London to Los Angeles: Complete UK Travel Guide

Los Angeles keeps pulling British travelers across the Atlantic. The mix of year-round sunshine, beaches that actually stay warm past June, and that whole Hollywood thing makes it hard to resist when you’re stuck in another drizzly February back home.

Getting from the UK to LA isn’t particularly complicated, but there are enough differences between British and American travel that a bit of planning saves you from expensive mistakes and wasted days. Here’s what actually matters when you’re organizing a trip.

The Flight Situation

It would take you westwards on direct flights of nearly 10 hours 45 minutes at Heathrow to the LAX, but on the east and back, nearly 11 hours in the headwinds. There are three British Airways flights every day on the route, two Virgin Atlantic flights, and you can have United and American to do the same all through the day.

By the numbers:

• LAX handles roughly 88 million passengers annually, making it the world’s fifth-busiest airport
• The London-LAX route sees about 1.4 million passengers yearly, making it one of the top 10 transatlantic routes
• Average flight occupancy on this route runs at 85-90%, so book early for seat selection
• Premium economy prices typically sit £600-900 above economy fares, while business class adds £2,000-3,500

The prices of tickets are going madly according to the timing of booking and travelling. The lowest prices are in the months of January-March and may go as low as £380-450 round-trip in case you have room to plan. Prices are in the range of economy (summer holidays (July-August)) and Christmas (as much as 900-1200). Book three months in advance at least because of good prices, but sometimes last minute offers occur during low season.

The time gap (eight hours) will be on your side heading to LA. The majority of the London flights in the morning will put you in Los Angeles at 2-4pm local time. The body believes that it is 10pm-midnight, and that is late but can be handled. Make yourself keep awake until 9-10pm LA time that first night, and then you will get accustomed quicker than attempting to force yourself to keep on on British time.

Paperwork You Actually Need

The ESTA catches out British travelers who assume they can just rock up like they’re going to Spain. You need to apply online at least 72 hours before flying, though leaving it that late is asking for stress. The application takes about ten minutes, costs $21 (around £17), and stays valid for two years or until your passport expires. We cover more detailed advice on international travel preparation, visa requirements, and insurance considerations in our travel guides section.

One of the differences Americans have: your passport must be valid during your stay dates and not six months or so as it is in most countries. Coming on a pass port that has two months to expire? It is all right, so long as when you go you will have it still valid.

Travel insurance isn’t optional for the States. A friend of mine dislocated his shoulder surfing in Malibu and got hit with a $4,300 emergency room bill for an X-ray and a sling. Comprehensive cover for two weeks runs £35-80 depending on your age and any pre-existing conditions. Get at least £2 million medical coverage because American healthcare prices are genuinely insane by British standards.

Picking Your Timing

LA does not do much of seasons like Britain, which beats off some. The average temperatures are in the range of 19-20 C in the month of January and February but increase to 24-26 C during the summer. Rarely does it rain during May to October.

Weather reality check:

• LA gets 284 sunny days per year compared to London’s 148
• Annual rainfall totals just 380mm versus London’s 690mm
• The record high temperature hit 48.9°C in Woodland Hills (September 2020)
• Winter temperatures rarely drop below 10°C, even at night
• June through August sees less than 3mm of rain on average – basically none

Summer (June-September) is the most pleasant time to visit the beach with the best weather and the most days, but it is also the most expensive with the largest number of visitors. Rates in the Hotel in Santa Monica are higher by £120 per night in March than in July when they are at £220 and above. The tourist attraction sites such as Griffith Observatory and Hollywood Walk of Fame are rammed accordingly.

September to November is a golden month. The Pacific Ocean also hits its highest temperatures (17-190 C, which is heavenly to Californians but feels chilly to the majority of Britons) on September 1st after Labor Day, and hotel rates are cut by 20-30 per cent over those in summer. Until well into October, you will still get 25 o C days.

It is beautiful in winter when you are simply fleeing British weather and not intending to take a vacation in the beach. The months of December to February are between 18- 20 C, which is just the right temperature to go hiking and sightseeing. The rainfall is approximately 75mm of the entire winter months compared to London which is 175mm and when it does get rainy it is cleared out within hours.

Getting Around (And Why You Need a Car)

LA sprawls across 1,302 square kilometers, roughly twice the size of Greater London’s built-up area. Public transport exists but covers maybe 30% of where you’ll actually want to go. The Metro reaches Hollywood, Downtown, Santa Monica, and Long Beach, but misses huge chunks of the city. Santa Monica to Beverly Hills on the bus takes 90 minutes and three transfers. Driving takes 25 minutes, or an hour in traffic.

Car rental runs £30-45 per day for a compact car, less if you book weekly rates. Add another £15-20 per day for insurance unless your UK credit card includes rental car coverage (worth checking before you fly). Petrol costs about $4.50 per gallon (roughly £1.10 per liter), making it noticeably cheaper than Britain’s £1.45-1.50.

