LA Driving

[Neil]

We are just looking at a few options for when we arrive in LA. We are spending our first few days in Anaheim (well, it would be rude not to :w ), and initially I was going to book a CDC to get us from LAX to Anaheim, but we are now needing a car on our first full day so I thought I might as well just extend the rental by a day and drive myself.

Having not driven in LA before, and with the VS flight arriving mid afternoon, am I mad to be even considering it? It looks to be about 30miles, but the 'time with traffic' looks scarily high. The other option is to use one of the shuttle buses, anyone got any experience of these?

TIA
Neil

I've used the Shuttle Bus service in DC, never in LAX. The bus is fine, although you might be the last one to be dropped off, which kind of frustrates me .

I have arrived on the LAX flight mid afternoon and headed to a friends house in Brea, which is not far from Disney.

It was fine. It all depends on how you feel driving after getting off a plane after spending a few hours in the clubhouse and then 11 hours on the plane !

Mark

What Mark said. Most times we've been to LA we have picked up a car and then driven to safely and quickly to our destination. That said, this was pre-CH and UCS days (with all the associated temptations* ), the destination was Santa Monica which isn't far from LAX and we knew the route.

Paul
*<insert Four Tops joke here>

[Scrooge]

Getting from LAX to the Disney area is very easy, your pretty much going to take a couple of turns and a ride on the freeway, it's easy.

[mitchja]

I did this several years ago arriving off the VS7 with a VH hotel in Fullerton. Traffic volume was very high and there where a lot of road works too. The VH maps I had where also not much help as there where several detours due to the road works (this was also before sat-navs where used)

I managed to get to my hotel, but only more by sheer luck than anything!!!

It even turned out a couple I'd met at LAX whilst waiting for bags where following me as they where staying at the same hotel as me and believed I knew where I was going!!

I never did tell them I only got to the hotel by sheer luck :w

It wouldn't be something I'd do again in a hurry, although this was several years ago now and I was on my own.

I have driven in several US cities, but LA was by far the worst (very very busy and several freeways with multiple lanes made things very confusing).

Other holiday makers at the hotel all said driving was a nightmare in LA, especially the pax who had never driven in the US before. I'd driven in Florida previously so at least had some idea about what to expect.

We've always picked a car up from LAX on our holidays and never had a real problem. You are on to the 105 or 405 very quickly from the car rental lots.

Form there we have found Mammoth/Long Beach/Hungtington/LV easy to get to once we have planned our route.

Traffic can be heavy, of course, and you do need to keep a eye on lanes when the freeways split.

We've invested in the refurbished Tom Tom 910 that LRoM had a thread about recently (from totalpda), for taking on hols, and helping with the always difficult last mile to the destination.

(PS. wouldn't have know the unit was refurbished, maps all loaded (US,Canada, UK, Europe), 20 gig HD so can load with MP3s and plug into hire car aux socket, full manufacturers guarantee for one year)

Neil the drive from LAX to Disney is so easy and simple that you'd be silly not to drive it. The traffic is not bad after landing in LA - unless you have to be going through downtown which you're not (different direction). I've done the drive to Anaheim after landing in LAX and it really didn't take long at all.

From the airport it's as easy as:

I-105W - I-605S - CA91E - I-5S - then use the exit for Disneyland Drive for the parks or Harbor Blvd for the hotels. Simples.

I'm there again before you go so I'll get you a guide book that has a really handy, straightforward freeway map of LA.

I find the LA freeways so confusing and tiring after the flight that when the #1 and I go out to LA we either a) stay in Beverly Hills and take hotel car for the first night or b) take a CDC all the way through to Palm Springs.

I would never negotiate LA without a satellite navigation system.

That said, it sounds as though this is an easy trip, and if one of you foregoes the drink it looks doable.

Don't forget that car pool lanes means driver plus one or more passengers, and they're very good if the traffic is more than light - just ensure you turn out of them plenty of time before a junction!

Neil- LA driving is strangely reminiscent of the M25. Lots of static traffic and lots of lanes.
Phyllis I (the trusty 910 Tom Tom) died (HD failure) on our way to the hotel on arrival last year (we had to go and buy Phyllis II the next day as we'd never have managed otherwise).More by luck than judgement we arrived at the hotel (possibly helped by the fact we'd stayed there before).
The traffic around LA just seems to get worse and worse due to the sheer volume of traffic but driving is the only way to get about.If you've a sat nav with US maps (or hire one with the car) it's easy.
Hope you're planning to go to Six Flags too- awesome rides!!!!!!
DL

[Neil]

Thanks for all the replies y)

Sounds as though driving will be okay, just have to make sure I don't have too many champers in the CH before hand

Only problem is now Alamo want to charge me an extra £80 to pick up at LAX and drop off at Anaheim. ! Why is nothing easy.

Neil

Cheeky sods, can you cancel and use a different rental company ?

In the SF Bay area, you can drop off an AVIS car anywhere without an additional charge.

