Will be in LA this Sat! Questions about Itinerary

Will be arriving in LA this Sat and still have a million questions!

- What%26#39;s weather like? Will be with our 7yo daughter -- dunno if she will feel cold.. don%26#39;t wana pack heavy clothes

- Whats the best way to tour LA and Hollywood? If rent a car, will it be a hassle to drive, get directions (%26amp; follow them correctly!) and park (additional costs?) VS. hop-on hop-off tour?

- Thinking of hanging out in the beach -- which is better? Venice or Santa Monica? Whats in Marina del Rey?

- What%26#39;s the best spot to take a pic of Hollywood sign?

- Want to do some groceries as well -- which is best one?

- We want to do Universal Studios -- how will the crowd be on the week of April 27th? Hope less crowd.

- We are staying in Anaheim -- and I know this is quite a drive to LA (with traffic and all). We will only be doing LA a couple of days as I don%26#39;t want to be driving all the time.

* is there an option to ride the metrorail from Anaheim to Universal? Are there stops in between or just 1 straight ride?

* whats best time to drive to LA and back home? average drivng hours?

Many thanks!

Will be in LA this Sat! Questions about Itinerary

Wow, lot%26#39;s of questions. Let%26#39;s get thru them...

- What%26#39;s weather like? Will be with our 7yo daughter -- dunno if she will feel cold.. don%26#39;t wana pack heavy clothes

L.A. has 320+ days of sunshine, so you chances are in your favor. It will get cool at night, so make sure to pack a jacket or sweater, especially for your daughter with you

- Whats the best way to tour LA and Hollywood? If rent a car, will it be a hassle to drive, get directions (%26amp; follow them correctly!) and park (additional costs?) VS. hop-on hop-off tour?

L.A. is a carcity, so it is easy to drive and really hard to get lost, plus there is plenty of parking(remember, carcity,lol)

Best way to explore L.A. is really on your own but with you staying in Anaheim and have a kid with you, I might suggest to either do a regular citytour or the hop on/off option. It will be hard to drive, looking at sights, following directions and taking care of a 7 y.o one to really take in and enjoy the city

-Thinking of hanging out in the beach -- which is better? Venice or Santa Monica? Whats in Marina del Rey?

They are next to each other and different as day and night. Venice is more an artsy part of L.A. while Santa Monica is upscale, but still laid back. Do both but give yourself a day to explore them

-What%26#39;s the best spot to take a pic of Hollywood sign?

Hollywood/Highland Complex, level 3 on the bridge

-Want to do some groceries as well -- which is best one?

What are you looking for? Angelenos love there Trader Joe%26#39;s but Gelsons or Bristol Farm is very good aswell

-We want to do Universal Studios -- how will the crowd be on the week of April 27th? Hope less crowd.

The 27th is a monday , no school holidays, it will probably be empty, no promises, but chances are you will be there on a light day

- We are staying in Anaheim -- and I know this is quite a drive to LA (with traffic and all). We will only be doing LA a couple of days as I don%26#39;t want to be driving all the time.

Honestly, get a car for the days you want to explore L.A. Even if you do a citytour or the hop on/off tour. Getting towards Hollywood to take those will be worth the $ spent on the rental

Also Venice/Santa Monica from Anaheim will be so much easier by car and if you have the time, you can just hop on the PCH and drive along the coast towards Malibu. Also well worth your time

-is there an option to ride the metrorail from Anaheim to Universal? Are there stops in between or just 1 straight ride?

There are stops in between and you would change from train to subwy at Union Station/Downtown L.A. towards Universal

-whats best time to drive to LA and back home? average drivng hours?

None of us can predict traffic, general rule is rush hour from 6-9pm and 4.30-7pm where you should avoid the freeway, but at the same time it can be moving along those times and you are stuck at 10pm instead. Traffic is bad,, but not as bad as it seems or some people want to make it out to be.I never had a problem getting from point a to b and I have been here for almost 20 years

So enjoy and of course endulge on what Southern California has to offer!

Will be in LA this Sat! Questions about Itinerary

Forgot to mention that L.a. is bis so L.A. to Anaheim driving time will vary on where you are going. Rule of thumb is an hour, hour fifteen minutes between each city(and a boring drive too)

Not sure why you want to stay in Anaheim the entire time when there is only Disneyland there. Might consider that after Disney to switch towards a hotel in the L.A. area as i think most of your interest is over there. Beats driving that freeway for hours each and every day anytime

Just to augment all of HopSkipJump%26#39;s great advice - Marina Del Rey is a very nice area - the marina itself is basically lots %26amp; lots of rows of docks with mostly small pleasure craft. There%26#39;s some waterfront restaurants but if you don%26#39;t rent a boat there isn%26#39;t really all that much to do there. Nearby Venice and Santa Monica are more interesting, IMHO.

The Metrolink trains don%26#39;t go directly to Universal Studios, but you can take the Metrolink train to Union Station in Los Angeles, and from Union Station take the Red Line subway to Universal City - this subway station is located at the bottom of the hill upon which Universal Studios sits, and I believe there is a free shuttle from this station to Universal Studios.

Best to pack layers - weather for the next week looks like sun %26amp; some clouds, highs mid 60%26#39;s in the costal areas, upper 60%26#39;s %26amp; maybe low 70%26#39;s more inland. But will be colder at night - nighttime lows this time of year typically low 50%26#39;s.

Sadly you can%26#39;t really get up close to the hollywood sign (the site itself is closed) - best shots are from the hills below - the spot Hop Skip Jump suggests is a good one - but you can get good shots pretty much all over the Hollywood area - and on clear days you can see the sign from a lot of areas in LA.

2nd vote for Trader Joes and Bristol Farms. also recommend Whole Foods. LA also has some big supermarket chains (Ralphs, Vons, etc.) as well.

HopSkipJump hasn%26#39;t posted in this thread, but Alex gave you great advice.

The drive from Anaheim to LA is at least an hour, Anaheim is a terrible base for LA sightseeing so coordinate your time well, try to get it all in, in an efficient manner (Universal and Hollywood one day, Santa Monica/Venice another day).

Sat and Sun you should have much easier drives than the rest of the week. Make note to try and stay away from freeway drives on weekdays between 7 and 9:30am and between 4:30 and 8:00pm whenever possible. For example, if you are out at the beach and wanting to head back to your hotel at 6:30pm, stop and have dinner instead then head back to your hotel later on.

The best view of the Hollywood sign that I know is really at the dog park by Hollywood Lake, right next to Madonnas old house. I know to get there but really dont know the streetnames, so maybe someone who reads this topic will know the exact way on how to get there

Here is a picture of what I am talking about, of course I have to find some directions aswell...

flickr.com/photos/hollywoodphony/3339772410/

Unfortunately, the most direct route from Anaheim to L.A. and back involves using the I-5 for a majority of the way, and the I-5 is one of the most unpredictable freeways out here! There can be traffic no matter what time of day and what day of the week! So just be prepared! On the weekends, mornings are usually pretty good, but the afternoons and evenings are very unpredictable.

Oops, sorry Alex - I meant you, not HSJ!

Dont worry Mach Three, we are all family on here :-)