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LA without a car?

Reluctant Daddy

By Reluctant Daddy
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body2body Proficient

body2body

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If you stay at Loews Hotel at Hollywood and Highland you will next door to the Chinese Theater, and can use the subway to get to Universal studios and City Walk in less than 10 minutesYou can use the bus to get to Beverly Hills and WeHo. Later this year the Expo Line light rail extension will take you all the way to Santa Monica and the beach but you will have to take the Subway downtown to connect with it. To get to Disneyland you will have to rent a car. Public transit is still pretty hit and miss in L.A. For maximum flexibility it is better to drive

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Truereview Grand Master

+ Truereview

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I moved to LA a year ago from NYC . I hate driving but it is a necessity in lA - even for a tourist. Parking and traffic will be a hassle, but it pales in comparison to NYC - unless you are on a LA freeway. You can taxi your way around, but it gets expensive and frankly, you get trapped in some places. Public transportation is minimal for most of LA ( B2b says above). My two cents: you may be able to taxi around, maybe even walk to some stuff, but in general you will need to rent a car to get good touristy coverage.

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seaboy4hire Mentor

seaboy4hire

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Public transit sucks in LA. Once you know the hotel your staying at call the concierge and see if there are tour bus companies going to where you want to see.

 

Hugs,

Greg

Ps Be sure to introduce yourself to the concierge at check in and bring a gift or tip if he or she did a stand up job. They'll remember you, remember your thoughtfulness and go that extra step if you need their help again.

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foxy Mentor

foxy

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Interestingly enough I'm staying right now with friends in WeHo. To my friend's shock I've been riding the 704 bus on Santa Monica Blvd. It goes to the downtown area to Union Station and an easy walk to Disney Hall, the Broad Museum(which is free)'and MOCA. If you take the same bus you can go to Santa Monica and an easy walk to Venice. If you're a certain age (ahem) the bus is only 35cents off peak. 75 cents during rush hour.

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seaboy4hire Mentor

seaboy4hire

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Interestingly enough I'm staying right now with friends in WeHo. To my friend's shock I've been riding the 704 bus on Santa Monica Blvd. It goes to the downtown area to Union Station and an easy walk to Disney Hall, the Broad Museum(which is free)'and MOCA. If you take the same bus you can go to Santa Monica and an easy walk to Venice. If you're a certain age (ahem) the bus is only 35cents off peak. 75 cents during rush hour.

 

I find the must have car mentality of socal folk frustrating. Yes it is handg to have a car drom time to time but if you live in a real city (nyc and chicago) you can easily get around without one and for way more cheaper!

 

Hugs,

Greg

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foxy Mentor

foxy

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From what I've been observing driving in LA is not much fun and parking can be a challenge. I've been walking at least 5 - 10 miles a day combined with riding the bus, I think I've seen more than a lot of people who live here. But that's because I like being a tourist and find street life interesting. The stuff you can't really experience while driving a car. Not for everyone which I totally get.

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Tigger Enthusiast

Tigger

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I find the must have car mentality of socal folk frustrating. Yes it is handg to have a car drom time to time but if you live in a real city (nyc and chicago) you can easily get around without one and for way more cheaper!

 

Hugs,

Greg

 

I'm not from SoCal, and I prefer having a car. It's a lot easier than waiting for public transport. It's probably safer too. I'm not talking about the actual vehicle. But waiting around in mostly deserted subway or bus stops late at night in Chicago or NYC can't be safe.

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bigvalboy Grand Master

bigvalboy

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Is it possible to get to all of the touristy sites (Universal, Grauman's, etc.) without driving in LA? I drive, but I'm afraid LA traffic would become a live action Frogger for me. Is there a central location to stay to be able to get to places easily?

 

Lots of advice here...my 2 cents... Can you navigate LA and see all the touristy sites without a car, Yes. Is it a good idea, No. To put it bluntly, traveling the LA basin without a car is a royal pain in the ass. Public transport on every single level in LA is a joke. Either way, you're going to spend endless hours crossing the city. I'd rather do it in a car, rather than waiting for, then being jammed into, public transport, only to find yourself dropped off blocks from your destination. BUT...that's just me.

 

Unlike Chicago or NYC, LA is a sprawling mess, and the attractions are spread out also. Depending on what you like, WEHO might be a good central location.

