Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [2]
For information on holidays Click here, and for details of festivals and special events Click here.
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COSTS & MONEY
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DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT…
a cool playlist for road-tripping in style Click here
nerves of steel for driving on the freeways, especially in LA Click here
a sweater or light coat for those days when the sun is a no-show
a set of smart clothes and shoes for hitting hot clubs, the opera or fancy restaurants
checking the latest passport and visa requirements Click here
hotel or camping reservations for those places you really want to stay, especially in summer Click here
this book and a curious mind.
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SoCal ain’t a bargain destination. Most people here make a pretty handsome living and appreciate the good life, which drives up the overall standard of living. What you spend depends largely on what kind of traveler you are, what experiences you wish to have and the season in which you’re visiting. In summer and around holidays, renting a car, staying in midrange hotels, enjoying two sit-down meals a day and spending some money on sightseeing, activities and going to bars or clubs will cost between $200 and $300 per day (per person, traveling as an adult couple). Families can save by booking hotels that don’t charge extra for children staying in the same room as their parents and by taking advantage of discounts at museums, theme parks and other sights. (Click here for details.) Even to merely survive you probably won’t be able to spend less than $70 per day, and this will have you sleeping in hostels, riding buses, preparing your own meals or eating fast-food, and limiting your entertainment. For ways to keep costs down, Click here.
Comfortable midrange accommodations starts at around $120 for a double room, although budget chains, especially along the freeways, may have lower rates. A two-course meal in an average restaurant, without alcoholic drinks, costs between $30 and $45, plus tax and tip. Museums charge anything up to $15 entry, while attractions such as Disneyland will set you back about $65 per person. Car rentals start at $20 per day, excluding tax and insurance.
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HOW MUCH?
Dinner for 2 in Los Angeles: $60+
Motel room in San Diego: $80-120
Movie ticket to feature film: $11
Bottle of wine in Santa Barbara Wine Country: $20+
Cup of coffee at roadside diner: $1.50
Cup of coffee at fancy restaurant: $4
Valet parking: $3.50+
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TRAVEL LITERATURE
To get you in the mood for your trip, pick up some of these titles that paint vivid pictures of the land and society you’re about to visit.
An engrossing tale that weaves together the fates of an environmental writer and an undocumented Mexican couple, The Tortilla Curtain (1996) by TC Boyle is an elegant novel about the clash of cultures and the elusiveness of the American dream.
Mike Davis’ seminal work City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (updated edition 2006) takes a razor-sharp look at LA’s social history, power structures, absurdities and contradictions and examines how these realities will affect its future.
California Uncovered (2004), edited by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is an insightful anthology of poems, profiles and essays – by seasoned and fresh voices – about California’s many different faces and its complex, constantly evolving identity.
Hollywood Babylon (1958), Kenneth Anger’s ‘tell-all’ book about the tawdry, sad and scandalous lives and times of Hollywood’s Golden Era stars, is a classic, even if reportedly rooted more in rumor than reality.
Marc Reisner’s must-read Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water (1993) examines, in dynamic prose, the contentious, sometimes violent, water wars