Have never needed a sat nav in LA as I think the driving really is straightforward.

And once on holiday I drove straight to Vegas on a Friday night after landing on a 3 hour delayed VS7. So Anaheim is a breeze after that.

Like Tinkerbelle I have never needed or indeed used sat nav in LA as it is for me the easist (if slowest) if places in the USA to get around.

However I have never attempted to drive after such a flight - if I am there for business it is now illegal for me to drive after anything over 5 hrs of flying but I am on J J so like others I use a CDC, get the car delivered the next day but happily drive it back to LAX.

[buns]

Thanks for all the replies y)


Only problem is now Alamo want to charge me an extra £80 to pick up at LAX and drop off at Anaheim. ! Why is nothing easy.

Neil

With the prospect of an £80 charge for just that extra day, I would be tempted to be taken to Anaheim and use a local depot

buns

[RichardMannion]

I've done both:

First time I went to Disney, I took the SuperShuttle from LAX and it was peanuts then - something like $12-15 but this was ~2002. Obviously there were about 5 other passengers but all were heading in the Disneyland resort area and it saved me driving.

Now I drive there myself - the route is not that hard, and can be done without SatNav. Traffic is no worse than London and the M25.

The £80 charge is a piss-take though. I'd have words about that - I try to avoid renting from US airports if I am there for a long period as they have a tendency to charge 10%+ of the whole rental as a 'concession recovery fee', or a charge of ~$10 day at some locations. I'd take a look on FT as there are a number of useful voucher codes for the various car hire companies - I've been using AU2852SDA at Alamo this week as it gives a double upgrade; though the irony is that its cheaper to rent a car every day than it is for the week (given parking in Seattle is obscenely priced) and there is always the bonus of FC miles per rental.

[Neil]

First time I went to Disney, I took the SuperShuttle from LAX and it was peanuts then - something like $12-15 but this was ~2002. Obviously there were about 5 other passengers but all were heading in the Disneyland resort area and it saved me driving.

Been looking at SuperShuttle myself, only $16 each, with a max of 7 on the bus, doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Only rental company I can find who won't charge the one way fee are Hertz, but they are more expensive on the actual rental (even with the AmEx Cent discount code), so it just doesn't seem to make sense to drive now. Which also means I don't need to worry about how many champers I have in the CH/on the plane 8D

[Darren Wheeler]

I'd look at doing the Supershuttle too. Rent the car from the hotel if you can, return there and then Shuttle to the airport.

You can relax then.

I have driven in Los Angeles several times and the route to the Disney area is reasonable enough to navigate. If you choose to do that particular journey,however, I would consider the use of a satnav as you will be 8 hours out with your body clock and possibly tired from the flight. USCarhire.co.uk offer separate rental at a much more reasonable rate than the car rental outfits. I was quoted £55 for two weeks with delivery and all maps etc. Their car rental rates seem ok. too. Trailfinders quoted Alamo for satnav at £78 for the same period of time.

How far is Anaheim (ahmm, never been there ii) - but 80 quid sounds a lot ... have you priced a limo, I find the use of miles on cars to be dreadfully wasteful.

[Neil]

How far is Anaheim (ahmm, never been there ii) - but 80 quid sounds a lot ... have you priced a limo, I find the use of miles on cars to be dreadfully wasteful.

It is about 30miles.

The cost of the car hire is only £30, but as we already have a car booked for the next day, they want to charge us £80 extra to pick up at LAX and drop off at our original location in Anaheim v(

Looked at limo costs, but think we will slum it in a shuttle bus, it will be almost like using public transport ): (I am joking btw B) )

If you want to use public transport then Metrorail it! ): ):

Link

LAX to Imperial/Wilmington and then change for Anaheim! $2.50 each!

[Neil]

If you want to use public transport then Metrorail it! ): ):

Link

LAX to Imperial/Wilmington and then change for Anaheim! $2.50 each!

Erm.....Umm......Erm.....I'll pass thanks :w

If you want to use public transport then Metrorail it! ): ):

Link

LAX to Imperial/Wilmington and then change for Anaheim! $2.50 each!

Erm.....Umm......Erm.....I'll pass thanks :w

Ah go on, you might even get some entertainment :w :w

Metrorail is not quite the subway, but probably wise to avoid ...

FWIW, last time we did a few days in Anaheim we didn't need a car at all while we were there, and there's so much SuperShuttle traffic at LAX that Richard's experience is not going to be unique - there will be many folks off to Disney area places, and you have a good chance of not ending up playing SuperShuttle lottery all over the LA Basin.

As Richard says, surcharges when renting FROM airports can be criminal, tho' for some reason I often can return to the airport at a "local" rental rate. Just had to do a reservation for an extra car when folks are visiting here late april, rent in SFO-return in SFO - 400-something dollars, rent in Union Sq, return in SFO - 300 bucks. Had similar experiences in many other places. You'll very likely be far better off renting off airport if you need a car after Anaheim.