Next time you're there go to the Sky Bar at the Mondrian hotel on Sunset for a few drinks and to check out the view.
Take a drive down pacific coast highway, stop at some of the beaches such as Manhattan and hunnington. Also many good restaurants in the area just yelp it.
Rent a car and drive through Beverly Hills. Stop at the Andaz West Hollywood and go to the rooftop bar and have a drink. I am sure there are other places that have even better views and stuff, but I kind of like it up there. Are you going anywhere else in the US? It's funny, I was kind of missing you in the D&D, lol. Have a good time in the USA and be safe. It's your first time there, right?
Thanks for all the tips guys. Ended up checking out Hermosa beach and Santa Monica pier, only because they were closest to us and I didn't have time to rent a car. Was tons of fun, ended up going to a couple of bars in the Santa Monica area as well. Had some excellent pizza at American Junkie on Hermosa beach. I'm going to be back in less than a week and I'll be here for 6 days so I'm going to do all the other stuff you guys are suggesting too. I'll rent a car when I'm back, just not sure if I can do that with my UAE driving license (don't have international). Also going to vegas for a few days, I'm starting to wonder if there's anything to do there other than shows and casinos? Don't work for EK, first time in the US although it's kind of incidental - LAX is just a good transit airport for the other countries we're visiting so we thought we should definitely spend some time here seeing as we're probably moving to either LA or NY next summer.
I personally dont like LA. There are some nice things to do on a day trip but to live there is horrible. You will be constantly stressed from all the traffic and many parts of the city are just ugly and runned down. Stay in Santa Monica and visit Hollywood, Universal Studios, and Griffith Park like some others mentioned. Other than that there are some nice museums and free stuff to do also. The science center is fun for a short afternoon trip and its completely free! The space shuttle exibhit is like $1.50 and worth checking out if you are there. Otherwise if you want to relax on vacation which is what I like to do. Drive down south to San Diego and spend a night or two on Coronado right on the beach. Depending on your budget you can get a nice ocean front view room for around $300-$400 a night. It's a nice relaxing resort feeling. You can also check out catalina island if you want to take a ferry from Long Beach. Have fun and stay safe
I use to go to vegas quite a lot and yup basically there are 5 things to do in Vegas 1) Gamble, Gamble and Gable - This is the main reason why people go to vegas to gamble. I personally just set aside a small budget for gaming and entertainment. Not expecting to win so its just to pass some time. 2) Bars & Drinking - This city is known for drinking. There are facny bars and quick bars all over the strip. From nice Casino bars to bars located right on the street. Nice thing is you can bring alcohol anywhere on the strip and walk and drink your way up and down the strip. 3) Shows - Vegas has some of the best collection of shows. Depending on your taste of music there is always a lot of concernts/shows to attend. Celine Dion is there year round. My personal favorite is checking out the Cirque De Soleil shows. I would highly recommend you check out "O" which is by far my favorite. "Ka" at the MGM is also a decent second. "Zumanity" is not quite as amazing but is a really good time for some laughs and jokes and sexuality. 4) Clubs & Girls - not really my scene anymore but lots of younger folk love to hit up the clubs to party. Of course there are plenty of hot girls every where you go from strippers, to escorts to black jack dealers 5) Sight See - If you have never been there it's always fun to just check out all the casinos with the different themes/architeture. If you have some extra time drive down to Hoover Dam or The Valley of Fire for some amazing views and sights. I would avoid these two places if it's too hot though. If you have money to spend a helicopter right to the Grand Canyon is always a lot of fun too. 6) Other - eat eat and eat, shop, shop and shop. Vegas has a lot of great restraunts and buffets if that is your thing. Check out the buffet at the Wynn and of course there is a lot of shopping to from all the different high end stores/malls.
http://www.abudhabiwoman.com/topic/26602-help-can-i-use-uae-driver-license-to-rent-car-in-us/ Looking good for you. You could also visit the Warner Bros. studios and do a little studio tour. If you have enough time, you could even drive up to SFO, it's a very very scenic drive along the Big Sur, I would recommend staying in Carmel.
Next time you're in LA, hit up Hollywood (around Hollywood/Highlands) or go to Downtown LA. Get a map if you go to DTLA because you can easily end up in Skid Row. Cool places to eat and drink all over the place. Clubs, dive bars, etc. Vegas = food, shows, gambling, strip clubs, partying Food I recommend the buffet at Caesars though it costs like $50. Shows I recommend Ka. Strip clubs I recommend Sapphire, though don't ever bring your credit card to a strip club because people get roofied in the VIP and wake up with a $3000 cc bill. Partying, it's pool party season - Marquee Dayclub or Daylight are my favorites. Nightclubs - Marquee and Hakkasan are hot right now but if you're a guy get tickets, otherwise you're not getting in.
Huntington, Newport, Laguna, or Venice Beach are my favorites. You could hit up the block on city drive or south coast plaza to do some shopping. Irvine spectrum is pretty nice too. Besides Hollywood, we usually like to stay around the OC whenever we visit CA.