17 HUGE Tourist Mistakes to Avoid in Los Angeles
Even if you’ve traveled all over the United States and the world, if this is your first time in Los Angeles, you’re bound to make a few mistakes.
But fortunately, with a little bit of planning in advance, you can have a great (and seamless!) time in the city of angels.
I’ve included my list of the 17 HUGE tourist mistakes to avoid in Los Angeles, below.
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1. Trying to see the whole city in one visit
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You’re just going to have to face it — you won’t be able to see the entire city of Los Angeles on just one visit.
Unless you are staying for a month or more (and even a month may be too short), you will need to accept the reality that there is just so much to do here, and it’s impossible to see it all!
Instead, figure out what your top 5 ‘must-see/do’ things are on your own personal list, then make it a point to see those. If you have time left after those, then that’s a bonus!
2. Skipping over the smaller neighborhoods
Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Little Ethiopia, and Koreatown are all packed with amazing things to do, plus you get insight into another world.
Koreatown has so many fun karaoke bars plus Korean BBQ, Chinatown has LA State Historic Park and Chinatown Plaza, Little Ethiopia is a hidden gem filled with incredible Ethiopian food, and Little Tokyo is so charming and has the city’s best ramen and sushi restaurants.
3. Expecting to see celebrities on every corner
Hate to break it to you, but you probably won’t see any celebrities on your trip to LA!
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for over ten years and can count on one hand how many celebs I’ve spotted in the wild.
You also won’t see them on a celebrity homes tour, so I recommend saving your money and skipping that tour, unless you REALLY love Hollywood history and pop culture.
Instead, take a skip-the-line tour of Universal Studios and check out the filming locations of some of your favorite shows! Save yourself precious vacation time.
Choose one of the three tours above to get an inside look into movie-making magic!
4. Imagining you’ll always have sunny, warm beach weather
Believe it or not, but despite LA’s sunny reputation, there are actually many cooler days in Los Angeles, especially during the winter months (November through March).
Most people don’t go to the beach during these months – to sunbathe, at least.
Surfers still go, and technically you can still go during winter to look at the beach, which is always nice, but remember, it often gets cold and windy at the beach! Be sure to bring a jacket.
If you still decide to brave it, definitely bundle up and go early before the sunset.
This year in particular, we’ve had plenty of rainy days!
If you want to be sure to have hot, beautiful weather, try to plan your trip between April and September.
5. Missing out on eating tacos in Los Angeles
A huge mistake would be to never eat tacos anywhere in Los Angeles. That said… another huge mistake would be to pick the wrong place to try the tacos in LA.
I highly recommend Villa’s Tacos in Highland Park. They make their tacos with 100% handmade blue corn tortillas, and the best part? The guac never costs extra.
This spot was named as having LA’s best tacos two years in a row. Let me tell you firsthand, their tacos are not to be missed!
Booking.comIf you are spending time on the west side, go to Lupita’s Tacos, a taco stand at Palms Blvd and Lincoln Blvd. These babies are also handmade. Delicioussss.
6. Scheduling way too many activities into one day
The thing about Los Angeles? Everything is spread out. So you have to account for the geographic layout of the city, and the logistics and time it takes to get from one place to another.
It’s not as easy as New York City, for example, where you can just hop from one neighborhood to another by train or even just on foot.
In LA, you have to plan ahead.
Ideally, you can plan your activities in a way that makes sense geographically.
So, don’t try to go to Manhattan Beach and downtown LA in one day.
Instead, do Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Hollywood all in one day, and the beach on another separate day all together.
7. Not getting food from a food truck
The food truck is an iconic LA classic. You can’t come to Los Angeles and NOT get food from a food truck. C’mon! 😃
This is the city where food trucks originated. The Kogi truck was the one that made food trucks famous, even though taco trucks had been around long before that.
