Solo Travels: Los Angeles
January 2024
To start off 2024, I traveled to Los Angeles, California.
Activities
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Time to budget: depends*
Ticket: $25
*I think your love/knowledge of movies would determine how long you’d want to spend here! I spent around 2 hours here, even with my limited movie knowledge. Their website says the average visit time is about 2 hours, but I think those who love films would want to spend more time here.
Brief review: Overall, despite my gaps in movie knowledge, I thought this was a neat museum. It definitely made me want to watch more of the films now that I’ve been there. They have a lot of space for traveling exhibitions, so I think those change relatively frequently as well!
Note: There is an extra ticket cost for the photo op with the Oscar - I’m not sure what else is really included in that ticket price.
LACMA
Time to budget: depends*
Ticket: $25
*I think your interest in this collection of art would determine how long you spend here. Just buzzing through I think would take about 2 hours, or you could spend the day here.
Brief review: I enjoyed this museum! I went through it a bit faster than I needed to - it is a bit smaller than I expected. But I’d say it’s worth seeing, if you like art museums. I believe many of my favorite pieces were part of traveling collections, but those seem to be well curated!
Note: This museum did have a lot of pieces about war, and an area kind of dedicated to war, just to give that heads up. There are some content warnings placed throughout the museum, but they were usually smaller than the pieces of art, so I saw those after seeing the pieces they were for.
Some notes on Museum Row in LA
LACMA & the Academy Museum are in the same space, next to the La Brea Tar Pits. The views of the Hollywood sign from LACMA and the Academy Museum are about the same (decent, but not quite close enough for great iPhone photos), so don’t let the view be the deciding factor if you’re choosing between the two museums!
You don’t need any tickets to view the Urban Lights outside of LACMA. (Tip: if you want photos of it while it is empty, arrive about an hour before LACMA opens.) The Levitating Mass and a few other outdoor pieces can be seen for free as well!
There are a few of the tar pits you can see (and smell) for free as well - I didn’t go to the La Brea Tar Pits Museum, but their website has lots of information if you’d like to visit.
Also - you have to carry backpacks on your front or carry the in most museums, or coat check them (I’m not sure of the costs for those, but the websites usually list that).
The Getty Center
Time to budget: days*
Ticket: free, need advanced tickets
*The Getty Center is pretty big, and they have the Getty Villa at another location in LA. The website said it could take days to go through it all, and I’d believe it.
Brief review: I was excited to go to this, as they have a Van Gogh piece. The views are absolutely stunning from the Center, and the tram ride up is pretty as well. I didn’t spend as much time here - I didn’t budget very much time as I only had so many days in LA and so much I wanted to see - but the staff were also a little rude? Not all of them by any means, but this was the first art museum I’d been to that I felt some staff were a bit rude. Maybe they were just having a bad day though!
Note: food is pretty expensive here, but nobody said anything about me eating a packed lunch at one of their balcony dining areas.
The Broad
Time to budget: 2-3 hours
Ticket: Free, need advanced tickets - especially for the Infinity Room
Brief review: The Broad is a contemporary art museum, so there are definitely more modern pieces here. I’m used to traditional art museums, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit! Overall, it didn’t take super long to go through this - some of the pieces are massive, so while there’s a lot to walk through, that cuts down on the volume of work.
Note: The Infinity Room is something you might recognize from social media, but you need advanced tickets for this that release on the last Wednesday of the month! You only get 1 minute in it, which sounds short, but it’s enough time to see it. Bonus: if you’re solo, they don’t force you into another group!
Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library
Time to budget: depends*
Ticket: free, must book an appointment in advance
Brief review: Honestly, this might have been my favorite part of the entire trip. If there was one place I wished I’d stayed at longer, it’d be this library. They don’t allow photos as the scripts are copyright materials, but I’m so glad I added this to my trip. And the staff were super nice!
Griffith Observatory
Time to budget: depends*
Ticket: N/A - there are tickets for the planetarium shows
*The museum in the observatory is also free - as I went around sunset it was absolutely packed, and it was tough to see very much. So if you’re really wanting to see the museum information, it’d probably be best to avoid sunrise/sunset. I’m not sure how long it would take to go through if it’s not so full of people. There are some hikes here as well, if that is something you’re looking for!
Brief review: I went to see my last sunset of my trip from this observatory, and it didn’t disappoint! The smog was sadly a bit more noticeable, and I’d acclimated to the LA weather enough by this point of my trip I was actually a bit chilly. However, I couldn’t think of a better place for the last evening for my trip.
