Santa Monica is a seaside town (I expect you knew that) it has appeared in many movies especially Beverley Hills Cop II and I am sure I spotted it in 'The battle For Los Angeles' recently!

IIRC it is quite a drive out from LA and you have to drive round 'Dead Man's Curve' (Jan and Dean) to get to it. The resort is quite nice, a huge beach and a fun fair on a pier. If you want to explore you may need a car although taxi fares would probably cost less if you were only thinking of gong into LA.

Hello,

We went to LA last year but we stopped in Anaheim.. We did go to Santa Monica though.. We used Viator website & booked our transfers with them with super shuttle i think.. Its around 10 each way.. which isnt bad in my opinion.. I think someone said to us taxis can rack up quite an expensive bill depending on traffic etc & then of course tip..
The super shuttle was located right outside the airport doors to the right, just saw the guy with the clipboard under the sign handed him our voucher & off we went.. no problems, and i shall be booking our san francisco ones with them too shortly..
I saw you mentioned in the Vegas thread about Disney & Universal, we did both as being in Anaheim Disney was on our doorstep.. and we booked a package with VIP tours to Universal studios for the day with transport included.. they had an office in Anaheim, but you can also book via their website..
We also did like a city tour with them aswell, which was really good!!

On phone at moment - will we need hire car then? Will ost a detailed reply later. Thanks!

Well we didnt hire a car.. but i guess its your personal choice really.. unlike vegas and having most at hand on the strip its very big & widespread.. have your booked your accomodation yet? I think santa monica is very expensive in comparison..
what else do you wanna do there? apart from disney & universal? if you can see if those tours depart from santa monica where you will be, i would personally just go on the tour buses.. or public transport? but thats me

Just had a quick look and starline tours depart from santa monica, you can have a look at their website? they do the universal & disney tours etc & many more.. could save the expense of hiring a car etc.. i just personally prefer no to drive over there, im happy on the bus (we dont get lost that way, lol..)

Hi Bubble - your a star.

Just about to book various things on their website including: Disney and Universal Studios tour, 48 hours hop on and off bus, and night bus tour.

Is there a further discount i can obtain if I purchase all of the above from Starline.

Also - what is the most effective way of getting from LAX to the Santa Monica. taxi? or shuttle?
ie I need a transfer as not pre-packaged.

NB - Yes, I already booked a hotel in Santa Monica so cannot stay anywhere else now

Your welcome.. I would use the super shuttle, you can book via viator.. thats what we did & will do again.. At least there are no hidden taxi fees, Lol.. I think its a fair journey to santa monica so i have no idea what a taxi & then tip would cost!! The shuttle is just under 10 ponds each way.. quite good i think!!
Perhaps if you email them, they may be able to offer you a discount?

Taxi to and from LAX is pretty quick. I think it was about $40 last year.

I spent three days in Santa Monica and really enjoyed it there. We didn't hire a car because we'd planned to stay in and around that area so pretty much only walked everywhere. Obviously if you're planning on seeing a few places in the LA area then a car would be helpful as Santa Monica is a few miles out on the coast. The tour buses seem to start and finish by the pier so they'd be an option but it's not the most convenient mode of transport.

I'm very jealous though. I'd love to go back there some day,