Please Help Plan Pre-cruise out of LA!

Greetings CC .....DH and I booked our first California Coastal Cruise 10/03/15.:D I need help in planing our pre-cruise trip. My planning canvas is almost empty so lots of advice and input is needed. Please help me plan our trip to LA.

Sailing Ship: Jewels of the Sea

Sailing Date: October 3rd 2015

Sailing Port: Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro, CA

Arrival Date: October 1, 2015

1. Arrival Airport: What is the best airport to come into?
   
2. Transportation to Hotel: Hotel shuttle if possible or ???
   
3. Hotel: Looking for nice hotel, not overly expensive in nice area with restaurants in walking distance?
   
4. Arrival Day 1: Estimate 3pm. Looking for something to do in walking distance and also walk to near by restaurants.
   
5. Day 2: Sightseeing, like the HOHO theme. We want to see as much as possible in about 8 to 9 hours.
   
6. Day 3: Transportation to cruise port
   

I am also seeking advice on which airport to fly out of to return home and transportation from cruise port to airport.

I know I am asking for a lot of help and I know I am coming to the right place to get that help. Thanks in advance for helping me!

Gladys

Greetings CC .....DH and I booked our first California Coastal Cruise 10/03/15.:D I need help in planing our pre-cruise trip. My planning canvas is almost empty so lots of advice and input is needed. Please help me plan our trip to LA.

 

Sailing Ship: Jewels of the Sea

Sailing Date: October 3rd 2015

Sailing Port: Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro, CA

Arrival Date: October 1, 2015

 

1. Arrival Airport: What is the best airport to come into?
   
2. Transportation to Hotel: Hotel shuttle if possible or ???
   
3. Hotel: Looking for nice hotel, not overly expensive in nice area with restaurants in walking distance?
   
4. Arrival Day 1: Estimate 3pm. Looking for something to do in walking distance and also walk to near by restaurants.
   
5. Day 2: Sightseeing, like the HOHO theme. We want to see as much as possible in about 8 to 9 hours.
   
6. Day 3: Transportation to cruise port
   

I am also seeking advice on which airport to fly out of to return home and transportation from cruise port to airport.

 

I know I am asking for a lot of help and I know I am coming to the right place to get that help. Thanks in advance for helping me!

Gladys

 

The biggest airport is Los Angeles (LAX) .

There no hotels near LAX that have shuttles to the port . Hotels near San Pedro don't have shuttles from LAX , just to far. LAX is about 40 minutes from San Pedro depending on traffic.

Los Angeles is so big that in 8 hours you could probably only see on part.

Long Beach is closet or you could a for a tour that will give an over view of LA. To properly see LA you would need 2-4 days . Travel between parts of LA can be over an hours.

Some hotels near San Pedro have shuttles to the port in the morning.

The easy way to get to San Pedro is via a shared shuttle or arrange for a town car .

Transportation to Hotel: Hotel shuttle if possible or ???

Most economical is a shared shuttle--Super Shuttle, Prime Time Shuttle, Karmel, Road Runner, lots more...Many prefer the slightly more expensive exclusive car services like Super Shuttle's Execucar--because you won't wait for others at airport or make extra stops. Many folks just rent a car...but, driving in LA and parking in LA can be a bit much for many. But without a car, you need to be particular about where you stay...public transportation is not good.

Hotel: Looking for nice hotel, not overly expensive in nice area with restaurants in walking distance?

IMHO, the BEST place to stay is Santa Monica...near the Santa Monica Pier and Third Street Promenade...Lots of restaurants/shopping/nightlife within walking distance...lots to do...AND the HOHO bus uses it as a hub. My favorite hotels here are the "A" List: Loews, Le Merigot, Shutters at the Beach, Fairmont Miramar, Casa del Mar...but these can be a bit pricey for many...The Windham is a good choice for location, but you want to be on the side away from the freeway. The Huntley is nice and well located as well. A more reasonable choice in a prime location is the CalMar. The Doubletree and the Le Meridien Delfina are a little bit out of the way (longer walk to stuff)...but you may catch arelative bargain.

Another area to consider is the Universal City area--look at the Hilton, Sheraton and the Beverly Garland...if you want to be near the studios.

Yet another great area is Venice Beach/Marina del Rey. Check out the Jamaica Bay Inn, Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn, Inn at Venice Beach. The HOHO bus now has an extension down to Venice Beach. Venice Boardwalk is great area (Try C&O Trattoria on Wahington at the beach for dinner).

Arrival Day 1: Estimate 3pm. Looking for something to do in walking distance and also walk to near by restaurants.

If in Santa Monica, you've got the Pier, Third Street Promenade, Palisades Park...and it's not too far to the Venice Boardwalk.

Day 2: Sightseeing, like the HOHO theme. We want to see as much as possible in about 8 to 9 hours.

HOHO Bus covers a lot of ground...

Day 3: Transportation to cruise port.

Again, shuttle or car service.

I am also seeking advice on which airport to fly out of to return home and transportation from cruise port to airport.