Note: If you’re taking public transit, the bus to get to and from the observatory can be delayed and have a long line - so be prepared to wait if needed! (Probably bring a jacket!)
Runyon Canyon
Time to budget: depends*
Ticket: N/A - free park!
*There are a few different trail options, so that might determine how long you spend here. That and how in shape you are - although people who seemed to be in good shape were also huffing and puffing at the top.
Brief review: So I’ve not really hiked alone before, and I was definitely winging it a bit. But I am so glad I did this hike - even though it rained when I got to the top.
About the trails: It may be helpful to know that you can get to the best viewpoint, Clouds Rest Overlook, by a paved path. It’s marked as a fire route on the maps, so I didn’t know you could hike on it (again, very new to that). I missed that, so I took a tougher route. I don’t know how to rate trails, but there are some steep steps that are taller than regular stair height. I didn’t do the other side of the canyon, but at the top I heard some people talking about how people have fallen from it, so maybe only do the other ridge if you’re an experienced hiker!
Angels Flight
Time to budget: maybe 15 minutes
Ticket: I think $2 for the commemorative ticket
I didn’t actually end up doing this, but I walked by. I thought I’d be walking in the direction where I could take it to go uphill, so I was planning to do that! But I was actually going downhill, so it didn’t feel super necessary to me. It’s pretty cute and has been featured in some films, so I did want to include it here in case people are interested. I’d definitely use it to go up the hill if you’re going from say, GCM to the Broad.
Grand Central Market (GCM)
Time to budget: length of a meal, or a bit longer to peruse the shops
Ticket: N/A - price varies by restaurant/food
Brief review: I absolutely loved this place, and even came back for dinner one night instead of going to another place I planned to. I’d had a bit of a rough night the night before in DTLA, and this renewed my hope and love for DTLA.
Original Farmers Market
Time to budget: length of a meal, or a bit longer to peruse
Ticket: N/A - price varies by restaurant/food
Brief review: I really enjoyed this as well! There are a lot of different options, and I think I actually even missed a whole section to walk through.
The Grove
Time to budget: time to walk through or to shop
Ticket: N/A
Brief review: This is a shopping area right off the Original Farmers Market you can walk through. There were a lot of Christmas decorations that were neat to walk through (though still weird for me to have it be warm and see Christmas trees).
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Time to budget: maybe an hour, unless you’re trying to find specific stars
Ticket: N/A
Brief review: This is a little bit like a tackier version of Times Square in NYC, but it’s fun to see I think, just to say you’ve been there. There are the handprints in front of Grauman's, the Dolby Theater, the stars, and a shopping center with good views of the Hollywood sign next to the Theater (go up to the level with the Kobe Bryant mural). (Tip: the shopping area also has public bathrooms.) There are a lot of other touristy things on this street, but I didn’t go to them so I don’t have a lot of info to share about those.
Santa Monica Pier & Beach
Time to budget: an hour - days
Ticket: N/A
Brief review: The sunsets here are incredible, and the sunrise is pretty too (even if it’s raining). I saw a few sea lions in the mornings! I was hoping to see dolphins, or even orcas as there were reports they were in the area, but unfortunately I didn’t. However, there is a lot to do on the pier - there’s the amusement park, lots of shops, vendors, performers, an aquarium, and restaurants. Then the beach has vendors and the Original Muscle Beach as well.
Palisades Park
Time to budget: maybe half an hour
Ticket: N/A
Brief review: This park is just off the Santa Monica Pier. It’s really pretty and has nice views of the ocean. Overnight, a few unhoused people set up to sleep there, so I’d recommend giving them their space at night, as I didn’t want to wake them up as I walked by in the mornings to see the sunrise on the Pier — but there are vendors that set up in the afternoons!
Third Street Promenade - Santa Monica
Time to budget: shopping
Ticket: N/A
Brief review: This is a bit more upscale shopping center, but it has a few cheaper restaurants along it.
Note: most intersections in Santa Monica use the pedestrian scramble system, so there is a light sequence just for pedestrians to cross, and you can cross diagonally.
Santa Monica Farmers Market
Time to budget: about an hour
Ticket: N/A
Brief review: This is a local farmers market with actual market items, not tourist booths. If you are able to get produce from here for the duration of your trip, that might be nice! It’s not *the* cheapest, but it all looked incredible.
The Last Bookstore
Time to budget: an hour or shorter
Ticket: N/A - book shop
Brief review: This is a neat bookshop in DTLA.
