Where to stay in L.A.

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Stu1

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#315899 28-Aug-2024 18:52

Planning a trip to US next June, looking at 4 nights in San Fran , 3 nights in Carmel and 5 nights in L.A. , 2 kids 14 and 12. We want to do Disneyland and Warner studios as well as a sight seeing trip round LA. Is it better to stay out by Disney land Orange county or in the city?. I’m not keen on driving in the city . I can see there is a train and bus to union station from the parks. Any recommendations or recent experiences? Cheers

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#3276378 28-Aug-2024 19:13

Great trip, we did the same thing with the kids at a similar age. We stayed in a suite at the Hyatt Regency Orange County, you can Uber to and from the park or take the free shuttle. You can also Uber to Warner and any other sight seeing trips you do.

Stu1

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#3276381 28-Aug-2024 19:30

polglase:
Great trip, we did the same thing with the kids at a similar age. We stayed in a suite at the Hyatt Regency Orange County, you can Uber to and from the park or take the free shuttle. You can also Uber to Warner and any other sight seeing trips you do.

I was looking at the Hyatt in Orange County looks really good. Trying to decide if we drive from Carmel by the sea down to L.A or drive back to San Fran and fly to L.A. We have to get a rental for the Carmel nights . It’s about 600 for us to fly to L.A. . It looks like a really nice drive down though to L.A. I’m hoping driving on the right hand side is not too confusing. I have never done it before

Dial111

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#3276385 28-Aug-2024 20:13

Recently we visited L.A and stayed in Santa Monica and drove to Universal Studios and 4 days later when we visited Disneyland we stayed in Anaheim, walking distance. Between the two, Universal was far better for rides.

Depending on what days you go and how busy, highly recommend the fast passes to skip the queues, they can be over an hour wait times on a quiet day.

For a rental car we used the Turo app, worked out cheaper then traditional rental car sites and after the first day of driving on the righthand side it definitely got easier. Average speed on the freeways was about 130km too.

Stu1

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#3276386 28-Aug-2024 20:22

Dial111:

Recently we visited L.A and stayed in Santa Monica and drove to Universal Studios and 4 days later when we visited Disneyland we stayed in Anaheim, walking distance. Between the two, Universal was far better for rides.

Depending on what days you go and how busy, highly recommend the fast passes to skip the queues, they can be over an hour wait times on a quiet day.

For a rental car we used the Turo app, worked out cheaper then traditional rental car sites and after the first day of driving on the righthand side it definitely got easier. Average speed on the freeways was about 130km too.

Cool will check out Turo, I was looking at Alamo car rental and getting something like a rav 4 definitely an automatic. How long did it take to drive from Santa Monica to L.A.? SM is definatly on my list when in San Fran . That’s pretty quick speeds , I read you can turn right on a red if safe and give way to cars on the left. I am tempted just to drive to L.A. for the experience

Dial111

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#3276388 28-Aug-2024 20:32

Stu1:

Cool will check out Turo, I was looking at Alamo car rental and getting something like a rav 4 definitely an automatic. How long did it take to drive from Santa Monica to L.A.? SM is definatly on my list when in San Fran . That’s pretty quick speeds , I read you can turn right on a red if safe and give way to cars on the left. I am tempted just to drive to L.A. for the experience

Hold on are we talking about the same Santa Monica lol? Santa Monica, L.A.. Yes you can turn right on red unless signed otherwise, honestly, I was nervous to drive but I wanted that experience. I drove down to San Diego and that was a good way to calm my nerves, so a long drive can ease you into it.

Sorry i just reread your OP, you mention Warner Studios not Universal Studios.

Stu1

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#3276392 28-Aug-2024 20:47

Dial111:

Stu1:

Cool will check out Turo, I was looking at Alamo car rental and getting something like a rav 4 definitely an automatic. How long did it take to drive from Santa Monica to L.A.? SM is definatly on my list when in San Fran . That’s pretty quick speeds , I read you can turn right on a red if safe and give way to cars on the left. I am tempted just to drive to L.A. for the experience

Hold on are we talking about the same Santa Monica lol? Santa Monica, L.A.. Yes you can turn right on red unless signed otherwise, honestly, I was nervous to drive but I wanted that experience. I drove down to San Diego and that was a good way to calm my nerves, so a long drive can ease you into it.

Sorry i just reread your OP, you mention Warner Studios not Universal Studios.

sorry too many Santa’s:) was looking at stopping at Santa Barbara on the way down . It looks like it’s about 6 hrs drive from Carmel to Disneyland looks like a great road .

polglase

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#3276445 28-Aug-2024 21:54

We prefer to drive. Have driven between LA, Vegas and San Diego a few times, would like to do the San Fran to LA drive one day. You could pickup the car in San Fran and drop it back in Anaheim when you check in to the Hyatt... Uber to the theme parks and any site seeing in LA, much easier than driving and parking.

