Santa Monica to Long Beach

[MsMot]

Good Afternoon! We're spending a few days in the LA area before we sail. We were going to stay in Hollywood, but I have since learned that the area where we were booked isn't the safest place after dark. So I have switched to a Santa Monica hotel, which I think will work out better because it's close to the beach and other things. Has anyone stayed in Santa Monica before sailing? We have a full day tour of LA booked for Friday. Any must see/do on the other days?

[Bruin Steve]

Good Afternoon! We're spending a few days in the LA area before we sail. We were going to stay in Hollywood, but I have since learned that the area where we were booked isn't the safest place after dark. So I have switched to a Santa Monica hotel, which I think will work out better because it's close to the beach and other things. Has anyone stayed in Santa Monica before sailing? We have a full day tour of LA booked for Friday. Any must see/do on the other days?

 

IMHO, Santa Monica is the best place to stay if you are in the LA area for a few days...Hopefully, you've chosen a good hotel...and close to the Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier and Palisades Park...Assuming you have, you have lots to do close by, most of it in easy walking distance.

 

First, if you have a Full Day LA tour booked, that should get you to the traditional tourist spots in Hollywood and out in that direction, so you won't have to worry about a return trip across town...

 

Near Santa Monica, but typically requiring a short Uber ride or something of that sort, there are the two great museums of the Getty Foundation: The Getty Center museum is a few miles away, off the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass...It is a world class art museum in a magnificent modern architectural setting on a hilltop...The second is the Getty Villa--which houses the antiquities collection--it's located just up the coast from Santa Monica in Pacific Palisades (Yeah, they call it Malibu, but it's really in the Palisades--near the border of Malibu). The property itself is magnificent--modeled after an ancient Roman Villa in Herculaneum destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius...

 

Also, near the Getty Center is the Campus of UCLA, IMHO, one of the most beautiful college campuses in America...

 

A short ride down the coast from Santa Monica (can also be reached on rented bicycles or even walked if you're hardy enough) is Venice Beach with its famous boardwalk. This is where all of those famous film clips you've seen on TV are taken--the bodybuilders lifting weights on the beach, the girls in bikinis on roller skates, the pick-up basketball and volleyball games featuring world-class athletes, the street performers and merchants...Really worth an afternoon--especially if the weather is warm and the beach is crowded...

 

In Santa Monica itself:

The Santa Monica Pier--Many movies have been shot here--if you are a movie buff, you'll recognize the carousel building used in "The Sting" (No, it really wasn't Chicago), the climax of "Falling Down"...and countless others...The pier also has amusement park rides and other attractions...

Palisades Park--one of the world's most magnificent parks, a long stretch of land atop the cliffs with views overlooking the wide Santa Monica Beach and the Pacific Ocean...A sunset stroll along the rail is unforgettable...

Third Street Promenade--a pedestrians only walking street--lots of shops and restaurants, but, also, no shortage of street performers--the best cheap entertainment you can find...

 

Lots more...Have fun...

[MsMot]

IMHO, Santa Monica is the best place to stay if you are in the LA area for a few days...Hopefully, you've chosen a good hotel...and close to the Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier and Palisades Park...Assuming you have, you have lots to do close by, most of it in easy walking distance.

 

First, if you have a Full Day LA tour booked, that should get you to the traditional tourist spots in Hollywood and out in that direction, so you won't have to worry about a return trip across town...

 

Near Santa Monica, but typically requiring a short Uber ride or something of that sort, there are the two great museums of the Getty Foundation: The Getty Center museum is a few miles away, off the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass...It is a world class art museum in a magnificent modern architectural setting on a hilltop...The second is the Getty Villa--which houses the antiquities collection--it's located just up the coast from Santa Monica in Pacific Palisades (Yeah, they call it Malibu, but it's really in the Palisades--near the border of Malibu). The property itself is magnificent--modeled after an ancient Roman Villa in Herculaneum destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius...

 

Also, near the Getty Center is the Campus of UCLA, IMHO, one of the most beautiful college campuses in America...

 

A short ride down the coast from Santa Monica (can also be reached on rented bicycles or even walked if you're hardy enough) is Venice Beach with its famous boardwalk. This is where all of those famous film clips you've seen on TV are taken--the bodybuilders lifting weights on the beach, the girls in bikinis on roller skates, the pick-up basketball and volleyball games featuring world-class athletes, the street performers and merchants...Really worth an afternoon--especially if the weather is warm and the beach is crowded...

 

In Santa Monica itself:

The Santa Monica Pier--Many movies have been shot here--if you are a movie buff, you'll recognize the carousel building used in "The Sting" (No, it really wasn't Chicago), the climax of "Falling Down"...and countless others...The pier also has amusement park rides and other attractions...

Palisades Park--one of the world's most magnificent parks, a long stretch of land atop the cliffs with views overlooking the wide Santa Monica Beach and the Pacific Ocean...A sunset stroll along the rail is unforgettable...

Third Street Promenade--a pedestrians only walking street--lots of shops and restaurants, but, also, no shortage of street performers--the best cheap entertainment you can find...

 

Lots more...Have fun...

