WeHo - Two Questions

I%26#39;ll be staying in West Hollywood on Sunset for 4 days March 7.

I%26#39;ve been searching around for good and inexpensive eats walking distance to the Travelodge Sunset. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated...I will be hitting The Griddle Cafe for breakfast for sure (the mile walk afterwards will do me good LOL).

Second question - my friend and I are doing a ';rock star'; overnight to San Diego on the Greyhound. From our hotel to the main station is quite a distance and we are not renting a car this trip (other than going to SD we are not venturing too far from the hotel). Can anyone recommend how to get to the main Greyhound station on E. 7th Street from WeHo without breaking the bank?

Thanks for all your help!

WeHo - Two Questions

Unless they%26#39;ve built a new one, the Travelodge that you are staying at (7051 Sunset Bl) is not in West Hollywood. It%26#39;s in Hollywood. I know it sounds like I%26#39;m splitting hairs but West Hollywood is a separate city from Hollywood (which is a neighborhood within the city of Los Angeles).

Your hotel is about a mile from West Hollywood and the start of the Sunset Strip (pretty close to where you are going to have breakfast).

The neighborhood you are in is packed with loads of restaurants in all price ranges. Within a couple of blocks of your hotel are fast food restaurants galore (Fat Burger, Burger King, Pollo Loco, Wendy%26#39;s, etc as well as mid-price restaurant chains (IHOP, Acapulco (Mexican), etc. and if you walk up to Hollywood Bl, there are TONS of places to eat in all price ranges.

By the way, there is a bus down Sunset Bl that you can take to and from breakfast (actually any bus on Sunset will take you there). The fare is $1.25 or $3 for a DAY PASS of unlimited rides on the buses and metrorail trains.

Go to mta.net for bus/metrorail info.

Regarding your second question, Greyhound has a depot in Hollywood (not far from your hotel) at:

1715 N. Cahuenga Bl (pronounced Kuh WENG uh)

Hollywood, CA 90028

Phone: 323-466-6381

I am guessing that you could pick up the bus there! Call them and see. If you can pick up the bus there, then you can get there from your hotel as follows:

From the corner of Hawthorne Av %26amp; Orange Drive (which is just one block east of your hotel and 2 blocks north), pick up the #210 ';South Bay Galleria'; heading west and get off 6 minutes later in front of the Greyhound station.

If you CAN%26#39;T leave from the Hollywood Greyhound depot, then I%26#39;d recommend taking the Amtrak to San Diego (train() to San Diego. (I%26#39;m not sure what a ';rock star'; overnight is but if you can do it by train it%26#39;s a lot easier to get there. To do it, walk up to Hollywood Bl %26amp; Highland Av -- a few blocks from your hotel and take the metrorail train (down the escalator on the northwest corner) into downtown to the last stop: ';Union (Rail) Station';. The fare is $1.25. Take either the Amtrak or Metrolink train to San Diego (they run every hour or so). Amtrak tickets are available on line at amtrak.com. Note: there is more than one san diego rail station so be sure to get off at the station nearest to your overnight destination. The train is a lot nicer than the bus, is not subject to traffic, is easier to get to and costs about the same.

Good luck!

WeHo - Two Questions

Your info is very helpful, thanks. I haven%26#39;t actually stayed in LA or Hollywood in 20 years, just passed through, usually on my way to Mexico or elsewhere, so the city distinctions are very fuzzy.

Re: the Greyhound. The ';rock star'; tour is reference to a jaunt down to San Diego on the late afternoon bus to see a show at the House of Blues, then get on the red eye back to LA after the show. I%26#39;d LOVE to do the Amtrak but it%26#39;s cost prohibitive (this is very much a budget trip). I did look into leaving from the Cahuenga depot because it%26#39;s closer, but it%26#39;s a very limited schedule from there, and I still have to change buses at the main depot before heading south anyways, so I figured why not just save the trouble - plus get the seat I want. (-:

So other than taking a taxi to the main depot, is there a city bus that runs from Sunset to the Greyhound station? If I%26#39;m stuck taking a taxi to there, anyone have a ballpark as to how much I might be looking at paying? The maps I%26#39;m pulling up at Google say about 8.5 miles.

Sorry...I should also note that I pulled up the Amtrak and Metrolink schedules - Amtrak doesn%26#39;t have service to SD the day I need it, and Metrolink says they don%26#39;t go to SD.

???

Ignore my last post...happy fingers.

While I can get the Amtrak schedule I need in/out of SD, it is definitely more expensive than taking the Greyhound, however if the difference in price for the two of us (about $70-75) is what we would have to spend on a taxi to the main Greyhound station in LA, I%26#39;m prepared to pay that difference to take the train instead.

