Going to LA for Vacation should I rent a car?

Hello my girlfriend and I are going to LA later this year and neither of us has been there and our parents went there back in the 80's. I want to know should I rent a car? Or will public transportation/ uber be enough to get around?

Thanks

If you want to see things like Venice beach, Santa Monica Pier and the Chinese Theater, then yes a car is "needed." I would get one. The pier and Venice are within walking distance, but the whole walk of fame/theater area is up in Hollywood proper which is a good 25-35 minute drive from the beach area on a good day. Bus can get you there in 45-60, but really, it ain't worth the hassle. Rent a car and give yourselves the option of going to Marina Del Ray or Universal Studios if ya want. That's my suggestion btw. Having went to school near Hollywood, you will get to the walk of fame and go "Ew." If there's a Disney movie out, the El Capitan is a fun time. Its a sweet, old theater they decorate based on the movie. Mann's Chinese theater and Madam Toussou's are neat to look at but its very busy and there are a lot of people most days. Universal has the new Harry Potter section now if you're into that sort of thing. I would stick to the beach for a while, check out the boardwalks, 3rd Street Promenade, then see what tickles your fancy around town.

@ragnar: We got a B&B in Santa Monica so we wont be staying in downtown.

@jamin724: moved to Off-Topic. Please try to keep all threads in their relevant threads. Thanks.

Yes, absolutely rent a car, no question about it. Don't even try getting around So Cal without one. Nothing is close together and it will take forever to get anywhere using public transportation.

Yup. If you plan on going anywhere other than Santa Monica, rent a car. You can find some pretty cheap rentals.

Yes. Car is necessary for getting around LA. A good thing to understand about LA is that it is very much a series of smaller cities that grew into one. So everything is very spread out.

Also, Graumann's Chinese Theater is terrible.

30+ years of LA living and the public transportation has always been a steaming crater of garbage. I don't know where all you're planning on going and traffic and parking also suck giant donkey balls so an uber might be a reasonable option but it's unlikely.

I've had decent experiences with public transit (at least for getting to downtown / hollywood in general), but I'm also up in San Gabriel Valley not West LA. Last time I was in Santa Monica I used Uber and I don't remember it being too overpriced (going from there to Culver City) but if you're close to the main touristy stuff you'll probably see the occasional surge in price. For what it's worth the Metro station in Culver City might be a decent way to check out Downtown if you find yourself wanting to do that since it's usually cheaper than parking and much less of a pain in the ass, and the station shouldn't be that far from wherever you're staying.

For some extra info here's what the light rail map looks like http://www.urbanrail.net/am/lsan/los-angeles.htm -- I think that extension to Santa Monica isn't going to be open until 2016 at least but it gives you the general gist. Last time I used it there prices were $1.25 for a one-way and $7 for an all-day pass, I believe a 7-day pass for only like $15-20?

Honestly, in that area in particular and during a (presumably) holiday season I'd rather use taxis and transit where I could get away with it, but I prefer not to drive when I can avoid it.

Yes, I would get a car. I was there for a week a few years ago without a car, and while it's possible to get around on public transport, it will be way easier and quicker with a car.

I'm with most of the other posters. Yes, you need a car unless you're planning on staying around your hotel... Which wouldnt be a good way to see much. Actually I don't know... As someone born here I really don't know why people come here for vacation. I ask my wife since she does casting and sees alot of people from not around here and she's not sure either. Maybe we're both too bored or boring. Why did you decide to come out here for vacation? If you're a rider I'd actually recommend getting a bike.

If you only want to go to Santa Monica and Venice, then no, you don't need a car. If you do all-day destination type trips to like downtown, or Hollywood, or other beach cities, you can Uber there and back and probably still come out ahead of renting. If you want to be hopping around town, you'll probably want a car.

Yes you definitely want a car. Also try to be extra careful while driving there. Every time I've been to L.A. I've encountered a lot of terrible drivers.

If you got the money for it, yes, it is definitely preferable. However, despite what people say you don't need a car. Like if you're in Nebraska or whatever you need a car-- in LA you don't need a car. The public transportation is there, and it's not total garbage. It's just not as robust as the other major American cities. I lived in Hollywood for 6 months without a car.

You can get away without a car if you utilize things like uber but as everyone has said renting a car is by far the more convenient route

I have visited Los Angeles, and I did rent a car. It was very helpful in visiting different areas of LA. The city is very spread out. But I don't know how good public transportation is in Los Angeles. It might be an option

Yes absolutely. You'd probably spend less per day renting than you would on a taxi ride to one place each time, especially with how cheap fuel is. Plus that way you can accidentally find yourself at Griffith Observatory instead of Hollywood and you'll be better off for it!

Eh, not sure I entirely agree with this, gas has always be way more expensive here than other states I've visited, usually by $0.75-$1 a gallon. It also depends on how much you actually spend on the rental I suppose. If you're spending around $200 then I'd say it might not balance out to what you'd spend on Taxis (assuming you're sticking around West LA), however places like Disneyland or Griffith Observatory you'd want the car for sure.

Also if you're going to do any tourist-type stuff then I'd seriously say that the Observatory is probably one of the best.

E: Uber has a decent site you can use to get fare estimates as well in case you want to look into that. Might want to keep in mind that LAX is an anomaly as they currently aren't allowed to pick you up (but I think they can drop you off?), that might be changing shortly though.