5 days in Los Angeles

Wife and I took the kids last month. We mainly went for DisneyLand so we rented a house in Anaheim about a mile from the parks. We went to LA a few times and the Drive wasn't as bad as I expected. We went to Universal Studios in Hollywood and absolutely loved it. We also went on a Hollywood tour aboard one of those topless vans and saw some cool stuff. They even dropped us off on a lookout with a good view of the Hollywood sign. Went to Santa Monica beach and pier for a bit to check that off the list. It was ok. We had a late flight out so our last day we went to Newport Beach and went on a whale watching excursion which everyone really enjoyed. There's a ton of things to do around LA. We just mainly did family stuff.

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Spending 5 days in Los Angeles with the misses. Any recommendations on what we must do while there?

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Catalina Island.

Hike the Hollywood sign and/or observatory

Go to muscle beach on Venice

Santa Monica Pier

Tour Hollywood- its cool to do once

Go to the original farmers market by the grove south of Hollywood

Go tour a studio- Sony, Paramount, etc

my #1 recommendation is always santa monica pier/venice beach area.

The Hwy 1 mudslide is nowhere near LA.

You guys might consider a day trip to San Diego, it's not a bad or terribly long drive.

I was there a couple of weeks ago and March of last year as well.

My favorite places in LA

1. driving along the coastline of Ranchos Palos Verdes area
Point Vicente Lighthouse (free parking)



Wayfarers Chapel near by (free parking)



Starbucks with a view near by



2. Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica Beach (tie)



3. Malibu beach on the Pacific Coast Highway: PCH was a little bit underwhelming because the view was not as spectacular as I anticipated. Houses were blocking the view while I was driving. I want to visit Big Sur on PCH near San Francisco.

Geoffrey's restaurant at Malibu was superb.



4. Griffith Observatory (must visit)



5. Little Tokyo, Rodeo Drive, Downtown, Sunset blvd, Beverly Hills were decent.

I regretted going to Universal Studios and Disneyland. There are so many things to see and do in LA. I felt that waiting in line at theme parks were a waste of time. Compared to Orlando, the parks were smaller and overall experience was not as good.

I highly recommend The Portofino Hotel & Marina at Redondo beach. I really enjoyed my stay.

Worst Tourist trap in LA by far was the Hollywood walk of fame area.

Spend a day in Orange County. Go walk and eat lunch down in Huntington/Newport/Laguna.

Go to a Dodgers or Angels game


Also, an underrated part of that area is Temucula. Its the SoCal wine region with over 40 wineries. Great for a day trip

Hollywood walk of fame area is definitely a tourist trap

Check out a concert at the Hollywood Bowl

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Huntington/Newport/Laguna.

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Laguna>>>>>Huntington and Newport

Santa Monica pier and 3rd St Prom is a shite hole
Go to any OC beach south of Huntington
Dodgers Game
A day at Disney is pretty easy.
Griffith
Drive through Beverly Hills. Rodeo will. E crowded and heavy traffic
Check the local city websites for filming calendars and go check them out. Check this update as you get closer. LINK /
Javier's in Newport for dinner
Reagan Library in Simi Valley
Universal
SD Zoo
Coronado Island