Dumb Mistakes Tourists Make in Los Angeles

Visiting Los Angeles is a must for many travelers to the US, but there are some common mistakes that first time visitors to LA make. Here we give you the best travel advice on avoiding problems as a tourist when you are in Los Angeles.
Mistakes first time visitors to LA make
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[anthonywarthold]

First visit to LA in 2012 we made the mistake of talking to 2 guys and a girl who approached us on Venice boardwalk with headphones. Listen to our music they said, then they asked us our kids names and wrote them on a CD. They gave us the CD and then said ‘we usually sell them for $30, but whatever you can afford’. Because they wrote our kids names on the CD we felt obligated to buy them. Beware of this scam !

[paintkiller]

LA local here. Great video. I'd like to add that the metro system here is slowly but surely growing. I would recommend waiting until 2023 or 2024 for a trip bc at that time there will be an LAX rail link, some new museums open, and more rail accessible museums/attractions.

[zyxwut]

LA is the kind of place where you probably really want to have a good itinerary and healthy budget to have a good time. It's too spread out, too much traffic and the sites are too far away from each other and expensive to just stumble onto serendipitously. If you plan it well and locate sites near each other with enough time (and money) to enjoy everything LA can be quite special, unlike almost anywhere else on Earth. But you have to plan it. Fail to plan is planning to fail here.

[Aviation]

One thing I learned from my first trip to L.A.- if you're gonna be spending any time in or near downtown, make sure you use the restroom BEFORE you get there, or otherwise you may have some issues. In our case we spent an evening in Little Tokyo, which bumps right up against Skid Row. Literally every place that had a restroom, had it closed off to everyone due to vandalism and the nefarious activities of the homeless. We covered several blocks, and my wife was in agony trying not to have an accident on herself before we finally found a public restroom that required a code for the door to get in. And those restrooms were in pretty bad shape, so you will only want to use them when you absolutely HAVE to.

[andyroldan]

My first time to LA alone with friends (i was about 19) drove down to LA from Sacramento in 2015 (very little money) and looked for the cheapest hotel. Ended up staying in El Monte. To find out it was way too far for anything we would end up doing in LA. Very important tip, look at the map and look at distance.
A 6 mile long drive can last an hour or more with traffic .

[LeeEverett]

A few points to add on you somewhat covered:

-Do NOT jaywalk here, cops heavily enforce it. Even if there's literally no traffic and your signal is taking forever, avoid the temptation if you can. Some fines can be as high as $200.

-Don't text and drive. Everyone does it these days but again it's heavily enforced by police and you'll get one hell of a fine.

-Regarding the buskers/street performers, don't ask, take, or agree to be in a picture with them if you don't have any cash on you. I've seen fights breakout over just a few dollars because a tourist didn't want to pay.
To add to this, don't accept "gifts" from bystanders either. You'll have people try to "give" you a necklace or something but it's really not free. You're 100% expected to pay them or else they'll start something with you.

[techknowshaman]

As a former Los Angeles and OC Uber driver I am going to point out that scheduling a pickup does not schedule a driver to be at a place at a time. It pings a driver to show up when they would arrive at that time. Drivers will only ever wait 5 minutes for you then cancel for a fee. Better tactic is to check the app as you head to the gate, order the Uber so it will arrive when you do. Move the pin to an area the driver can actually get to and stop at. And check the plate to be sure it's the correct one. This is easy in CA since we have to have front and back plates.
Great tips other than this.

[thehighcommunity]

Thanks for the advice Man. You are very informative and the inflection on your voice makes it so that we don't get bored throughout the video. Great Video!! ✌️💯🤙

[willthornwillthorn]

Wow Volter you’re right about traffic. And not just traffic it self but the intense puls on the freeways. I’m starting week 2 now and I’m just ready to go from the most right lanes to the middle. And yeah bring the warm clothing. One day of sun. LA can be rainy for a week. But still a fantastic city. Now moving on to Las Vegas. Best regards from the Swedish Thornander Family

[alphafort]

Best wishes for the season, professor. Hope u and the family have a great New Year! Thx for all the wonderful videos. :)

[maryannemalandrinos]

I love the fact that you brought up the nature because one of my favorite parts about living in the area is the proximity to nature and beautiful hikes! Everyone treats LA like its just a bunch of fake influencers when in reality its made up of so much more than that! Also I have to say that as a local Downtown LA is seriously underappreciated. Yes, there are sketchy parks to avoid but everything from south park and LA Live and up on grand to the Broad and concert halls is a beautiful city walk. If anyone ever visits I definitely recommend scoping out that area if you want to appreciate the lights and high rises at night.

[twaiter]

Hey, i am flying into lax in June and staying in La Quinta with my daughter for our first ever trip from Scotland, we are planning on lots of traveling etc and i just wanted to say i found you're video very helpful and inspiring. thanks very much

[danielmorton]

As someone that lives in LA I actually have to disagree with your stance on renting cars. The trains are still really limited and Uber and Lyft are overpriced right now. You could probably end up spending more on Uber and Lyft to places than you would just renting the car, even with the exorbitant rental car prices these days. Not to mention it's really hard to get lyft and uber these days anyways

[christopherhood]

One thing I learned not just from visiting LA but all of the states, is to carry some “real” money on you for tipping. This may be hard to get used to for countries where tipping is not a thing- like my home country of Australia- but you WILL need to carry cash.

[teddysnyder]

I have lived in L.A. for 30 years. The first time I came here, I stayed at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills and fell in love with the city. Very nice central location for everywhere in L.A. you would want to go. Yes, traffic is terrible, but you will waste a lot more time trying to use public transportation. L.A is too big and attractions too spread out to make this feasible. Note: Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm are not in Los Angeles city, or even Los Angeles county. Good advice to stay in Orange County for that part of your trip. Generally unsafe to walk around Downtown L.A. at night.

[mentonerodominicano]

Some mistakes I made were: trusting Google maps regarding the Subway and Metro Bus, going to Venice Beach instead of Santa Monica, thinking the clubs opened till morning (2AM is a very lame closing time), going very late to take my departure flight (thankfully my friend is an amazing driver so I made it right on time), not going to West Hollywood. Thankfully my friends were kind enough to take me to Griffith Observatory, which was a great adventure.

[banjohead]

Very nice to see The Kettle in the Manhattan Beach shots -- thanks! I really miss that place.

[aaronsnell]

Hey, i just wanted to say I appreciate the high level overview, appreciate the sharing & down to earth practicals - cheers

[blueyechevy]

Great to know all these things, I'm planning a family trip in March. First timers.

[Lunahandle]

Great video. I think same of you about many things.