How To Get Around In Los Angeles – By Bus, Train And Taxi maj 20, 2022 – Posted in: Travel, USA – Tags: Car, Holiday, Los Angeles, Metro, Transportation, USA, Vacation

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HOW TO GET AROUND LOS ANGELES WITHOUT A CAR

Los Angeles without a car – is it at all possible? Yes it is indeed, but the size of the city means that you will have to consider what area you want to live in and especially how you can get around to everything you want to see.

Los Angeles is one of the cities in the United States that has the best public transportation system. If you just want to get around Los Angeles and see all the sights, you don’t have to rent a car. Los Angeles has plenty of bus and subway lines, and this way you also avoid traffic jams and parking fees.

LOS ANGELES – THE CITY OF CARS!

Los Angeles is definitely the city of cars. On the wide highways there is almost always a queue and it is not uncommon to wait half an hour to be able to turn off at the access ramp into Downtown. The many cars in the city are also reflected in the price of parking. Parking is expensive and $30 fee to park your car is not uncommon.

Fortunately, it is a myth that it is necessary to rent a car to get around Los Angeles. The arguments for renting a car tend to be that Los Angeles is too big to see without a car, and at the same time, public transportation should be non-existent. But luckily that’s not true – it’s both easy and cheap to get around by bus and subway in Los Angeles!

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN LOS ANGELES

If you don’t intend to rent a car, most of the major sights can be reached by metro and bus. Buy a TAP card, where you get, for example, 7 days of unlimited rides by metro and bus for $ 25. The metro’s six lines cover most of the city, and run out to all major tourist attractions.

If you live in Downtown, you can, for example, jump on:

the red subway line that goes up to Hollywood
the yellow line that runs to Pasadena
the blue line where you’ll reach the beach in Santa Monica in 25 minutes

In addition, the TAP card also applies to 200 bus lines covering the city where the metro stops. If you are going from the airport and further out into the city, there are also several buses running at regular routes. Please note that the TAP card is not valid for the Blue Line buses, unless you have purchased this. However, it only costs $ 1.25 to ride the buses, so have some small change ready.

In addition to public transport, you can also use the free shuttle buses to the major attractions. If you don’t want to drive your own car or go with the public transport, you can also do as the Americans do: flag down a taxi. The two major companies in Los Angeles are Uber and Lyft. Click the links to download an app for your phone that you can use to order a lift.

HOW TO PLAN YOUR TRIP AROUND LOS ANGELES

Using Google Maps is a great help planning your trip around Los Angeles. There are both bus and metro lines on the map, you are shown the fastest route and get a map at the same time. If you need a map of the subway in Los Angeles, you can find it on the link here.

You can also use Trip Planner from the subway, but for those who already use Google Maps from the phone, this is preferable.

WHY RENTING A CAR IN LOS ANGELES?

In short, you don’t have to rent a car in Los Angeles unless you want to visit areas that are not covered by public transportation. If you are going out of town, it is on the other hand a good idea to rent a car, for example for a trip up the coast.

In the USA you can travel by train or Greyhound buses between the big cities. Use Google Maps to plan your trip or Amtrak.

GREAT HOTELS FOR A VACATION IN LOS ANGELES

One of the really big items in the budget for a trip to Los Angeles is the accomodation. Are you looking for an affordable hotel in Los Angeles on Booking.com, you will see that the city has hotels in all price ranges, but in general the city is expensive to stay in. It takes a bit of effort to find affordable accommodation in Los Angeles, but it is not impossible.

If you are going on holiday in Los Angeles in the summer, it is also nice to have a swimming pool at the hotel. The city can be quite hot, and then it is nice to be able to cool off in the pool. Here are a few recommendations for good hotels in Los Angeles that are affordable – and with a swimming pool. The hotels and the appartment can be booked directly through Booking.com. See more hotels by doing your own search here:

Booking.com

A GREAT HOTEL IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD

When we were going to Los Angeles, we asked friends and family if they could recommend a good hotel in the city. Trine’s sister and brother-in-law had stayed at The Garland Hotel the year before – which they really liked. They said: It’s a bit expensive, but worth every dollar! Here yo can take a dip in the swimming pool, eat a Nutella toast for breakfast and get a good nights sleep in the large Queen beds that are big enough for two. There is a free shuttle bus to Universal Studios. The hotel is located in the northeastern part of Los Angeles, close to the freeway, so it is easy to get around the city by car.

Read more about the hotel here: The Garland Hotel

A GOOD AND AFFORDABLE HOTEL – WITH AN AUTHENTIC DINER

One of our friends recommended a good and affordable hotel close to Hollywood Boulevard, The Adler a Hollywood Hills Hotel. Here you live with Hollywood Boulevard just around the corner and close to both the subway (Hollywood / Vine) and the exit to the freeway. The hotel has its own swimming pool, and there is a refrigerator and microwave in the room. In the same building you will also find The 101 Coffee Shop, an authentic diner with the best breakfast menu.

Read more about the hotel here: The Adler a Hollywood Hills Hotel

AN APARTMENT IN LOS ANGELES FOR A FAMILY

Along with the recommendations, we searched around ourselves and eventually found a really nice apartment in Downtown LA. The apartment in Wilshire Apartments met all our needs for location and comfort. The apartment consisted of a room and a combined living room / kitchen, where the living room had a sofa bed. There was a well equipped kitchen with dishwasher, washer and dryer and TV with the very large TV package.

Upstairs in the other building was the swimming pool and gym, which we had free access to, and a free space in the parking basement was also reserved for us. Just across the road is a large supermarket as well as a Starbucks (with WIFI!).