OT: LA/Vegas Trip- Travel Advice

doctaJ_92 · Post #1 » by **doctaJ_92** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:02 pm

My friends and I are going to LA in early May for my buddy's bachelor party. We're landing in LA at Noon, plan to stay for the day in LA, and then we're going to rent a couple of cars and travel to Las Vegas for 2 days. It's our first time travelling to LA, so we have no idea what we should do for accommodations, which part of LA to stay in etc. So a few questions for your board:

Where in LA should we stay that's relatively cheap, and isn't too far from an area of the city where we can party/ has an entertainment district?

Where do we need to go in LA for food/entertainment since we're only staying there the 1 day?

Do any of you know of any hook ups for hotels/entertainment etc?

What time should we leave on Saturday morning to hopefully avoid traffic from LA to Vegas? Which highway do we need to take?

I've been to Vegas before, but if you guys have any recommendations on accommodations to get an upgraded room, where we have to go while we're there for bachelor party type activities, let me know. Thanks for your help.

mastermixer · Post #2 » by **mastermixer** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:24 pm

I'll try to help you out. How many days and nights are you in la for?

First just use eater LA or YELP for restaurants in the area you are at the time. LA is too spread out to try and point you good places to eat.

I would say land in LA, spend the day in Venice/ Santa Monica for the day. Check out the pier, muscle beach, Abbot Kinney St, etc.

If you're driving to Vegas the next morning, don't get a hotel in Santa Monica, it''ll add an extra 40+ min to your drive. Stay in Downtown for the night, and you will have pretty good jump on getting out of LA in the morning. Try the Standard Hotel in Downtown. The nightlife in Downtown is good too, good bars.

I would get out of LA early, like 8 am. Get to the Vegas hotel and get to Day club.

If you're staying in LA again on your way back from vegas, try staying on the sunset strip ( like sunset blvd and La Ceianga Blvd).

DEEP3CL · Post #3 » by **DEEP3CL** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:38 am

doctaJ_92 wrote:
Where in LA should we stay that's relatively cheap, and isn't too far from an area of the city where we can party/ has an entertainment district?

Downtown or Hollywood has good night life. And you can get great food from anywhere in the city.

doctaJ_92 wrote:What time should we leave on Saturday morning to hopefully avoid traffic from LA to Vegas? Which highway do we need to take?

I would leave around 4am to 6am, If you're staying in downtown you can hop on Interstate 10 east for about 45 miles to Interstate 15 north to Vegas. If you leave in that time frame you should arrive in Vegas by 7:30 to 10:30 am. The earlier the better...I usually leave my house between 2 am to 3 am and get to Vegas at 5:30 ish....to 6:30 am. Map Quest will tell you the trip is like 4 1/2 hours...it can be done in less once you figure out the spots to go over the speed limit.

Also critical note, watch for the "No Tolerance Speed" zones once you cross the Nevada border. Nevada Highway Patrol does not play.It's going to be a downhill coast that adds speed to your car...slow up once you see the warning. NHP cars are SUV's that are dark in color (deep navy ) and they will be hard to see in darkness. Also California Highway Patrol will be out too just to let you know, they could be anywhere on HWY 15.

Blackmill · Post #4 » by **Blackmill** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 4:05 am

doctaJ_92 wrote:Where do we need to go in LA for food/entertainment since we're only staying there the 1 day?

If you're into beer then you're going to a good place. LA and the surrounding area has some killer breweries. Bottle Logic, Monkish, Noble, Mumford, and so on. If you do go to a brewery, make sure it's not an event or release day, since you'd probably have to wait in line.

For cheap food you should take a look at Jonathan Gold's reviews. You'll learn about all sorts of hidden gems like Guerrilla Tacos. Their tacos are seriously amazing and I would have never learned about them if not for his reviews.

If budget isn't a problem then try out The Bazaar for dinner. They've got a large menu, so if you plan to go there, I can give some recommendations.

SashaTheMachine · Post #5 » by **SashaTheMachine** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 4:06 am

Spearmint Rhino. They're everywhere.

Ballerhogger · Post #6 » by **Ballerhogger** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 4:32 pm

The Westin Bonventure would be good hotel choice. They have this little club in it, plenty of food choices. All sorts of rooms pending your budget. Everything is short taxi drive from there for downtown La or walking distances.