Discovering Los Angeles, California by Car

So you’ve decided to treat yourself to a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the City of Angels, Los Angeles in the breathtaking country that is the United States of America.

Taking in as many sights and attractions as possible has got to be your top priority as there is so much to see and do but what you might not have thought about is how you’re going to get to these places.

Hiring a car is the easiest way to see everything you want to whilst sticking to your own schedule and it couldn’t be easier to hire a car at Los Angeles LAX airport.

After landing simply follow the purple signs for the rental car shuttles that’ll take you straight to the rental desks. After choosing your ideal car, how about checking out some of LA’s top destinations, some of my favorites are:

Disneyland

If you’ve got kids, or count yourself as a big kid, then Disneyland has got to be a stop you want to make, whether it’s for the rides, the atmosphere or to pick up some Disney gifts for anyone back home.

Why not stay for the amazing firework displays that are a regular event or how about letting the kids become Jedi for the day or let them meet the famous Disney characters, there’s definitely something for the whole family here.

Traveling here in a car from LAX is about 35 miles depending on the route you take and will take you roughly 40 minutes in light traffic and 1hr-1:50hr in heavy traffic.

Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame is legendary in Hollywood, many famous stars have been commemorated here from Sandra Bullock to Adam West with hundreds more in between.

The amount of stars stretches 15 blocks along Hollywood Boulevard and 3 blocks of Vine Street.  Each star has an emblem categorizing the area the star has been commemorated for these are motion picture, broadcast television, audio recording/music, broadcast radio, and theatre/live performance.

Getting here from the airport is around 14-27 miles depending on the route and will take 30 minutes in light traffic or 45-1:40hr if heavy.

Santa Monica Pier

This is an iconic location to visit when in LA, the gorgeous views from the pier are perfect photo opportunities for the Instagram conscious whilst the pier itself offers a huge variety of activities you can do.

How about riding the famous Ferris wheel and rollercoaster or visiting the amusement park for more rides and games that everyone will enjoy.

If you fancy a change of pace why not visit the aquarium on the pier to take in some exotic sea life or go on a free historical walking tour that’ll let you learn about the pier’s history.

The pier itself is very close to the airport as it’s only 8-10 miles away, you can get here in 15-30 minutes or 30-1hr if you go at peak times.

Hollywood Sign

This is what most people think of when they think of Los Angeles, the Hollywood sign is one of the world’s most famous landmarks, sitting on Mount Lee in the Santa Monica Mountains it overlooks the city itself.

Each letter is 45 feet tall with the sign spanning 352 feet in length this is truly something you have to see yourself to believe just how big it actually is.

Why not take a road trip out to the mountains to see the sign for yourself, a quick drive of 26 miles takes roughly 35 minutes with good traffic or 1:20hr+ with bad.

Rodeo Drive

Now here’s one for the serious shopper, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is a 2-mile-long street that’ll have you putting a serious dent into your credit card if you’re not careful.

This street is home to some seriously high-profile shops which is an experience in itself to see just how the rich and famous spend a day shopping.

Driving along here will let you take in the excess that is LA, you’ll not see just the shops but the world-famous hotels that line the street including the Four Seasons Hotel and the Luxe Hotel.

Driving here from LAX is roughly 12-14 miles taking around 20 minutes to a 1hr.

Vegas Road Trip

Seeing as you’ve already got the wheels why not go all out and take a road trip to sin city itself.

Las Vegas is an adult paradise with casinos to gamble the night away in with top-class shows to see from dancing, magicians, and singers or you can spend your time taking in the world-famous hotels that make Vegas such a popular destination for tourists year-round.

If you want to see Vegas straight from landing it’ll be around 300 miles there taking roughly 4-5 hours, giving you plenty of time to take in the landscape of this beautiful country on your way.