OT: best time to visit LA/recommendations
 

Am going to LA in September/October this year (stretching the 2-4-1 as far as possible as per previous discussions), but just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the best time to go?
Thinking about best time for weather, if hotels were more expensive during sept or oct, and on that note if anyone had any great recommendations for hotels etc

thanks,

DK

As is customary, we'll give this a short run here before moving over to the relevant forum.

Swanhunter
Moderator, BAEC

P.S I hate the place so really can't offer any constructive help.

L.A. in September is absolute bliss. It will be warm and sunny, and you could go a couple of weeks without seeing a cloud. Exactly how hot depends on where you are - L.A. has far more temperature variation within it that most cities. Close to the coast, e.g. in Santa Monica, it doesn't get much above 70. A little further inland in the nicer parts of West L.A. (recommended) such as Beverly Hills, Bel Air, West Hollywood, Brentwood etc., it will be in the 80s. The inland valleys (e.g. Pasadena) will get well into the 90s most days, but this is a very dry heat - it makes Spain look very humid - and quite pleasant and bearable.

October is cooler, darker and more tempremental. It's still usually nice - better than anywhere in Europe - but not as good as September.

By the way, "absolute bliss" is not an exaggeration. I still haven't discovered a city with a better climate than L.A. Most other major beach cities (e.g. Rio, Sydney) have very wet summers by comparison. Even Cape Town, although better than most, is nothing like as reliable as L.A. - same goes for Mediterranean candidates.

I have always had gorgeous weather in October too. Sep/Oct are by favourite two months of the year in LA.

The worst time to visit San Fransico is better than the best time to visit LA in my humble opinion. It's more of a 70mile sprawl than a city.

Love the people though.

Regards Larry.

Why doesn't the OP visit both?

i'm thinking about it - in to LAX, out of SFO. mrs DK's not quite as keen to get up to SFO

Just wanted to say, make sure that you go to Santa Monica (whether you stay in the area or not). The Pier is worth a wonder, you can hire bicycles and cycle along the beach and I love lunch at "The Lobster" (http://www.thelobster.com/index.php), which is right at the road end of the Pier...

Boo

Agree entirely with LeisureFirst and Boo Boo. ^

You may also want to consider Longbeach (Queen Mary and two very good museums, including Museum of Latin American Art) and Santa Barbara (90 minutes drive away SantaMonica/Belair areas, lovely town, near the sea, rebuilt in the '20s in Spanish Colonial style).

Depending on your likes/dislikes the Getty Centre is awesome to visit, both the contents and architectural style and stunning views over the whole of LA (on a good day) and the LA County Museum on Wilshire is well worth a visit.

Be careful selecting your routes and times of travel! I certainly learnt my lesson :)

thanks to all so far - building up a good picture.

any specific hints about the best way to maximise TPs on any flights while out there? thinking about a trip to LAS, or maybe even over to HNL. i assume you need to fly AA?

I'd pop straight to Hertz if I were you and drive down to San Diego! Its far far nicer than LA, with far more to do. We spent 3 nights In LA recently and then had 5 in San Diego and wish we had spent all the time in SD. Its just a couple of hours drive from LAX.

Re- Hotels we used Priceline and saved a fortune, you should be able to get 4* hotels in San Diego centre and La Jolla/ up the Coast for <$100 a night. We stayed in a variety of 3, 3.5 and 4* places over the week and were more than happy with everywhere.

If you do go to LA, you have to go to the Griffith Observatory, its great, the only thing I really enjoyed in LA, truly fabulous views

As a long term resident of San Francisco (originally from London) I can wholeheartedly recommend it as part of a California trip. My recommendation would be to fly into LAX, spend some time there exploring the various attractions that it has to offer and then drive up the CA-1 with an overnight in one of the many beautiful coastal cities (Pismo Beach perhaps?), stop in Monterey for lunch and a visit to the Aquarium and then spend some time in Northern California.

The two cities are absolute chalk and cheese with SF being a lot more relaxed and easy going than the hustle and bustle of LA.

Do it properly and rent a convertible! I'm very confident that Mrs DK would enjoy her time in my adopted city.

Early autumn really is special here in the LA area.Warm but not hot weather and unusually clear air.
No reason to pass up the opportunity to see the GORGEOUS California coastline.A leisurly drive up highway one(perfectly fine if you want to stop halfway to enjoy the beauty of a sunset-it will be a wonderful memory)and then a few days in San Francisco.
If you want any recomendations please feel free to private me.I have lived in both places for lengthy periods of time.

I agree that San Diego can be very nice for a few days... Seaport Village, the various harbour cruises, over to Coronado Island (visit the Hotel Del Coronado... possibly on hire bicycles), do the trolley tour, the Gas Lamp district, the Zoo might be of interest.

Boo

.. not forgetting Balboa Park and the Historic Old Town