2016 California Trip

[Seeker615]

My husband and I are planning a trip to California in 2016. We will be flying in to San Francisco for 3 nights and then flying into LA for rest of our trip.

A few questions: We want to travel either in May or June. Is either an issue? Will it be more crowded one month?

We don't plan on renting a car. We will probably rely on the public transportation. How easy is it to navigate? We want to do the typical LA tourist stuff like the Hollywood area, the Warner Brothers Tour, La Brea tar pits, Universal and some museums.

Has anyone done the Magic Castle? Is it worth it? We are probably staying at the Magic Castle Hotel so we can get in.

Is there a service to get us to Disney for one day?

 

[bcla]

San Francisco is very much doable on public transportation alone. While the locals have issues with MUNI, it does service nearly all the popular tourist spots. You could easily get a 3-day or 7-day pass that includes cable cars. A 7-day MUNI pass is also included with San Francisco CityPASS.

The LA area on public transportation? Good luck. I can't really think of a worse major metropolitan area to rely on public transportation.

 

[sheetz]

For LA you can get by with public transit depending on what you want to do. If distances are not too far you can also use Uber. Disney is too far to do from LA, especially without a car.

 

[bcla]

For LA you can get by with public transit depending on what you want to do. If distances are not too far you can also use Uber. Disney is too far to do from LA, especially without a car.

Possibly if one sticks to places near light rail and major bus lines. However, LA itself is sprawling (nearly 500 square miles) and gets even crazier if relying on trains to get to Anaheim. It's one of those places where even those who seriously hate driving need to think about renting a car, even if it's only for a day or two.

San Francisco is manageable on public transportation for tourists since it's pretty small and visits to other places can be done by tour bus. I don't think that most San Francisco tourists are that interested in the surrounding areas, but even those can be visited by BART or other public transportation options. Even then, taking Caltrain can be an iffy proposition outside of commute hours and trying to visit Marin County using public transportation is difficult.

 

[sheetz]

Possibly if one sticks to places near light rail and major bus lines. However, LA itself is sprawling (nearly 500 square miles) and gets even crazier if relying on trains to get to Anaheim. It's one of those places where even those who seriously hate driving need to think about renting a car, even if it's only for a day or two.

LA is sprawling but the places the OP listed are relatively close to one another and can be easily reached if they are staying in Hollywood.

 

[bcla]

LA is sprawling but the places the OP listed are relatively close to one another and can be easily reached if they are staying in Hollywood.

It seems kind of self limiting to me. Perhaps it's manageable to some extent by restricting visitation to a small area, but this place is so much more than just the area around Hollywood and Burbank.

 

[usnuzuloose]

San Francisco is different from LA. SF is a lot easier to get around with the transportation. LA is a different matter. Your depending on bus schedules. I would rent a car for LA.

 

[sheetz]

It seems kind of self limiting to me. Perhaps it's manageable to some extent by restricting visitation to a small area, but this place is so much more than just the area around Hollywood and Burbank.

Well most tourists really don't explore much outside of a small area. I don't if having a car will change that by much.

 

[mr.bungle]

Just rent a car. It'll be so much easier.