Going to LA soon and for those who've been there before; I have some questions:
- When you rent a car, did you do it through the actual company or through websites like redtag? What type of car is good for 5 people (all adults)? "fullsize"? "Intermediate"? etc..
Is it important to pay for things like "Collision Damage Waiver" and "Supplemental Liability"? I am guessing this is insurance right?
- What places (family) would you recommend that I visit? (i do have my list but I just wanted to see what everyone here says)
- Any warnings?
I'll post more Qs as I think of them; really appreciate your responses! thanks.
I go to LA pretty often, my girlfriend's family is from there... I really like Santa Monica promenade, pretty nice. TONS of great places to eat, whatever you want. I mostly went around UCLA to eat since thats the area my girlfriend knew. She showed me around UCLA, library and such, and where they shot what movie and every building was famous for some reason. She knew where to go and what to look for, maybe you can find a guide on the internet, but its pretty cool. We eat at one place that was really nice, Russel Crowe was there, some other producers who I had no idea who they were but they were talking about the movie they were making or something, were at the table beside us... ristorante di giorgio something. The viewpoint at the top of the SM mountains where they shot Transformers is pretty cool too.
Warnings? Um... try to make drives at times nobody else drives. Traffic sucks. Usually from San Francisco, I try to get into LA after midnight and I leave LA after 9pm which gets me home at 3am but at least I don't hit as bad of traffic.
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Last edited by Phanuthier; 07-17-2012 at 06:28 PM.
Oh and if you go in Aug, there is some Hollywood Ball thing going on. I forget what it is, she just told me we're going. Its probably cool, but if it ends up being girly and boring... not my fault... do your own DD.
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"With a coach and a player, sometimes there's just so much respect there that it's boils over"
-Taylor Hall
When you rent a car, did you do it through the actual company or through websites like redtag? What type of car is good for 5 people (all adults)? "fullsize"? "Intermediate"? etc..
Is it important to pay for things like "Collision Damage Waiver" and "Supplemental Liability"? I am guessing this is insurance right?
I have only rented through the companies directly. I like Alamo/National because you reserve the class of vehicle, then get to pick any car that they have parked in the rows for that class. You can pick something nicer than a beige Aveo.
However, with 5 adults, I'd look at getting an SUV or minivan. If 3 of the people are smallish, an intermediate car might be okay, but if you have a bunch of people over 5'10", it will be uncomfortable for the people stuck in the back.
The additional coverage is insurance. If you have a gold or platinum credit card, it likely comes with coverage, and your own car insurance at home often includes rental car coverage. Unless you have no other coverage, I wouldn't waste my money on the rental company's insurance.
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Yeah, arrange insurance with your local car insurance agent before you go. Insurance from rental companies is a massive rip off.
As far as things to see, are you looking for kid-friendly stuff? You said family, but you also said 5 adults. Don't know about kids stuff, but a couple of our favorite things are the Getty centre, and the bizarre and wonderful museum of Jurassic technologies.
I have only rented through the companies directly. I like Alamo/National because you reserve the class of vehicle, then get to pick any car that they have parked in the rows for that class. You can pick something nicer than a beige Aveo.
However, with 5 adults, I'd look at getting an SUV or minivan. If 3 of the people are smallish, an intermediate car might be okay, but if you have a bunch of people over 5'10", it will be uncomfortable for the people stuck in the back.
The additional coverage is insurance. If you have a gold or platinum credit card, it likely comes with coverage, and your own car insurance at home often includes rental car coverage. Unless you have no other coverage, I wouldn't waste my money on the rental company's insurance.
I rented from Alamo at lax and waited 3 hours to get my car because their computers were down. Didn't get to the hotel until past midnight.
Make sure you have primary coverage, as the legal minimum the insurance companies put on the cars in California is stupid low.
Yeah, arrange insurance with your local car insurance agent before you go. Insurance from rental companies is a massive rip off.
As far as things to see, are you looking for kid-friendly stuff? You said family, but you also said 5 adults. Don't know about kids stuff, but a couple of our favorite things are the Getty centre, and the bizarre and wonderful museum of Jurassic technologies.
Its a ripoff if you are driving in Canada, when you can get sued for millions for a simple minor accident in the states get the coverage. Most insurance transfers to rentals but most people have low liability limits in canada.
Plus whats better than the piece of mind of using a rentals companies $0 deductible insurance? I had a rental that took a huge rock to the windshield brought it back dropped it off and walked away no hassles.
Edit: Not sure how old the kids are but do Six Flags for some amazing roller coasters and rides.
if you go straight outta compton you can get to long beach (LBC) and you should undertake a mission to find Mr. Warren G and give him some california love.
Personally i have only been to LA once, and we found that there was not much to do there......
Set up the car rental online, it is ridiclously cheap as we rented a rig in San diego and it was $30 per day - we would have easily spent that in cabs.....
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i goto LA almost every year, it's my favorite city to visit.
For car rental companies, i'd suggest going with one of the bigger name companies like Enterprise, Alamo, Budget, etc. The cheaper ones usually don't have shuttles to the branch. Most rental car companies don't have any cars in the actual LAX airport, so you have to catch a shuttle ride there. Enterprise has the fewest shuttle buses so you will be waiting at least 15-30 mins, but they also have the cheapest rates. Budget, Alamo, etc will have more shuttles, but higher prices. Up to you what you want.
For insurance, my auto insurance policy covers rental car insurance as well. As a minimum, you should have $1million coverage, but $2million would be better since it is the states. The rental car company will try to tell you to get their coverage because if anything happens the claims will be a hassle etc. Some will even tell you that your car insurance will not cover anything. Don't believe them. They make their money on insurance coverages.
As for things to do for family, I'd highly recommend going to Disneyland and California adventures. This place is simply magical, for young and old. I'd get the park hopper pass if you only plan on staying for a day, but ideally you should spend a day at each park if you've never been there before. Veterans will know which rides are worth waiting for, and how to work the fast passes, and visit both parks in one day. The best part about disneyland, is everything is themed. truly magical. Stay for the fireworks at night.
Another good amusement park, for more rollercoasters and thrill rides, is Six Flags Magic mountain. It's about 2hr drive from LA. Spend a whole day there riding the best rollercoasters in the world. They also have a waterpark there.
If your family likes to shop, drive over to Desert Hills Premium Outlets, near palm springs. It's about a 2 hr drive from LA. One of the biggest outlets that i've been to, and they have lots of premium stores.
Santa Monica is a fun place too for the family. The boardwalk is fun, and there's a small carnival type amusement park. Santa Monica Promenade is a new mall, with lots of shopping, dining, and pubs.
If you like to people watch, spend a day in Venice Beach. Lots of interesting characters there.
I personally skip the Hollywood walk of fame and that area, but it's nice to spend an hour or two there, just to say you've been there. There's not a whole lot to see, and the area is kind of ghetto. I'd recommend spending a few hours there, and heading over to santa monica or venice beach for the other half of the day.
Fill up your gas tank before heading back to the airport. Gas is more expensive near the airport. I believe gas is significantly cheaper outside of downtown.
Another fun place to check out is a place called The Grove. It's got some shopping, as well as a really good farmer's market. Go to the farmer's market for lunch, then go shopping. They validate parking as well.
If you're up for some late night eats, find a taco truck. Best tacos i've ever had came out of a truck. And at $1-2 each taco, it's a cheap and fulfilling meal after a night of drinking.
For nice and clean beaches where you can relax and tan, goto Huntington Beach or Redondo Beach. Santa Monica is a bit busy and dirty.
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Visiting LA w/ family - questions
