Los Angeles City Guide #1
Hikes & Beach Days
Day 1
This itinerary assumes you are staying in the Hollywood/ West Hollywood/ Hollywood Hills area but it can still be done staying elsewhere.
It also assumes you will have a car and be driving. It can still be done with ubers + public transport but may take longer to get to and from destinations.
🛬 Arrive in Los Angeles to start your Southern Californian break.
First stop as soon as you leave the airport:
⭐ In-N-Out S Sepulveda Blvd - Iconic west coast burger place with plane spotting opportunities.
🛒 After In-N-Out, we recommend heading to a grocery store (marked on our Google My Maps) to stock up on things you may want for your trip (e.g. water, snacks, alcohol). As LA is quite sparse, its a little more difficult to locate shops within close proximity whilst you're on the go.
Activities on this itinerary that you might need your own snacks/drinks for include hiking, sitting at the beach/ parks, and long drives.
Depending on what time you land, and how tired you're feeling, you may have time to squeeze in a couple of things before retiring at your Airbnb/ hotel for the night.
After In-N-Out make a pit stop at one (or more) of the view points marked on our map (binocular icons), some of which include the iconic LA beaches.
🤝🏽 To respect local residents, any unofficial viewpoints (e.g. residential streets with good views) have not been marked on the map or disclosed. You can, however, find official viewpoints marked.
A favourite ❤️ of ours is to head to the Venice/ Santa Monica beach areas to have a quintessentially Californian experience. First:
🥂🍫 Grab a beer/ wine/ dessert from your grocery shop items; or
☕ A hot beverage from Ministry of Coffee, Venice, Pink Elephant Espresso; or
🍴 Food from Fabios Pasta, El Huarique Venice
Head to one of the beach viewpoints marked on our map including lifeguard towers where you might be able to have yourself a real OC moment! You may even be able to time it perfectly with sunset 🌅 depending on your flight arrival time.
If
After sunset, check into your hotel or Airbnb to settle in for the night after a long day of travelling.
This itinerary assumes you are staying in the Hollywood/ West Hollywood/ Hollywood Hills area but it can still be done staying elsewhere.
It also assumes you will have a car and be driving. It can still be done with ubers + public transport but may take longer to get to and from destinations.
🛬 Arrive in Los Angeles to start your Southern Californian break.
First stop as soon as you leave the airport:
⭐ In-N-Out S Sepulveda Blvd - Iconic west coast burger place with plane spotting opportunities.
🛒 After In-N-Out, we recommend heading to a grocery store (marked on our Google My Maps) to stock up on things you may want for your trip (e.g. water, snacks, alcohol). As LA is quite sparse, its a little more difficult to locate shops within close proximity whilst you're on the go.
Activities on this itinerary that you might need your own snacks/drinks for include hiking, sitting at the beach/ parks, and long drives.
Depending on what time you land, and how tired you're feeling, you may have time to squeeze in a couple of things before retiring at your Airbnb/ hotel for the night.
After In-N-Out make a pit stop at one (or more) of the view points marked on our map (binocular icons), some of which include the iconic LA beaches.
🤝🏽 To respect local residents, any unofficial viewpoints (e.g. residential streets with good views) have not been marked on the map or disclosed. You can, however, find official viewpoints marked.
A favourite ❤️ of ours is to head to the Venice/ Santa Monica beach areas to have a quintessentially Californian experience. First:
🥂🍫 Grab a beer/ wine/ dessert from your grocery shop items; or
☕ A hot beverage from Ministry of Coffee, Venice, Pink Elephant Espresso; or
🍴 Food from Fabios Pasta, El Huarique Venice
Head to one of the beach viewpoints marked on our map including lifeguard towers where you might be able to have yourself a real OC moment! You may even be able to time it perfectly with sunset 🌅 depending on your flight arrival time.
If
After sunset, check into your hotel or Airbnb to settle in for the night after a long day of travelling.
Day 2
Day 2 - wake up in LA! 😎
Start your morning with one of LA's famous hikes - Hollywood Sign.
⚠️ Pack your light snacks/ fruit bought at yesterdays grocery story visit. Don't forget water! LA heat can be intense and trails in the hills can have largely unshaded sections.⚠️
You can make a pit stop at one of the following coffee shops, which aren't too far from the trailhead, before your hike:
☕ Intelligentsia Coffee Hollywood
🚶🏿♀️➡️Park up or get dropped off on Canyon Lake Drive close to the Innsdale Trailhead. Take the Innsdale Trail, Mullholland Hwy, then Mt Lee Drive all the way up to behind the Hollywood Sign. You can also use AllTrails. A spectacular way to start your morning.
After your hike, re-fuel with some food!
Lunch:
🍴 The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker
Since you're in the Hollywood area, why not walk off lunch at Melrose Avenue (between Fairfax and La Brea) for pretty street art, vintage stores, and trendy boutiques.
Or if you fancy a break, head back to your accommodation for an afternoon rest.
🔭 This evening you'll visit Griffith Observatory for sunset.
🚶🏿♀️➡️If you want another hike, park up at Fern Dell Drive/ West Canyon Rd (free but busy at weekends) and enter Griffith Park. Follow the West Observatory Trail to the observatory. Again, its steep and there's little shade so take plenty of water/ a hat.
🚗 If you'd rather skip the hike, head straight up to the observatory where you can park for $10 an hour.
Try to arrive at least an hour - 30 mins before sunset to see the city turn from day to dusk, and stay after sunset to see the city turn to night with LA twinkling below.
Grab some dinner at one of our featured restaurants or a drink at one of the bars in our list.
Optional pit stop:
As this itinerary focuses on staying in the Hollywood/ West Hollywood/ Hills area, you may have great views from your hotel/ Airbnb. So why not crack open a bottle of wine once you're home and enjoy the night view before heading to bed.
Day 3
Day 3 - Beach day!
Your beach area options today are:
🌊 Malibu
You can pick one area and stay there for the day or our personal favourite ❤️ do all 3!
First, start your day with coffee at one of the following:
☕ Little Lunch Coffee + Snacks
After coffee and breakfast, drive down to Redondo Beach Pier, California's only loop-shaped pier and often named 'the endless pier'. 🚗 ~30-60 mins drive from above coffee shops, however you can take Vista Del Mar for a beautiful coastal drive.
For The OC fans, the whole of Redondo Pier serves as a filming location for the hit show. You can visit the famous diner from the show at Redondo Coffee Bait & Tackle Shop.
Next, take a 🚗 ~13 min drive back up the coast for a pit stop at Hermosa Beach. Take a wander down the pier, watch the surfers, or beach volleyball (or get involved in a game on a first come first served basis). Stop for a drink at the famous Lighthouse Cafe jazz club, which was featured in the movie La La Land.
Next, take another short drive (🚗 ~10 mins) up to Manhattan Beach. You may wish to spend a bit more time here; stop for lunch at The Strand House, have a 🏄🏽♀️ surf lesson, or visit the small aquarium at the end of the pier.
After Manhattan Beach, take a ~30 min drive back up to Venice/ Santa Monica areas. Here, you can do a quintessentially Californian activity - ride bikes/ skate/ roller blade along the beach boardwalk. Here are some good options:
🚲 Joyride Bike Rentals - beach chairs also available
🚲 Venice Boardwalk Bike Rental
or if you didn't surf in Manhattan Beach, try🏄🏽♀️ Kapowui Surf in Venice.
You'll want to plan your evening around sunset so head up to Malibu in plenty of time before sunset to get settled and enjoy it fully.
Places you could enjoy the sunset in Malibu:
🏖️ Sandy Dune
🍴 Neptunes Net (for Fast & Furious fans)
You could also book in a pre-sunset or even sunset activity:
🏇🏽 Horse riding - Malibu Riders
🏄🏽♀️ Surfing - Malibu Surfing School
Note: you could also do this day in reverse, starting with Malibu and ending down in Manhattan Beach which gives classic California sunsets with tall palm trees lining the beach, whilst Malibu gives a more rugged beach aesthetic.
🚆 If you are using public transport, you can take the Pacific Surfliner or Coast Starlight train straight up to Santa Barbara from LA Union Station or from Hollywood Burbank Airport/ Van Nuys stations. 🚆
This evening, watch the sunset at the beach. There's nothing like watching a sunset on the west coast and at the beach you'll have unobstructed views as the sun sets under the horizon. You can even sit on one of the lifeguard towers and have yourself a real OC moment. Why not grab some food and a drink and have yourself a sunset picnic on the beach.
After sunset, a lovely activity to do is to watch a rooftop/ outdoor movie, and LA provides the perfect backdrop for this. Here are some great outdoor cinemas:
🎬 Cinespia
After the movie, try some of the bars on our list, or simply head back to your accommodation.
Final Day
On your final day, start the morning with a sunrise hike up Runyon Canyon.
Today, go back and do something you may have missed or visit somewhere you really enjoyed again.
