your car. While the houses in Venice may be $2 million the surrounding tents are not. I know Venice is a big draw for visitors, and if you've been there you know what it is like, but I usually try to steer people away and maybe to Redondo (about 30 min further south) since its much safer and less crazy or north to Malibu. Santa Monica promenade used to be really nice, but its gone into a massive decline since 2020.

If the weather is hazy double think going to Griffith Observatory since you won't be able to see anything anyways, and maybe pick a hiking trail instead depending upon your fitness level. Parking can be difficult there so you have to be there early to get a spot. By Auto Museum, do you mean the Peterson? That is a super nice museum! You will enjoy it if you love cars. The Getty is fabulous and can easily take 4 hours. The main Getty (which I assume is the one you are talking about) is easily accessible from the 405 freeway. The Getty Villa (has antiquities/Roman works) is not.

100% you will need a car. Depending on your budget see if renting one or using uber is going to be easier and save you time and or a headache. One thing to always remember, drivers here are aggressive (depending what state you are from) and pedestrians might think they have the right of way, but don't count on it. That is a great way to get mowed over.

I assume Lisa has already been to LA. I hope she posts about how it all went for her. Those who posted in response to her queries probably would like to hear if their responses were helpful. I know I would. Thanks!