Alright - 9am arrival, 6pm departure
I'm going to model it like this:
9am - 10am deplane and make way to rental car
[ 10am - 4pm do stuff, adjust as needed to fit your precise flight times ]
4pm turn in rental car, get to terminal
5pm clear security, go to gate
6pm departure
Can you save some time with Uber? Yes but... not always.
Because you're waiting at their mercy which can be a hassle at times. Also, Uber isn't immune to traffic. One time during a long layover, I was trying to make my way up La Cienega to Sunset in an Uber and it took about 1:45 to travel what is normally a 45 minute / 13 mile trip. Plus, there was some sort of Uber surge that day so just getting a ride took 20+ minutes.
Here are a few things that 15 - 17 y/o girls might enjoy (at least my daughters enjoyed some of these at similar ages). You can map these out and figure out what you want to do. You won't be able to hit them all.
- Santa Monica - 3rd Street Promenade / Santa Monica Pier
- Malibu - celebrity sightings can be had at some of the restaurants like Coogies if that area is accessible after the fires. Personally, I always enjoy a drive up Topanga Canyon to Woodland Hills. Or, even better, is the drive from Pepperdine University up Malibu Canyon Road to Calabasas.
- Burbank - A lot of people like to get pictures in front of the gate to the Disney Studio on Alameda Blvd. And if you want to kill some time and catch a movie with people who make the movies, the downtown Burbank AMC16 is the place to go.
- Glendale - Americana on Brand has a nice courtyard sort of area and shops the girls will like and plenty of cashed up Armenians. Accessory dogs are a major trend there.
- Studio City / Universal - Everybody who wants Harry Potter stuff wants to go to Universal City Walk. There are plenty of restaurants / entertainment experiences / shops you can go to without buying admission to the theme park. And the In 'N Out Burger in Studio City is usually full of tourists ticking that box and ordering "Animal Style". I used to eat there weekly during the scamdemic.
- Mulholland Drive - I personally enjoy driving up to the Runyon Canyon overlook where you can get great views of the LA Basin and also see the Hollywood sign.
- Laurel Canyon - It isn't what it once was (back in the mid-2000s) but a free / fun thing to do is to check out the Laurel Canyon dog park and watch the professional dog walkers and the entertainment industry folks walking their dogs and sometimes also looking for dates (as featured in an Episode of Entourage - the grass is gone but there are still folks there looking to meet people).
- Hollywood Blvd - Basically, if you want to see the street performers, that's all at Hollywood and Highland as well as shopping and entertainment. If you want to see homeless and Stars on the Walk, that's all down Hollywood to Vine and then south of Vine to Santa Monica.
- West Hollywood / Sunset Strip - The super gay area of WeHo is on Santa Monica, west of La Cienega until you hit the Beverly Hills city limit. On Sunset, I do recommend The Rainbow (which ironically is NOT a gay place) for pizza which is legitimately good. It's a couple doors down from Whisky a GoGo and The Rainbow is still frequented by real rock and rollers. Plus the pictures on the wall are a time capsule of hair metal. I'll also add that I've been to a few gay restaurants in WeHo where the food was great.
- Beverly Hills - There is free parking available and obviously loads of high end shops. There's some parking by Santa Monica and Rodeo Drive. Get out there and walk around. The girls I'm sure will love a walk down Rodeo Drive and window shopping. Be on the look out for wankers (usually Saudis and Emiratis) driving Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc. Head down towards Dolce & Gabbana and the girls will find great photo ops.
If you want to preview any of these places or get other ideas, I recommend checking out the YouTube Channel of German in Venice. GiV can also provide updates on current areas to avoid (like Venice Beach)
https://www.youtube.com/@germaninveniceEdit: I forgot to add
- Fairfax / La Brea - maybe even the La Brea Tar Pits. There's also the Museum of Modern Art there. You've also got "The Grove" which has upscale shopping and some food. If you've never seen Hacidic Jews walking the streets, you should take a drive on La Brea between Santa Monica and Wilshire. For me (who grew up in Saudi Arabia), it was a trip. And they're there every day so you don't have to schedule an appointment or anything. Also on La Brea is Pink's Hot Dogs and Trejo's Tacos.
- Koreatown - This is one of the more sketchy looking areas but it really isn't. Just aren't that many native English speakers there. If you want old school Mexican, there's a restaurant called "El Cholo" which is good. And if you want fully legit Korean BBQ, there's a place called "Gangnam Station" that was great.
2nd Edit: Only in LA experience - The Gauntlet of Homeless + Illegals
If you really want to break your daughter's brains and make sure they stay on the straight and narrow follow this route to the Hollywood Home Depot.
- Take "The 101" (Hollywood Fwy) South near Highland or Cahuenga (or earlier) and exit at Sunset.
- Make a left, cross the freeway and then make a right into the Home Depot.
- Just go in, walk around, get the vibe and then leave.
- Leave out the east side of the parking lot and make a left on Sunset.
- Make the right onto Wilton Place and follow the signs to get on The 101 North.
That should be an eye opening experience to keep your daughters.
Which reminds me, tell them to stay off their phones unless they are actively taking pictures. That way they can take it all in and don't miss anything.