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Brunzy

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#3276514 29-Aug-2024 02:11

Stu1:
Dial111:

Recently we visited L.A and stayed in Santa Monica and drove to Universal Studios and 4 days later when we visited Disneyland we stayed in Anaheim, walking distance. Between the two, Universal was far better for rides.

Depending on what days you go and how busy, highly recommend the fast passes to skip the queues, they can be over an hour wait times on a quiet day.

For a rental car we used the Turo app, worked out cheaper then traditional rental car sites and after the first day of driving on the righthand side it definitely got easier. Average speed on the freeways was about 130km too.

, I read you can turn right on a red if safe and give way to cars on the left. I am tempted just to drive to L.A. for the experience

You can in a lot of cases, and if not, there will be a sign saying
No right turn on red,
Santa Monica is nice, as is Carmel , go down 17 mile drive , takes you past Pebble Beach golf course

noroad

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#3276521 29-Aug-2024 07:29

Stu1:

Planning a trip to US next June, looking at 4 nights in San Fran , 3 nights in Carmel and 5 nights in L.A. , 2 kids 14 and 12. We want to do Disneyland and Warner studios as well as a sight seeing trip round LA. Is it better to stay out by Disney land Orange county or in the city?. I’m not keen on driving in the city . I can see there is a train and bus to union station from the parks. Any recommendations or recent experiences? Cheers

I would recommend staying in Anaheim if you are wanting to do to Disneyland. Its nice, clean and safe there. Stayed there for a Conference a few years ago and it was the nicest place I've stayed in LA. Definitely don't stay in central LA!

invisibleman18

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#3276550 29-Aug-2024 09:08

Definitely stay in Anaheim for Disneyland, and look at getting a multi day pass so you can go into both parks if you have enough days.

Wheelbarrow01

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#3276588 29-Aug-2024 10:01

Definitely ensure that whoever you hire a car through, make sure it has insurance with no deductible/excess. I've never ever had an accident or even come close in any of the hundreds of rental cars I've hired over the years.

But our first day in L.A, some guy plowed into the back of us at a red light, then reversed and took off so quick there was no chance of reading their plate number. While not massive damage, the rear bumper of our virtually brand new Mustang was pretty badly dented/scratched so I went and filed a police report and spent the rest of the trip worrying about what the rental company would say.

I needn't have fretted - when we dropped the car back, they looked at the damage and said "oh that's not bad at all", and sent us on our way with nothing to pay - they didn;t even want to see the police report I went to the effort of getting to cover my ass.

My sister & brother in law were also T boned at an intersection in Las Vegas around a decade ago, writing off their rental car. Again with no deductible, the rental company just put them in a new car and sent them on their way no questions asked.

That's two trips and 2 accidents - a 100% strike rate for our family LOL. So I'd never hire in the USA without full insurance/zero deductible.

noroad

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#3276708 29-Aug-2024 12:09

Wheelbarrow01:

That's two trips and 2 accidents - a 100% strike rate for our family LOL. So I'd never hire in the USA without full insurance/zero deductible.

Yea, the LA drivers are pretty special, I would estimate about 1% are high as * and drive like its IRL GTA time. I've driven, in Ohio, Arizona, Florida and Hawaii so next month I'm graduating to driving in LA, wish me luck!

noroad

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#3276709 29-Aug-2024 12:11

noroad:

Wheelbarrow01:

That's two trips and 2 accidents - a 100% strike rate for our family LOL. So I'd never hire in the USA without full insurance/zero deductible.

Yea, the LA drivers are pretty special, I would estimate about 1% are high as * and drive like its IRL GTA time. I've driven, in Ohio, Arizona, Florida and Hawaii so next month I'm graduating to driving in LA, wish me luck!

Ive been in an Uber that crashed in LA (my drivers fault), it was pretty surreal, one star for that lady!

Stu1

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#3276717 29-Aug-2024 12:54

Thanks for all the amazing advice, definitely looking at staying by Disney . Just gotta work out if I can sneak a flight to the UK at the end of the trip keep the other half happy not a fan of the US:)

patdude123

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#3276725 29-Aug-2024 13:54

If in LA, I'd recommend Santa Monica, there's lots of good restaurants and good shopping in close proximity and the Santa Monica Pier for the kids. Its also a fairly safe area too....in terms of getting around, Uber is a good bet as the buses can be a bit sketchy sometimes.

If in San Fran, go to the tourist office at the bottom of powell and mason st, and buy muni passes. These get you on tramss, trolley busses, buses etc... I'd reccomend the golden gate hotel, its well located in the city centre and there is a tram stop a few doors up.

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