Is Los Angeles Safe for Solo Female Travelers?

Solo travel experience

I visited Los Angeles solo and here's some stuff that might help. I've been to Downtown and Hollywood at nighttime to go out for drinks but I did it just a few times and I was always with company. People say it can get really sketchy in the evening so I didn't really bother being there by myself at night. Also just made sure to be extra mindful of my surroundings. I stayed in West Hollywood and felt really safe there (even at night). I made sure to plan my days since Los Angeles is huge and really spaced out and planning my itinerary based on location really helped save me time. Regarding beaches Santa Monica Beach and Venice Beach were really nice to visit and fun places to people-watch.

Group travel experience

The city is amazing full of so many things to do. It can be unsafe if you drift too far from downtown without really knowing the neighborhoods. Great diversity and delicious food. It’s really easy to beat around the city and visit neighboring places too.

Solo travel experience

I visited Venice Beach during the day and while it was a great experience, it can be a bit dangerous at night. Santa Monica, however, was much more secure. Getting around Los Angeles is not easy, so I used Lyft Pools to save money and combined all of my activities in one area for the day.

Solo travel experience

I suggest avoiding Hollywood. It's quite rundown and there are a lot of homeless people, so it's not the most pleasant experience. Santa Monica and Venice are popular areas, and downtown LA has some great museums.

Solo travel experience

Felt unsafe and so dirty. So many homeless using the bathroom on the sidewalk. All you smell is urine. Tents pitched on the sidewalks. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Griffith Observatory was amazing.

You can get some decent pics from a Griffith Park hike, Runyon or the Hollywood & Highland Center on 3rd level. You can skip Hollywood/walk of fame, it’s packed with tourists and trashy gift shops. Downtown has the best restaurants and bars imo. Some of my favs: Perch (best rooftop and views), broken shaker (great rooftop) Bottega Louie (Italian), Hama (sushi, little Tokyo), Bestia (Italian), Grand Central Market, and too many more to list. Santa Monica is great too. So many great restaurants and bars along Main St and the surrounding areas.

If you’re headed to Santa Monica pier, check out the 3rd street promenade right there, there’s a Cake Boss bakery (best chocolate strawberries) and a used bookstore called Monster Books that I love! In the Glendale area there’s a place called Din Tai Fung and it’s amazing! If you’re into Instagram moments then the Pink Wall is a hot spot and there’s a bunch of other murals around town there. And there’s a cute little cafe called Carerra that has the best ciabatta bread sandwiches! And a great brunch spot called The Overland Cafe! Then you also have the Grand Central Market area in Downtown LA which is also a must.

Definitely don’t go to Venice beach unless you like crowds. Visit Grand central market and/Smorgsburg LA for a variety of food options and vendors. You’ll definitely get the LA experience. Head to the Venice Canals for sunset, you won’t regret it. Visit the Japanese Garden, 100000% worth the zen. For night life, head to the Arts District, there are a half dozen bars, arcades and Beer Gardens in walking distance of each other as well as late night eats. If you’re up for a little hike, visit Trail Canyon falls it’s a waterfall hike and way less crowded than other hikes in LA county. Then you can head to Burbank for brunch, they have a great food scene. If you’re looking for a beach, take the Malibu One freeway and drive the coast and get off wherever, it’ll be less crowded and easier to find parking than SM and much quieter. If you want the entire LA experience make sure to visit the sunset strip and don’t be flashy.

Hollywood is a tourist trap. If you do Hollywood, expect it to be dirty. The only real piece of history worth the time in Hollywood is a meal at Musso & Frank’s Steakhouse where you can still sit in the same booths celebrities sat in. The Sunset Strip is also a tourist trap. Beverly Hills is the area most often filmed to represent LA in TV and movies because it’s very green. However, there are so many gorgeous areas here that no one is saying because they didn’t do research. Brentwood is beautiful and it’s actually where stars live. Stars don’t really live in Beverly Hills. That was the stars neighborhood during the era of Clark Gable. Westwood near UCLA is near Brentwood and absolutely lovely. North Santa Monica is beautiful but the Pier is a tourist trap. Stick to Montana Ave and 14th street to see the part of Santa Monica locals go to. Pacific Palisades north of Santa Monica is one of the prettiest areas in the whole city. We have so many beaches. But they are often windy and cold. Don’t go to Venice Beach or Santa Monica Beach. Go to Manhattan Beach or Zuma beach! The part of Venice that is actually beautiful are by the Venice Canals. You can rent paddle boats and tour around rich homes there.

West Hollywood is super fun if you want to see the walk of fame, wax museum etc. Avoid downtown LA as there are a bunch of homeless camps all down the streets that can be a bit sketchy. If you want a more beach vibe then I would do Malibu or maybe the Santa Monica pier.

I live in Los Angeles and here are my tips off the top of my head as a local: * Go to Malibu. Point Dume beach. Hike the Santa Monica mountains. Eat fish and chips on the beach at Neptune’s net. If you have cash go to Nobu Malibu and see celebrities. * Santa Monica. Good old fashion family tourist fun at the pier. Play games ride rides. * Beverly Hills. Eat at the polo lounge. Go to rodeo and walk around. Graystone manor for beautiful views and old Hollywood glamour. * West Hollywood. Chateau marmont for celebrity sightings. Hike in the hills. * Hollywood if you want to see the walk of fame but honestly it’s / bit grubby. * Go on a food truck tour and eat all the tacos. * Downtown. Go to grand central market. Go to the broad museum. See the arts district. Eat Korean bbq. * Hollywood bowl has some great shows at night. * Go to the old la zoo in Griffith park. * Venice beach. Walk around on a Sunday. Go to the outdoor markets. Have smoothies and juice at moon juice and eat at gjelina * See a comedy or improv show

This is the plan I give my guests when visiting. I divide the city in three big areas, called “options”. Option 1: beach side. Santa monica, pier, walk/bike the ocean front to venice, get lost checking the street vendors, walk around the canals, walk main st in venice, walk 3rd st promenade in santa monica. Abbot kinney is a cute street in venice. So is main st. Option 2: hike the Griffith Park, check the observatory, walk hollywood blvd (at night is better), check lacma museum, walk the tar pit, eat at the farmers market at the grove on3rd/fairfax, rodeo drive/beverly hills. Hollywood sign of course. Option 3: dtla, the broad museum (free, but you have to reserve), and moca, eat at the central market, visit the Bradbury building and the last book store on Broadway blvd, rooftop for the view (the perch is free!), union station and olvera st for mexican heritage and good food. Little tokyo and the breweries (my fave is angel city) in the art district

For things to do it really depends on your interests but I recommend: Griffith Park- amazing views of the city and Hollywood sign, cool observatory, hiking trails there too, and the surrounding neighborhood is beautiful. It’s also close to Hollywood so if you are interested in seeing the stars on Hollywood Blvd and the Chinese Theater, you can hit them both the same day. Just be ready to step over some aggressive homeless people. The Getty Museum, Venice Beach is close to Santa Monica and it’s seedy but kind of quintessential LA. Malibu is beautiful. Rodeo drive is fun if you like high end fashion and people watching.