Day and a Half before Cruise: Best use of time?

We%26#39;re going to be in Santa Monica Feb 1 and 2 before leaving on a cruise late afternoon. I lived in LA 50 years ago but my husband has never been. Would a tour be a good use of time? I want him to see Beverly Hiils, Westwood, Brentwood, etc. We%26#39;re staying at the Holiday Inn at the Beach.

Day and a Half before Cruise: Best use of time?

Depends on you!

The tours are certainly the easiest. You get a little peek at lots of things. BTW, how are you getting to the harbor? Most travelers don%26#39;t realize that it is actually cheaper to rent a car and drive yourself compared to taking a taxi (around $100) or using a shared van service. If you ARE going to rent a car, then, of course, you%26#39;ll have it to take yourself around L.A. on your own. (You might not want to do this, of course).

Tell us what you%26#39;d REALLY like to see in our city -- be as specific or vague as you wish, e,g. ';An interesting Museum';. Perhaps, we can be help you.

Day and a Half before Cruise: Best use of time?

We%26#39;ve decided to rent a car from the hotel in Santa Monica. It can be returned there as well...$34.00 which isn%26#39;t bad. Forty years ago (not fifty as I mentioned) there used to be maps of the areas that you could get to sight-see. Are they still available and...are they any good?

I%26#39;m afraid that renting a car at the LAX might be a nightmare

The advantage to renting a car at LAX is that you will save the cost of the taxi or shuttle van between LAX and your hotel. I haven%26#39;t heard of any specific complaints about renting cars from LAX although (since I live here) i%26#39;ve never done it.

Most hotels have maps that show tourist sites. You can always buy a tour book (Fodors, Frommers, Let%26#39;s Go, Lonely Planet, etc) before you leave on your trip and study it. These tend to have detailed maps of the different neighborhoods.

BTW, if you%26#39;d rather not buy the book, most libraries carry a wide variety of them and allow you to borrow them for as much as 3 weeks at a time. (In Los Angeles, you can borrow a book for 3 weeks and then renew it over the phone -- via an automated system -- twice so that you can borrow it a total of 9 weeks).

make up