 

Wow, you're a wealth of information!! Thank you!! This is all very useful; the hotel indicates that they are a five minute walk for the Third Street Promenade. Now I can start the count down! I haven't been able to get excited because I've been so stressed out trying to find a decent hotel in a safe area and not have to take a second mortgage out on my home.

 

25 days to sail!!!!:D:D:D:D

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Good Afternoon! We're spending a few days in the LA area before we sail. We were going to stay in Hollywood, but I have since learned that the area where we were booked isn't the safest place after dark. So I have switched to a Santa Monica hotel, which I think will work out better because it's close to the beach and other things. Has anyone stayed in Santa Monica before sailing? We have a full day tour of LA booked for Friday. Any must see/do on the other days?

 

It depends which hotel you were in in Hollywood and which one in Santa Monica. You could have traded the frying pan for the fire.

 

"Must see and do's" depend on what interests you and whether or not you have a car.

 

Without a car you can ride the light rail from Santa Monica to Downtown LA stopping at the California Science Center with the Space Shuttle Endeavour in it on the way.

[MrsGBroon]

MsMot

 

Sorry to jump on your thread but I am interested in your post as we also plan to base ourselves in Santa Monica before cruising from Long Beach.

 

I'm finding the hotels in Santa Monica to be quite expensive can I ask where you decided on?

 

Which company did you choose to do your one day tour with?

 

How are you planning to travel from Santa Monica to Long Beach?

 

Our cruise isn't until next Sept so plenty of time to plan but I'm just collating lots of information just now!

 

Thanks for your help!

[SadieN]

Los Angeles is an expensive city. Be aware of cheap hotels, there's a reason ;)

[Bruin Steve]

MsMot

 

Sorry to jump on your thread but I am interested in your post as we also plan to base ourselves in Santa Monica before cruising from Long Beach.

 

I'm finding the hotels in Santa Monica to be quite expensive can I ask where you decided on?

 

Which company did you choose to do your one day tour with?

 

How are you planning to travel from Santa Monica to Long Beach?

 

Our cruise isn't until next Sept so plenty of time to plan but I'm just collating lots of information just now!

 

Thanks for your help!

 

"Expensive" is relative, but, yes, on the whole, Santa Monica is a fairly expensive hotel town within a generally expensive city...

 

Remember, Los Angeles is fairly wide and spread out...There are some extremely upscale areas and some areas where even the locals fear to go.

Santa Monica is in an area generally known as "the West Side"--which includes many of the pricier neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area--Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood. These are towns with multi-million dollar homes, upscale shopping, high end restaurants, etc.. Santa Monica has the added advantage of being right by the beach...plus, it has excellent attractions for tourists and is one of few areas that really doesn't require you to have a rental car to get around. Add to this that many of the hotels in Santa Monica are either very upscale, five-star hotels or well-located trendy hotels...

 

Even though I grew up nearby and still live relatively close, I have had the opportunity to stay in a couple of these--the Loews and the Marriott LeMerigot...Both are great hotels and well located...The ocean and pier views from these hotels make them even more desirable...that and the fact the land they sit on is incredibly expensive beach-adjacent property...justifies those high prices...Same for Shutters-at-the-Beach, Casa del Mar and the "grande dame" of Santa Monica Hotels, the Fairmont Miramar...There are some smaller hotels along Ocean Avenue which cash in on that great location--like the Shangri-La and the Georgian...these are smaller boutique hotels...but still fairly upscale...

 

It used to be that you might find a slightly better rate at the Huntley or the Wyndham since their locations are a couple of blocks off the beach (and the Wyndham is right above the freeway), but even these have gotten a little pricey...

 

There is a small hotel just a block or so further inland from the Miramar (great location--about a short block from the Third Street Promenade) called the Cal-Mar. It's actually a converted 1950s apartment building. It is considerably less fancy than the others I've previously mentioned--but it is not a bad place to stay at all and it can usually be had for a considerably lesse room rate.

 

The Doubletree and the LeMeridien Delfina can often be found at slightly lower rates--but neither is that well located...both a few blocks from the beach and a few blocks from the Promenade and sort of on the wrong side of the Freeway...but, if you're willing to do a bit more walking...

 

You will see some cheaper motels listed as being in Santa Monica...but located up around 20th Street or so--NOT anywhere near the tourist areas or attractions.

 

An alternative to Santa Monica proper is to stay in the Venice/Marina Del Rey area, just to the South of Santa Monica but at the beach...Hotels here are a bit cheaper than Santa Monica...The Venice neighborhood has its own attractions--The Boardwalk, Muscle Beach, etc., lots of restaurants and a very distinctive character...and you can get an inexpensive Uber or even a public bus up to Santa Monica. Venice has some smaller, trendy hotels at the beach--my daughter often goes there for Business (her San Francisco company has an office there) and she always stays at the Hotel Erwin in the heart of Venice...In Marina Del Rey, there are some nice chain hotels--like a Marriott and a Hilton Garden Inn...Stick to the hotels nearer the beach --not up toward Lincoln Blvd.

[MrsGBroon]

Thanks Bruin Steve. Great advice. I'll check out those hotel and the Venice Beach area.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hopefully the OP will check in on how her stay went. I'm guessing her cruise ends today or tomorrow.