LA in July

We are looking at sailing in the carnival pride on july 20 out of Long Beach. This will be our first time in California.There are six of us, My wife and I - 49, daughter -25, daughter -21, son -18, daughter-13. What should we do in La?. And where are some nice hotels? How far from LA is LAX? We want to go to Rodeo Drive, Hollywood and Vine, and maybe explore the O.C.

Any advice is appreciated.Thanks

We are looking at sailing in the carnival pride on july 20 out of Long Beach. This will be our first time in California.There are six of us, My wife and I - 49, daughter -25, daughter -21, son -18, daughter-13. What should we do in La?. And where are some nice hotels? How far from LA is LAX? We want to go to Rodeo Drive, Hollywood and Vine, and maybe explore the O.C.

Any advice is appreciated.Thanks

Zippy,

Just remember...it's B I G !!!

When you say "How far is LA from LAX?", that's a question that we'd need more information to answer..."LA" could mean the entire LA area--which would be an area larger than the size of some of your states back east...it could mean LA County (a county that could take a couple of hours just to drive from one side to the other--even without traffic)...it could mean the City of LA--the political entity which sprawls all over the county from the Harbor to the mountain passes...Or it could mean "Downtown LA"--one of several central business districts and one you probably DON'T want to stay in...AND, consiering the context of this message board, you could mean the "Port of LA"...

I'll try to orient you to the entire thing:

First, go get a map...

LAX is over toward the west side of "LA"...near the coast in a neighborhood called "Westchester"...Sort of in the middle of the West facing coastal area...

Follow the 405 freeway south from there to the 7 South and you'll find Long Beach on that south-facing coastline...The pier in Long Beach is about 25 miles from LAX...If you keep following the 405 past Long Beach, you'll get into the "OC"--Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna--a fairly large area on it's own...As a tourist, if you're heading down that way, you're probably looking at Anaheim (Disneyland, Angels--Duck season is over by July) or at Newport Beach--trendy, upscale beach town or Laguna Beach--trendier, funkier beach town--those are pretty far south...

Rodeo Drive (Beverly Hills), Hollywood, etc. are in the OTHER direction--...all about 10-20 miles to the NORTH of LAX...

First, I hope you are planning on spending at least a few nights pre-cruise or post-cruise...You can't tour everything from Hollywood to the OC in just a day...

When you say "nice hotel", what do you mean? High-priced luxury hotel? We've got lots of those...

Reasonably priced but REALLY nice hotel? Tougher find, depends on the area...

Decent, well located hotel?

Anyway, I guess you start out with figuring out WHERE in the LA area you want to stay...And whether you want to just stay the entire time in one place...

Here are some ideas:

Since you are sailing out of Long Beach, you may want to stay in Long Beach...There are a number of nice hotels there...and reasonably priced by LA standards...Make sure you pick pone in the "Convention Center" area: The Hyatt, Westin, Renaissance and Coast are typically good choices...maybe the Hilton...Don't stray from this group because you think you found a "deal" in Long Beach...other parts of Long Beach aren't as nice or as convenient...The drawback to staying in Long Beach is that you will be far from Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the other major tourist sites of "LA"...every day you venture out, you will spend at least 2-3 hours driving the round trip from and to your hotel...but, on your final day, you'll be right near the ship...

I usually recommend staying in Santa Monica (about 10 miles north of LAX and at the beach)...Again, there is a specific area of Santa Monica you want--near Ocean Avenue, the Third Street Promenade, the Santa Monica Pier...There are some very nice (and very pricey) hotels here--Loews, Shutters and the Fairmont Miramar among them...There are also some fairly reasonably priced ones--Holiday Inn, TravLodge and a Best Western plus some small non-chain ones--search on this board for some of my compadre, Curt Jerome Wild's posts on various hotels...

Staying in Santa Monica puts you fairly close to Rodeo Drive, the Getty Center Museum and the Getty Villa, Venice Beach Boardwalk...not too far from Hollywood...and it puts you right AT Santa Monica's attractions--the Pier (rides, attractions), the Third Street Promenade (shopping, restaurants, nightlife), Palisades Park (a public park that runs along the cliffs overlooking the beach) and Santa Monica Beach itself...

Other areas to consider on the West Side are Beverly Hills, Westwood Village and Century City...or, if you'd rather be near Hollywood, stay in Universal City (Sheraton or Hilton--rather than Hollywood itself--which tends to be a bit scuzzy)...Do NOT stay in Downtown LA, no matter how good a deal you find...

Good luck...

Ps. What to "do"? Depends on what you want to do...there's lots...tell us what you like? Theme parks? Art Museums? Shopping? Scenic drives? ...and tell us how much time you want to spend...