There are five airports that serve the greater Los Angeles area:

LAX: The sixth busiest airport in the world. Some find it a bit overwhelming. But it also has the most flights at the most times from the most places...It's only 20 miles from the port at San Pedro...and the closest airport to the West Side (Santa Monica/Beverly Hills/Malibu/Westwood/etc.)

Long Beach: Only 16 miles from san Pedro, but farther away from other attractions. Many like it if just flying in and out for a cruise, nothing else. Very small airport few flight choices. But very easy to get around.

Burbank (Bob Hope): 37 miles from the port, but VERY close to Universal City/Hollywood area. Small airport. Great if doing a pre-cruise in Universal/Hollywood/Burbank.

Orange County (John Wayne). 33 miles from port. Medium sized airport. Convenient to Disneyland/Newport Beach/etc.

Ontario: 60 miles from portin the "Inland Empire". Not really convenient to anything--unless you have relatives in that area.

Much will determine on what sites you want to see here. As stated, Los Angeles city/county is very widespread. Do you want to see museums, amusement parks, see a TV show taping, see Hollywood, see historical places?

Once you figure this out, and narrow down to an area (west side -- Santa Monica/Westwood/Beverly Hills/Marina Del Rey, Hollywood/Universal City, etc.), then you can see which hotels are recommended by us locals and those who have visited quite a bit. There are also a couple of hotels in San Pedro by the port that are recommended, but the real sightseeing is a distance a way.

Are you confident in sightseeing on your own or would you consider a city tour (there are some companies that will take you to the usual places such as the Hollywood area, which includes the famous Walk of Fame, Farmers Market -- that is the number one tourism spot in LA, believe it or not, as well as taking you through Beverly Hills and other favorite spots)?

Definitely don't stay in the LAX area or in downtown LA. Definitely don't try to go on our notorious and so-called rapid transit system. But hopefully you can come up with an enjoyable pre-cruise stay with our help.

Thanks for everyone's input thus far and based on comments we have decided to do 3 days pre-cruise, which will give us 2 1/2 days to see some of the area.

Bruin Steve - Thanks..... Wow lots of info for me to consider

Cruisin' Chick...love your name and you willingness to see me through the planning stage.

I am like a child in a candy store now; I want to see this and I want to see that, oh I just want to see all that. With that said please recommend some famous places for us to see. We can use the HOHO system or take private excursions. I need a lot of help because I don't want to be unrealistic of what we have time to see and do. I am so embarrassed to say but I don't know much about the LA area:o:o, other than that's where the stars live and where movies are made; don't want to forget but the TMZ (lol). I am very appreciative of all input and advice!

Gladys

I found this tour on line: City Tour 1: Los Angeles,Hollywood,Beverly Hills full day city tour. Have anyone done this tour or know of a tour similar to this that I can take?

Thanks

Gladys

http://www.adayinlatours.com/la-city-tour-1.html

I live in L.A. so haven't done the tour listed or anything similar, but looking at the itinerary it does appear to hit the major tourist attractions and most of the locations I might take a first time visitor to see (minus Venice Beach which you could do on your own if you stay in Santa Monica and Malibu ). And personally, I think Hollywood/Walk of Fame is boring and a waste of time. So, if you have any special interests, you might forgo the LA overview tour and go spend the day at one or two specific places -- like my Disney fan friends I would take to the Disney Studio and Disneyland, or my craft beer obsessed or foodie friend I would take on a drinking/eating tour, or my architect friend I would take to downtown LA and Hollyhock House, etc. It all depends on what you (and DH) want to get out of the visit. There are a lot of special places and fun things to do in LA. What are your interests? Food, music, movies, fashion, sports, art, cars, gardens, history, or ???

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It seems that it does touch on the major tourism sites so if that's what one wants to do...but I agree that Venice Beach could easily be deleted. At least you're talking about October, but once it gets into winter, there's the risk of rain...and even in the spring, much of LA, including the beaches, tend to be overcast.

Thanks for everyone's input thus far and based on comments we have decided to do 3 days pre-cruise, which will give us 2 1/2 days to see some of the area.

 

Bruin Steve - Thanks..... Wow lots of info for me to consider

Cruisin' Chick...love your name and you willingness to see me through the planning stage.

 

I am like a child in a candy store now; I want to see this and I want to see that, oh I just want to see all that. With that said please recommend some famous places for us to see. We can use the HOHO system or take private excursions. I need a lot of help because I don't want to be unrealistic of what we have time to see and do. I am so embarrassed to say but I don't know much about the LA area:o:o, other than that's where the stars live and where movies are made; don't want to forget but the TMZ (lol). I am very appreciative of all input and advice!

 

Gladys

 

 

Take a look at this website: http://www.sunseekertours.us/

Sunseekers offers a great 1 day tour and they manage to hit quite a few of the best attractions in the L.A. area.

Take a look at this website: http://www.sunseekertours.us/

Sunseekers offers a great 1 day tour and they manage to hit quite a few of the best attractions in the L.A. area.

Thanks! I contacted them and they pick up at hotels in San Pedro! :thumbup::cool: