Sunday, August 11, 2019

Los Angeles -- a 4.5 day deeper dive, enhancing our itinerary (seeking feedback!)

Hi all,

My friend and I are planning this trip (in less than a month) on fairly short notice due to very hectic schedules and late PTO approvals, although the core ideas and feel for the trip were envisioned for quite some time now. We would like to seek your advice in enhancing our itinerary with more "insider" knowledge as best as possible (any Angelenos here??). Last year we did an incredible, deeper dive in New York City and had a hell of a time and are seeking a similar experience here. However, due to LA's massive sprawl and somewhat less obvious sights, planning a great itinerary is a challenge and a challenge we respect -- and we would really appreciate this sub's input to help nail our trip and get a lot out of it.

For context, we're both 27 yo, single straight dudes, originating from cities in the northeast and Midwest, and are well traveled (especially my friend). We're very, very interested in nightlife and partying hard, but not really upscale settings -- more down to earth places but definitely don't mind intense atmospheres. We're interested in more old school and grittier nightlife, not glamorous.

We're also very interested in trying a wide variety of food and hole in the wall joints, especially Korean, Thai, various Mexican (and fish tacos!), sushi, and food trucks / fast food / QSR. We have some places in mind already, but if anything comes to mind based on our destinations below, please feel free to recommend. And we're also interested in more cultural experiences, generally (for reference, some of our most favorite experiences in last year's NY trip was exploring less travelled parts of Queens and Brooklyn).

For additional context, I have been to LA before as a kid, but my friend has not and so we will be hitting some of the tourist stuff too.

We will also be renting a car and would like to get great use out of it. We have been compiling a big playlist and are very interested in exploring the city by driving (avoiding the worst of the traffic as much as possible), and experiencing the true sprawl of the place…

. . .

DAY 1 (Friday)

  • Both of us flying into LAX from different locations. I will arrive early in the day and my friend will arrive later in the evening. I will handle getting the car and might head to Dockweiler beach for much of the day and will be picking up my friend at LAX later in the night. Any small suggestions for this day are welcome.
  • NIGHT DESTINATION -- Silver Lake

DAY 2 (Saturday)

  • We will be exploring the more touristy stuff in Hollywood, as my friend hasn't seen it. We're considering a studio tour as we are significant film buffs (and FYI - we are very interested in checking out good **cinemas** on this trip where we can see art-house / foreign / classic films, if time permits)
  • NIGHT DESTINATION - we want to stay on or within striking distance of the Sunset Strip and experience the bar scene. We have already identified some points of potential interest, including Frolic Room, The Rainbow Bar and Grille, and Whisky a Go Go. We are interested in live music. Does focusing on the Sunset Strip make sense for what we’re looking for, or are there better recommendations in the “area (ie not on the other side of Los Angeles)”? Keeping in mind, we’ll be returning to the Strip the following night.

DAY 3 (Sunday)

  • Lots of driving and also exploring the Hollywood hills, without really a definite destination in mind. However, the day will culminate with a late afternoon, early evening hike at Griffith Park and sunset / evening view at The Griffith Observatory.
  • NIGHT DESTINATION – we want to return to the Strip and experience at least one (1) comedy club, especially The Comedy Store.

DAY 4 (Monday)

  • We will want to spend the day exploring two things – The Getty Museum and then the Malibu area and some of the coast.
  • NIGHT DESTINATION – Koreatown. We are especially interested in having a great Korean BBQ experience (my friend has never tried and it’s among my favorite dining experiences) and then the subsequent nightlife in Ktown, including karaoke!

DAY 5 (Tuesday)

  • Our day time experience is a bit up in the air here, but I’m inclined to make this a day of exploring many of the beaches of LA and LA county, and without a doubt we want this day to culminate with time exploring Venice and Santa Monica, including interest getting fish tacos at James Beach.
  • NIGHT DESTINATION – we are open to simply staying in the Venice area to make nightlife and logistics easier, but we are also interested in exploring the nightlife in Downtown LA and thus lodging in a mid-point location between downtown and Venice. Advice here on this day is especially welcome.

DAY 6 (Wednesday)

  • We both fly out of LAX – my friend at mid-day and myself at 11:00pm!

Any general feedback on this shell of an itinerary is very welcome and appreciated, including alternative suggestions, questions on route and timeline, recommendations for bars and food, and other cool shit you can think of that logistically makes sense and fits within the style and spirit of the trip.

Thanks so much!



Submitted August 11, 2019 at 05:54PM by ParisTexas7 https://ift.tt/2MbfX77

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