 

If you do decide to drive, and find yourself stuck in traffic, and you will... take a deep breath, exhale, relax, turn on some music, getting frustrated won't get you there any quicker...good luck

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Guest

Guest

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Is it possible to get to all of the touristy sites (Universal, Grauman's, etc.) without driving in LA? I drive, but I'm afraid LA traffic would become a live action Frogger for me. Is there a central location to stay to be able to get to places easily?

 

Getting from Grauman's to Universal is easy because there's the metro, and it's only a couple of stops away. Downtown sights are also easy because of the metro. Getting to other sights (Getty Museum, Disneyland, LACMA, the Huntington, etc.) will be challenging with public transportation, and using Uber all of the time will be more expensive than renting a car.

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stop Mentor

stop

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Is it possible to get to all of the touristy sites (Universal, Grauman's, etc.) without driving in LA? I drive, but I'm afraid LA traffic would become a live action Frogger for me. Is there a central location to stay to be able to get to places easily?

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

oh wait this wasn't a joke post. you could get around technically but it would be very difficult. A lot depends on what you want to see and what you have to see. As somebody noted Hollywood/Highland would be an ok spot to stay at, very touristy and there is a subway that goes to Universal and a couple other spots. Uber would be an option too. If you really are only planning on doing the ultra touristy stuff such as universal and Grauman's then yes you would not need a car. But if you want to go to the Beach, Disney, the Hollywood sign etc you are going to need a car. If you are looking for just the gay meca then Weho is the place to stay (Chamberlain hotel is a good place)

 

If you want PM me with some of the stuff you plan on doing and I can assist with planning.

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Axiom2001 Grand Master

+ Axiom2001

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If you don’t mind doing the “touristy stuff” with a group, why not go to http://www.viator.com to see what is being offered in the Los Angeles area. Also, see if you can do a one or two or three day “On and Off Bus” trip. This is one hell of a good way to travel within a given city independently and at your own pace. I did it when I was in Barcelona and Berlin in 2013; I used the services of the company cited above and got to see and do and not have to worry about driving. But as some other posters mentioned, one needs an automobile if he desires to explore this vast land of Los Angeles where the freeway was created.

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deej Grand Master

+ deej

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In Chicago and NYC, sure you could (and probably should) go without a car.

 

But if you're visiting LA and on a limited schedule, the time required for using public transportation is probably going to limit your activities.

 

I do use LA public transit when it makes sense. When I go to Dodgers games, I take the orange line to the red line to Union Station and then take the Dodger Stadium shuttle. It takes a good long time but it beats fighting parking at Dodger Stadium (and it costs a whopping $1.50).

 

Driving can take a long time too, of course. As the saying goes, everything in LA is at least 45 minutes away from everything else in LA.

 

If you're on a limited schedule you might not want to plan on three hours between stops. And if Disneyland is on your wishlist YOU WILL NEED A CAR.

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Kenny Grand Master

Kenny

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I find the must have car mentality of socal folk frustrating. Yes it is handg to have a car drom time to time but if you live in a real city (nyc and chicago) you can easily get around without one and for way more cheaper!

 

Hugs,

Greg

Los Angeles is a "real city." It's just not an old 19th century European-style city, as NY & Chicago are.

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Reluctant Daddy Rising Star

Reluctant Daddy

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Disney and Knotts weren't high on the list, so I could skip them on this trip. In addition to Graumans and Universal, I wanted to check out the old stars' homes, the Hollywood sign, Forest Lawn, WEHO. I'll check it out, but I'm guessing that they have tours of the homes and Forest Lawn.

 

We don't have Uber here yet. Is the cost much cheaper than cab service?

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stop Mentor

stop

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Disney and Knotts weren't high on the list, so I could skip them on this trip. In addition to Graumans and Universal, I wanted to check out the old stars' homes, the Hollywood sign, Forest Lawn, WEHO. I'll check it out, but I'm guessing that they have tours of the homes and Forest Lawn.

 

We don't have Uber here yet. Is the cost much cheaper than cab service?

 

download the uber app, its a life saver out in LA, much cheaper than a cab and much nicer. Take the TMZ tour if you want to do a decent tour of stars homes. IF that is about it for what is planned you probably could skip the car and do Uber

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