drive ourselves or take a tour?

[sarah-jane]

Hello,
We are heading to Disneyland andLA in august with our two kids (6 and 4). My husband as I have always wanted to see the Hollywood/LA sights. We area staying at VGC at Disneyland for 7 days, but want to head into LA as well. We were planning on having a rental car but my mom and dad have suggested taking a tour of LA instead of driving ourselves. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. We've never been to Disneyland or LA area before.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Hello, We are heading to Disneyland andLA in august with our two kids (6 and 4). My husband as I have always wanted to see the Hollywood/LA sights. We area staying at VGC at Disneyland for 7 days, but want to head into LA as well. We were planning on having a rental car but my mom and dad have suggested taking a tour of LA instead of driving ourselves. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. We've never been to Disneyland or LA area before.

You can see most of the sights in LA in one day... I'd recommend driving, that way you can pick the sights you want to see, rather that being herded around to only the touristy spots and "stars homes". (The stars homes aren't worth it, unless you want to go on a tour of gates and driveways in LA). This also gives you the freedom to stop and peek into many of the unique shops, restaurants, etcetera that you might come across.

Things to focus on:

~La Brea tar pits
~Grauman's Chinese (adjacent mall has good views of Hollywood sign, and you can see the stars on the sidewalk here)
~The Getty Museum (not appropriate for kids)
~The Grove/Farmers Market
~Rodeo Drive/Beverly Hills
~Griffith Park/Observatory
~Lake Hollywood Park, 3204 Canyon Lake Dr. 90068 (If you want a closer view of the Hollywood sign. Please keep in mind, you will be traveling through residential areas, so follow speed limits and be respectful.)

 

[FFerret]

You can also get a great view of the Hollywood sign from Griffith Observatory

 

[Califlove]

We are doing a combination of both. We are renting a car and driving to LA for a few days pre-DL. We are taking a private tour (Tour du Jour) that will be 2 hours and 360.00 total. You get a driver/tour guide and a vehicle all to yourselves. We're looking forward to it. If you're thinking about one of the Starline tours, you could park at the Hollywood and Highland Complex and take one of the tours from there for 100.00 or less. The trolley tour is cheap and cool. Good luck and have fun planning. We are staying VGC in July and can't wait!!!

 

[mfleeting]

Hello,
We are heading to Disneyland andLA in august with our two kids (6 and 4). My husband as I have always wanted to see the Hollywood/LA sights. We area staying at VGC at Disneyland for 7 days, but want to head into LA as well. We were planning on having a rental car but my mom and dad have suggested taking a tour of LA instead of driving ourselves. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. We've never been to Disneyland or LA area before.

We are going in November and have decided to spend a day in LA as well. For us we decided just to rent a car. We decided to do this so that way we can see exactly what we want to see and stay for however long we want.

 

[PHXscuba]

I think with younger kids I'd drive myself. Unless it's a private tour, you won't have any control over bathroom stops, what you see, tiredness level, etc. Much of what a tour hits, kids won't care about. If you drive yourself (with a GPS and some patience) you can see what you want and spend as long as you want in any place.

PHXscuba

 

[kdkbrebel]

I just booked our private tour for july with Emily from yourlatours based on the reviews from trip advisor. I just told her a little about our interests, some things we wanted to see etc and she put together the perfect custom itinerary for our day, plus since it is just us we can choose how long we stay at each place change as we go etc. and it was only slightly more expensive than the bigger group tours and will be way less stressful than driving ourselves finding parking and all that mess.