First time visitors can find Los Angeles thrilling and demanding in equal measures. The rambling city sprawls across a thousand square miles of desert basin in southern California. It has gradually swallowed up eighty separate towns and today Los Angeles is a series of distinctive city areas knitted together by an intricate network of freeways. The city’s sheer scale is awesome and getting around without a car is difficult. There are express buses available for non-drivers. And, surprisingly, the districts of Santa Monica, Pasadena, Beverley Hills and central Hollywood are best explored by foot. Los Angeles is a city that picks you up and sweeps you along with its fine art museums, restaurants, shops and bars. Holidays in Los Angeles epitomize the American Dream with its fantasy worlds of Disneyland and Hollywood and the extravagant opulence of Beverley Hills, Bel Air and Malibu.
Year-round warm weather
The art-rich J Paul Getty museum
City and sandy beach holidays
Movie history and Hollywood glamour
Being careless with handbags and wallets. Many holidaymakers invest in a money belt to wear round the waist under t-shirts.
Most holidaymakers with a machine readable or biometric UK passport and a return or onward ticket can travel on the Visa Waiver scheme for stays of less than ninety days. It’s recommended that your passport has twelve months to run to the expiry date (visit www.fco.gov.uk for details).
The year round weather is warm and sunny with average temperatures around 21°C/70°F. the sun shines for an average of 180 days a year. The hottest months are June to October with a high of around 28°C/82°F.
Flight time from London to Los Angeles is approximately eleven hours.
Driving is on the right with a minimum age requirement of twenty-five years old although some hire companies may be flexible over this. It is important to check out what is included in the insurance policy offered by the rental company. Litigation is common in California.