The story goes: Chef Ray Choi’s Kogi got started in 2008. If you aren’t familiar yet, Kogi offers a fusion of Korean flavors (kimchi etc) with Mexican food (tacos, quesadillas).
The truck would tweet on Twitter where their location was, and people would flock in droves to get the food!
The craze took off ever since, and now you can go to events like First Fridays on Abbot Kinney on the first Friday of every month to browse selections from trucks such as Baby’s Badass Burgers, Thai Mex Cocina, Veggie Bomb, Philly Jay’s Steaks and more.
8. Only spending time doing touristy things
Los Angeles has SO much to offer. If you spend all your time on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, you’ll never get to experience the real LA.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to knock getting a selfie with the Hollywood sign off your bucket list, but if you just see the top tourist attractions in LA, you’re not really experiencing all that Los Angeles has to offer.
Yes, do go to Beverly Hills, yes, do tour Warner Bros Studios – everyone needs to do this at least once!
But when you’re done, try to spend a day getting off the beaten path, and wander through a neighborhood like Silverlake, Miracle Mile, or Historic Filipinotown, or even take a yoga class – you’ll be surrounded by locals!
9. Miss out on LA’s incredible hikes
And on that note, a great way to get off the beaten path and experience the real Los Angeles is by taking a hike!
LA has so many great spots for hiking, relatively close to anywhere you might be in the city.
I recommend spending the morning hiking in Malibu, then cooling off in the afternoon at the beach.
It’s a perfect combo of breaking a sweat and then relaxing afterwards.
Just be sure to bring your hiking shoes and a beach towel. Go early – 10am – to avoid traffic on Pacific Coast Highway!
Here’s a link to one of my favorite trails in Malibu.
10. Getting stuck in rush hour traffic
Rush hour in LA generally happens weekdays from 7:30am to 10:30am and then again from 3:30pm – 7:30pm. Just being real with you… that’s a lot of time (7 hours out of the day) when traffic is high.
Traffic in LA is pretty unavoidable.
On weekends, you can expect mornings to usually be clear, but everything starts backing up around 1 or 2pm.
If it’s a nice day for the beach, expect the roads to be congested getting to the beach. Somehow, each time I try to go to the beach on a beautiful Saturday at 2pm, I am continually surprised that other people have the same idea as me. Don’t be me! 😆
Head to the beach early and beat the traffic.
If you can, do your best to travel longer distances across the city at 11am – my favorite time to drive anywhere.
And if possible, wait until 7:30 or 8pm to drive again.
Also, if you want to avoid being late everywhere you go in Los Angeles, give yourself at least 30 to 45 minutes to get anywhere, if not an hour (depending on the distance and traffic at that time).
I’m not kidding – in the past, it’s taken me 30 minutes to go 2 miles.
11. Staying at a hotel in Hollywood
If this is your first time in Los Angeles, I think you should make a point of seeing Hollywood. It is, after all, a big part of what makes Los Angeles what it is.
See the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but also make a point of seeing Hollywood’s other attractions — the Hollywood Bowl, dine at Mel’s Drive-In or Musso & Frank’s, or do a self-guided tour of the historic movie theaters across Hollywood Blvd – El Capitan, the Egyptian and the TCL Chinese.
All that said, I don’t really think you should stay at a hotel in Hollywood proper.
Admittedly, it’s a bit dirty and not the safest at night.
Instead, stay in West Hollywood – just a few miles away, or Santa Monica for a beach scene.
12. Packing too many formal outfits
Plenty of people in Los Angeles wear athleisure all day long to run errands or get groceries. If you wear a business suit or a nice dress, you’ll really stick out.
LA locals honestly wear jeans and a t-shirt most of the time. I see a lot of women wearing just a plain black or white t-shirt with ripped jeans and layered, delicate jewelry.
You can shop a ton of thrift stores during your visit, like Wasteland or Crossroads, to get the look.
I also recommend finding jewelry made by local artisans – often you’ll find a jewelry maker selling their items at farmers markets or along Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.
