im looking at the moment to find any tour company that does day tours and am hoping to find a city tour that will last for a day

1. Yes, you will need a car. And sunglasses.

2. Hotel and car are best bid on priceline.com's Name Your Own Price reverse auction. For example I recently took the wife for a romantic getaway at the 4* Westin LAX for $65. You should be able to snag a car for $25 or less, and a fine hotel for $80 or less.

3. Hotel parking charges, if any, vary. Most 2.5* properties do not charge, many 3* properties do. There are inexpensive motels in many areas that do not charge for parking.

I think one of the Universal City hotels would be about your speed. Aside from the Universal Studios and Citywalk attractions, why not just sit in the hotel jacuzzis, order a drink from poolside service, and enjoy our L.A. weather.

I went to LA twice last year without renting a car. I stayed in downtown and used the metro train to go to various places like Disney concern hall, chinatown, hollywood blvd etc.. The getty center is a place I would be interested in visiting next time I am there.

1trainer1..Suggest you search for a hotel in the Santa Monica area. I agree that renting a car is essential and you should definitely ask for a Satellite Navigation system.

Please do not dissappoint the OP. Unless the OP knows people or has any desire to go to places like Altadena to Cameo Woods to Torrance to Cypress and then to Stanton within 3 days, then I would say sure, you need a car. But the OP has not expressed that nor has any desire to do so.

1trainer1: Please focus on where you would like to stay in LA and what you would like to see in 3 days. If you would like to stay in LA without car, then of course that is possible in areas where tourists are. Downtown LA and Santa Monica are good places to stay with good hotels and public transportation. If you want to stay close to the beach, then stay in Santa Monica. If you want to see museums, the Disney Concert Hall and have access to Hollywood and Universal Studios, and a glimpse of everything in LA, then stay in Downtown LA.

If you stay in Santa Monica, for example, you can get there from LAX on Santa Monica Big Blue Bus. If you want to see the museums in Downtown LA, Disney Concert Hall and El Pueblo de Los Angeles, then take Big Blue Bus Line 10 express from Santa Monica to Downtown LA. From there, you can take Metro Red Line to Hollywood and Universal Studios. You can also use Metro Rapid Line 720, which will connect you from Santa Monica to Westwood to Beverly Hills to the Los Angeles County Art Museum to Downtown LA on Wilshire Blvd. On rush hour, those buses run every 90 seconds.

You obviously have been getting replies from car drivers here, but for the LA residents who are without car by choice (I for one - others will seem that an anomaly but it is not) really focus on where we are going and stick to the plan using transit, biking and walking. My suggestion is unless if you want to drive on the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Malibu, then get a car but keep your rental to one day. The rest of your stay can be done on public transportation if you are going to major destinations. Otherwise, you may be dissappointed trying to drive here and get stuck in the number one city for traffic congestion in the US, which may ironically get you stuck in traffic for 2/3s of your stay.

Happy travel planning!

If you do decide to get a car .. be careful how you book it. Most Americans seem to get Insurance cover on rentals from their credit card companies or household Insurance.... so they can get these $25 PL deals....

That does NOT happen with an Aussie CC (or household Insurance policy).. and I suspect not with a Brit one either... Most (all?) Travel Insurance covers the EXCESS only.. don't even think it covers the whole thing..

Long story short.. If your CC/home insurance provides no coverage you WILL need the "CDW or LDW" (Collision Damage Waiver/Loss Damage Waiver)..

It is not Insurance as such.. it is a fee paid to have the rental company "waive" their right to hold you responsible for ALL costs associated with damage to the vehicle...and it CAN be $$$$.. (Like $19 a day extra!)

..but doesn't have to be.

Sites like www.cheap-car-rental.com offer rates to foreigners that are all inclusive.. and generally pretty decent. The Alamo site also does so if you make sure to enter your country of origin....

Just be careful........

Good point. I decline coverage since my personal car insurance covers rentals, and I use my credit card as secondary coverage (for the deductible in case I have to file a claim). Of course, it gets more complicated if you decide to drive your rental car across international borders (to Canada or Mexico).

IMO it is the single biggest concern for Aussies (and many others) visiting the USA.... I didn't feel scared walking in NYC at night... but US car rental outlets terrify me!!!

I know one guy who got bitten in the a$$ ... he assumed rental cars in the USA carried Insurance (as they do here)....

Cost him a lot of money when he had a fairly minor bingle.....

Thankyou for your message, I was getting a bit worried and was thinking that I might just spend 3 nights in the hotel, I was thining of staying in Beverly hills or Downtown as they are both tourist spots that will have plenty for me to do in their areas, I dont think I iwll get a car no matter what but the spots I want to go are universal studios, getty centre, hollywood walk of fame, chines theathre and the museums

IMHO, downtown L.A. is a super dump. There is not much to do and no reason to stay there.

For a tourist, the main attraction is the Disney Hall, which is worth seeing (nice cafe inside, too). It is near a subway stop.

I suggest Santa Monica (near 3rd St Prominade) or West Hollywood area. Beverly Hills is okay, but be sure you are in the downtown area of BH (which is not a dump).

When I moved to L.A. I couldn't believe that you really, really had to have a car to get around. Now, I believe. But, you can see a lot via bus and the limited subway.

See the Tar Pits for sure. Amazing! And go to Farmer's Market at Third and Fairfax (this is not the same Third St as the one in Santa Monica). Getty is well worth the trip. And is free if you come on the bus. Check out the L.A. Weekly (comes out on Friday) which is free entertainment paper.

Forget taxis. Really doesn't work in L.A.

Again, everything you suggest would be easily reachable by public transit from a hotel location in Hollywood or Universal City. (Sheraton Universal Hotel, Hilton Universal City, Holiday Inn, etc.) which you can reach either by pre-booking a van service like Supershuttle...or taking the FlyAway Bus to LA Union Station, and then the Metro Red Line to Universal City.

That puts Universal studios within walking distance, the Chinese Theater & Hollywood Blvd Walk of fame 1 stop away on the Red Line (Hollywood/Highland). The Getty Center would be 30-60 minutes away via two limited-stop bus routes. (See Metro.net)

I'm not sure what other museums you are interested in...
But might I recommend:
The Gene Autry Museum, which is one of the best Western Heritage museums in the nation....and sits on the edge of Griffith Park, the largest urban park in the nation. (one bus, 30 minutes)

I second the suggestion to avoid downtown LA. Some cities have vibrant downtowns, but LA is not one of them.