Echo Park Lake
Time to budget: about an hour, a bit more for the swan boats
Ticket: for the swan boats, I think the sign said $15/person
Brief review: I walked around the lake, and it was such a lovely afternoon. The swan boats looked fun, maybe not so much as a solo activity though (unless you want to of course! That just didn’t seem like something I’d do alone). So I didn’t do those, but I did walk around. I also saw some turtles! If you go by the Lady of the Lake statue, there’s a good view of DTLA as well.
6th Street Bridge - this was the only “activity” I had planned that I didn’t make it to, because I wasn’t sure about walking at night with the limited transit access nearby. Also, I’d already hiked Runyon Canyon that day and just wanted to sit by the fire at the hostel for a bit.
Accommodation
HI Hostel
I stayed at the HI Hostel in Santa Monica.
Honestly, I didn’t look anywhere else. I have the annual membership for these hostels (they’re a nonprofit and the membership gives me a discounted price), and the reviews were good. It was also one block off of the beach!
I will say, if you’re wanting to see a lot of Los Angeles and taking public transit, it might be better to stay a little closer into LA. But for me, you can’t beat staying this close to the beach, especially in January.
The hostel was a good experience - breakfast was decent, I went to one of their events (a comedy show), and I even had some nice long chats with my roommate. I stayed in an 8-bed dorm, and there was a bathroom in the room and more down the hall. There was also a library, tv room, common room area with a fireplace, a dining room, a nice kitchen, and the courtyard.
Since I didn’t search for this hostel, I didn’t really look into other options. This hostel ranges from about $30 to $175/night (the upper end is private suites).
With a quick Google search, it seems like hotels range from about $100/night to much more in LA.
Transportation
Public Transportation
The metro is a bit difficult to navigate, and it does take a while to get to places - however, the cost really can’t be beat, with fares under $2.
The buses aren’t all updated with TAP card scanners on every door, so some drivers let people on relatively easy. The TAP card is supposed to max out at around $18 in a 7-day span, but I didn’t even end up spending that, since I was let on some buses for free.
I’d never transferred buses before, but it was actually pretty easy to navigate with Google maps and the TAP card in my Apple Wallet. I did need my portable charger to keep my phone charged, but Google maps never had any issues besides sometimes not being accurate to the minute on the arrival times.
The trains are a bit nicer than the buses, and the whole system seems to be in the midst of being updated - so I think this will continue to improve.
There was one bus stop in DTLA (6th & Broadway) that I was waiting for after dark. I haven’t ever really felt unsafe while traveling before, but I felt almost unsafe here - I ended up calling a friend to stay on the phone at this point. While waiting for the bus, another man at the stop started peeing in the street while standing right next to me. So, after that, I did use Uber once to get home as I was a little done taking the buses that day (and was also quite hungry).
Uber
I only took that one Uber, and it was $35. That is steep. My Uber driver was great though, and I was glad to get back to the hostel much quicker and be able to eat dinner sooner that night. Sometimes I’d pull up Uber to see the price, as it’s much faster to get around that way - but prices were sometimes over $50. So if you’re planning to Uber around LA, just note that the prices seem pretty high.
Note: The LAX shuttles are a bit of a mess, but I think if you get off at the Aviation Station stop for the Metro Connector, not the City Bus Center for the shuttle, it would be smoother.
Food
There are grocery stores to get cheaper foods, if you have a place to make meals. There was a Target close to my hostel, but there were also Ralph’s (Baker’s), which would have a bit cheaper food.
My hostel provided breakfasts, so I bought groceries to pack for a few meals and eat a few meals at the hostel. I also like to try different foods that aren’t available in Nebraska, so I ate a couple of meals at the GCM, one at the Original Farmers Market, a restaurant on the pier for seafood, and at the art museum. Most of my meals were less than $15, including tip - so if you pick cheaper items on the menus, it is possible to eat pretty reasonably priced meals in LA!
Los Angeles
I actually planned ahead quite a bit for this trip! If you’ve been following along on my travels so far, you know this is a BIG step!
I really enjoyed my trip, but solo traveling is difficult. It’s definitely not happy every moment, and it can be tough to be somewhere you’ve never been before alone. Around the third day, I was thinking four days might be about the limit for me to travel alone — but then I kind of adjusted in better and felt more settled before I left again. By the end of my trip, I was joking that I could be a full-time travel influencer, so those feelings come in waves!
I’m sure I will share more of my reflections in the next few weeks as I readjust back to the time zone a bit. I didn’t expect to be jet lagged from 2 hours, but here I am.
The next trip I have planned is to NYC in February!
Solo Travels is one of multiple series on the from Hannah Michelle Bussa Substack. As Hannah begins to embark on more solo travel journeys, she will share about her trips for those who may be interested in traveling more.
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