13. Trying to get up close and personal with the Hollywood Sign
Another misconception among those who haven’t visited LA yet: Many people think you just hike right up to the Hollywood sign and touch it. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
And actually, if you try to touch the sign, you might get arrested! The sign is heavily monitored, and usually people get caught and fined for trying to get anywhere close to it.
However, you can get a pretty good picture by taking a hike in Griffith Park, which will get you pretty close to it. Plus, views of the city from here are incredible.
14. Not taking ANY tours while you’re visiting Los Angeles
A huge tourist mistake to avoid in Los Angeles? Not taking any tours whatsoever!
LA is a big city to tackle all on your own. Even if you’re with another person or a group, LA can be hard to figure out.
It’s taken me many years of trial and error to understand this city inside and out, and even still, there are places and neighborhoods I haven’t discovered yet.
To make it easy on yourself, take a tour at least once during your trip. I recommend getting this incredible all-inclusive pass by GetYourGuide, which gets you access to over 40 attractions, including tours.
You’ll save a ton of money even if you only do two of the included activities listed — like the Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off Tour and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
If both of those are on your list of to-do’s, then this pass definitely makes sense for you.
Get the Los Angeles City Pass here.
15. Parking during a street cleaning — or overnight when it’s not permitted
Oh no! A HUGE mistake tourists often make in Los Angeles (when renting a car) is not checking the street signs for parking restrictions. There are frequent street cleanings on weekdays, which you’ll want to be careful to take note of.
Also, be mindful of your parking meter – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve returned to my car just two minutes after the time expired on my meter to find a big, fat $72 parking ticket on my windshield. Don’t make my mistake! 😅
Always feed your meter, and always carefully read signs to make sure you don’t need a parking permit.
16. Not knowing how to handle homeless individuals
I’ll be honest with you. If you’re coming to Los Angeles, you have to be prepared to see many people who are experiencing homelessness.
It’s a tragic reality that many people here are not able to afford the high cost of living, and have no other choice but to live on the streets.
As a tourist, I always advise to be nonjudgmental and compassionate – you never know someone’s story.
At the same time, you have to look out for your own safety, especially as a woman. Most of the time, I don’t run into any issues in Los Angeles.
But I always keep an eye out for anyone following me, or sudden movements, especially on public transportation (the Red and Purple Metro Lines, in particular).
Be cautious, and as much as may want to give a few dollars to the homeless – don’t.
This may be a bit controversial to some, but personally, I prefer to donate to a homeless shelter or nonprofit directly, like the Downtown Women’s Center.
However, by all means, don’t let a fear of this stop you from enjoying the many beautiful and wonderful things that Los Angeles has to offer!
17. Only getting coffee from chains, like Starbucks and Coffee Bean
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but I’m gonna be a little sassy! Are you really going to drink Starbucks your whole LA trip when there are so many incredible, independent coffee shops in this city?!
Yes, Starbucks is everywhere in LA, but during your visit, I encourage you to try some of LA’s amazing local coffee shops!
A few local chains include: Civil Coffee, Verve Coffee Roasters, Intelligentsia, Alchemist Coffee Project, Maru Coffee, Stumptown, and Groundwork Coffee.
Los Angeles has a huge coffee scene – you’ll see almost every person with an iced coffee in hand on any given Saturday.
There you have it — 17 HUGE Tourist Mistakes to Avoid in Los Angeles!
Thank you for reading this post — I hope you’ve enjoyed it! Are you ready for your trip to LA? Still have questions? Leave me a comment!
Planning a trip right now? Here are a few of my top resources I use to book every trip.
Booking.com for great deals on hotels.
Get Your Guide for incredible tours around the world.
World Nomads for travel insurance that has your back.
Related posts you might like:
26 Free or Insanely Cheap Things to Do in Los Angeles
The Ultimate Guide to Koreatown, Los Angeles