Can you give me a ballpark what it would cost from the hotel on Sunset to the main Greyhound station on E. 7th Street? If it%26#39;s $70 or more obviously I%26#39;ll take the train (it stops in San Diego about two blocks west of the Greyhound station anyways LOL).

Thanks again for your help (and patience!) as I try to digest all this info...and for the restaurant notations and transit link. Much appreciated.

It%26#39;s about 9 miles each way for the taxi. The taxi rates are as follows in L.A.:

1. $ 2.20 for the first 1/11th mile or 30 seconds or fraction thereof.

2. 0.20 for each additional 1/11th mile or part equivalent to $2.20 per mile.

3. 0.20 for each 30 seconds of waiting time and/or traffic delay equivalent to $24.00/hour.

Ok, let%26#39;s do the math:

$2.20 for the 1st 1/11 of a mile (essentially the meter STARTS at this price.

Then 20 cents for each additional 1/11th of a mile is the same as saying: ';$2.20 per mile'; so,... 2.20 x 9 = $19.80

Then, and here%26#39;s the tricky part, you get charged 20 cents for each 30 seconds of waiting time (or 40 cents for every minute that the taxi is standing still (like, at a red light, stop light or stuck in traffic). Depending on what day you go and the time of day (Fridays are the worst -- and keep in mind that the rush hour starts at 3 pm and goes to 7), you COULD be sitting in traffic 15, 20 minutes or more. Let%26#39;s use 15 minutes. 15 x 40 cents = $6.00

So, let%26#39;s recap:

$2.20 to start

$19.80 for the mileage

$6.00 for the wait time

------

$28

plus you%26#39;ll need to add tip at 15%

$4.20

TOTAL: $32.20 (and that%26#39;s assuming that the traffic is fairly moderate).

So, the total will run about $60 (since the traffic will be lighter in the evening coming back).

I just had a brilliant idea!!!

Combine the two methods as follows:

Pick up the redline metrorail train at Hollywood Bl %26amp; Highland Av and just 15 minutes later, you will be at the 7th Street Station in downtown L.A. (Fare: $3 DAY PASS for unlimited rides on the bus and metrorail). Come up to the street level and pick up the #62 Metro bus (';Hawaiian Gardens';) going east on 6th Street from the southeast corner of 6th and Flower and ride it only 10 minutes to 7th Street %26amp; Decatur and you%26#39;re at Greyhound. Or, if you want to splurge, instead of the bus, pick up a cab and take the 5 minute ride (it%26#39;s faster when you%26#39;re not stopping on every corner). The cab shouldn%26#39;t cost more than, say, $6. Note: if you decide to ';cab it';, then instead of buying a DAY PASS for the trains and metroraiil, just pay the regular one way fare of $1.25. You may NOT buy tickets for BOTH DIRECTIONS on the metrorail in advance. (They expired 2 hours after purchase), so you%26#39;ll have to stop at the vending machines in both directions.

I would definitely grab a cab when returning at the greyhound station in the evening as you wouldn%26#39;t want to be ';waiting for a bus'; at that hour in that part of town.

The redline metroline trains are very safe!!!

Just, so there is no confusion: the subway is called the metroLINE; the commuter trains that go to the suburbs are called metroLINK. They have nothing to do with one another. They are just named alike by coincidence.

FYI, I checked Amtrak and the last train departs SD at 10 pm so that probably isn%26#39;t going to work for you.

Have fun!

I was just thinking. You might want to consider spending part of the early afternoon in downtown L.A, so, this way, you%26#39;ll only need to take the 10 minute bus ride or 5 minute cab ride to the greyhound station. Downtown has plenty of things to see and do.

Thanks again for all your help.

I just wanted to clarify that we%26#39;re heading to SD in the early afternoon/evening, seeing the concert there (which will run until around 1:30-2:00am) and then taking the overnight bus back, which leaves SD about 4:30am. The Amtrak doesn%26#39;t leave until about 6:00am - so now that you%26#39;ve reassured me I won%26#39;t have to sell a kidney to take a taxi to downtown (the rates are actually very similar to where I live, minus the set gratuity rate LOL), I may use your Metroline/taxi combo to Greyhound (since we%26#39;re not hauling luggage or anything) as the best way to do this, and then just taxi all the way back when we get back into LA in the morning.

I appreciate it, and you%26#39;ve lifted a huge weight off my shoulders! (-:

HopSkipJump - I spoke to my friend today and you%26#39;ve convinced us. We%26#39;ll pony up the extra few bucks apiece and take the Amtrak to/from San Diego.

Thank you again for all your help. Can%26#39;t wait to get out of the -20C deepfreeze!

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