Singapore / LA

Buttony

We are going to AUS&NZ in November and are going to have a stopover on the way out. We were thinking LA and we'd take our little girl to disney and universal studios. I have heard LA is not a nice city so was thinking of maybe going via Singapore instead. Any thoughts or opinions on either?

Superman

Ok well i'd say anywhere is nicer than LA I was there last summer and all I can say is its got blazing heat, excessive polution and not as nice as TV would suggest, you feel the whole place is a tinder box ready to riot at any moment.
I remeber turning on my tv the first day and hearing about half a dozen different murders and shootings.
Also me and a mate got milkshakes in the disney shop on hollywood blvd. and my mates stomach was wrecked for days! (hmm guess it will teach us 20 year old for eating kids food!)

PokerTony

The problem with LA is most visitors don't really know where to stay because it's so big. If you know where to go, LA is a great place. I'd stick to the coastal areas for accom. like Santa Monica, Malibu etc and drive to the attractions. I'd stay away from Hollywood Blvd and that area because it generally a pretty seedy area.

idontknowmyname

I love LA- it can be pretty daunting if you haven't done your homework before you leave. I agree with the previous post, stick to Santa Monica, Malibu etc, Venice is fine during the day but a no go area after dark. Santa Monica is fantastic, it's a walkable city, the pier is nice with the rides and the beach for a walk. Malibu is about 30-40 mins up the coast, lots of nice beaches that aren't too packed. It's just common sense about going to areas you shouldn't. Disneyland is pretty easy to get to. Universal is great too. If you wanted to really go all out there's Knotts Berry Farm which isn't far from Disneyland, it's in Fullerton, it's like a small version if Disneyland. Knights of the Round Table is beside Knotts Berry Farm, you have a meal and watch them jostle on horses, you need to book ahead though.

Buttony

Thanks for the information. I seem to be getting alot of mixed reports on LA. If we go we will only be there for a couple of days so hopefully we'll manage to stay out of the seedy areas

spurious

Mad jealous of you off to New Zealand - fantastic place.

Grem

Some areas of LA are lovely as some posters have already said and its kind of exciting to be there where all the stars etc live. Im sure your little girl would love Disneyland and probably you too! But it is quite smoggy/has its fair share of dodgy areas.

I was in Singapore late last year - on the way to Oz. Its a nice enough city, plenty to see and pretty safe. Weather is nice and warm all year round and there is an island dedicated to family entertainment - Sentosa Island, it could be an alternative (of sorts) to Disneyland/Universal? Has beaches, lots of sport playing areas and an unusual cable car ride to it from the mainland.

If your going to Singapore here's a hotel to possibly look at staying in - its the Holiday Inn Atrium, its really cool from inside -when you look up from the lobby area and its got big rooms, staff are lovely, pool, gym etc. In a good area too.

Enjoy your trip!

daveg

As part of out round the world trip this year we stopped off in L.A. on the way home. Like you we had a child with us (6 at the time) and research had told us L.A. was not a very nice place. However as we only had a 4 day stop over we felt L.A. was the best place to stop (want to spend 2 week in San Francisco and San Diego at some stage as well). Anyway we researched L.A., where to go etc. I had convinced myself I wouldn't like it. However I loved the place. It is a really cool city. Within out 4 day trip we went to Universal Studios, Venice beach, Long Beach, Santa Monica Peer (your daughter will love this place, especially the carrousel), farmers market, we did the Hollywood tour of the stars home and all the famous spots in L.A. We all loved it and it was one of the best places we visited on our round the world trip.

Some tips for you with kids. We stayed in the Sheraton Universal which was a really nice hotel in a great location (it's right beside Universal Studios and City Walk where you can go for dinner, drinks etc on an evening). An absolute must is a car and GPS. We booked car hire with Alamo who offer GPS rental as well. Do not underestimate the importance of booking a GPS system. You will get lost all the time and you will not be able to find anything. The GPS was so handy we decided to bring my son to the cinema in L.A. one night. Gps brought us to the door and home again. No way you would try to go without it.

Is L.A. all that dangerous? I felt safer than I would in Dublin to be honest. People were really nice. Don't go wondering about at nighttime. Apart from that it was fine.

Last bit of advice. We booked all our trip with Trailfinders who were excellent, and really good value. All the hotels etc were excellent. Highly recommended. Also on our way out to Oz we stopped off in Hong Kong. Great city, fantastic place but the most child unfriendly place I have ever been to. Singapore might be the same. Check this out before you go.

Hope this helps.