Traffic is the price you pay for all that space and sunshine. The 405 freeway averages 18-22 mph during rush hour (7-10am and 3:30-7pm). Google Maps estimated journey times usually prove accurate, but what looks like a quick 8-mile hop can eat up 40 minutes. Plan any time-sensitive activities outside rush hour.

Parking adds up fast. Popular beaches charge £12-18 per day, shopping areas like The Grove and Westfield Century City validate for a few hours then hit you with £3-4 per additional hour. Street parking is free in residential areas but signs get complicated with rules changing by day and time. Read them carefully because parking tickets start at $73 and meter maids are everywhere.

The Money Side of Things

Work on a daily budget of £140-180 per person for a comfortable trip that’s not luxury but not backpacking either. That breaks down roughly like this:

Accommodation: £80-120 per night for a decent hotel or Airbnb. Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills cost more (£150-250), while areas like Pasadena, Long Beach, or inland neighborhoods run cheaper (£60-90). Staying near the beach or in trendy neighborhoods adds 40-50% to your accommodation costs.

Food: Restaurant meals cost about 30-35% more than similar places in the UK before you add tax and tips. Casual lunch spots run £10-14, proper sit-down dinners hit £25-40 per person before drinks. Coffee shops charge $5-7 (£4-5.50) for what you’d pay £3-3.50 for in London. The 9.5% sales tax and 18-20% tip make that $18 menu price actually cost you about $23 (£18).

Factor an extra 25% onto all your eating-out budget for tax and tips combined. Servers rely on tips as their main income since minimum wage for tipped workers is just $16 per hour in LA. Leave 18-20% for table service, $1-2 per drink at bars, and $2-5 for food delivery.

Attractions: Many of LA’s best experiences are free or cheap. All beaches are free, hiking trails cost nothing, and wandering Venice Beach boardwalk or Rodeo Drive doesn’t cost a penny. The Getty Center charges $20 for parking but admission is free. Griffith Observatory is completely free. Universal Studios ($109/£86 per person) and Disneyland ($104-179/£82-141) are where you’ll spend serious money if you’re into theme parks.

The tourist numbers:

• Over 50 million people visit LA annually, with around 600,000 coming from the UK
• British visitors stay an average of 6.4 nights in LA (longer than most international visitors)
• The average UK tourist spends $2,800 (£2,200) during their LA trip
• Disneyland attracts 18.6 million visitors annually, making it the second most-visited theme park globally
• The Getty Center welcomes 1.8 million visitors each year, all paying nothing for admission

What Actually Deserves Your Time

First-timers try cramming Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Malibu, and Disneyland into three days, then spend most of their trip sitting in traffic getting knackered. Pick two or three things per day maximum.

Santa Monica and Venice work well as a combined half-day or full day. Start at Santa Monica Pier (which sees 8 million visitors annually), walk or bike the beachfront path south to Venice (about 3km), grab lunch at one of the Venice cafes, then wander the boardwalk watching street performers and the whole circus of humanity that makes Venice entertaining. The Pacific Ocean hits maybe 18°C even in August, which most Californians swim in happily while most Brits stand at the edge looking doubtful.

Hollywood and Griffith Observatory pair naturally since you’re in the same area. The Hollywood Walk of Fame takes about 30 minutes to walk and photograph, TCL Chinese Theatre is worth seeing even if you skip the tour, and the Dolby Theatre (where they host the Oscars) runs tours for $25. Griffith Observatory opens at noon and stays open until 10pm, giving you stunning views across LA as the sun sets and the city lights up. Get there by 4pm to avoid the worst crowds.

Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive make sense together. Rodeo Drive window shopping is free and entertaining, the Beverly Hills streets around there are lovely for wandering, and grabbing lunch at one of the outdoor cafes makes you feel properly LA for an afternoon. The Beverly Gardens Park runs along Santa Monica Boulevard with nice walking paths and those famous Beverly Hills signs everyone photographs.

The Getty Center deserves at least three hours. The art collection is world-class (Van Gogh, Monet, Rembrandt), the architecture is stunning, and the views across LA and out to the Pacific are remarkable on clear days. Admission is free but parking costs $20, which is a bargain considering what you’re getting. Tuesday through Friday mornings see smaller crowds than weekends.

Neighborhoods Worth Exploring

Tourist guides focus heavily on the famous spots, but some of LA’s best experiences happen in regular neighborhoods where actual Angelenos live and hang out.

Silver Lake and Echo Park (just east of Hollywood) offer hipster coffee shops, vintage stores, good Thai and Mexican food, and the kind of LA vibe you don’t get on Hollywood Boulevard. The Sunset Junction area has excellent restaurants without tourist markup pricing.

Grand Central Market downtown has operated since 1917 and now mixes old-school vendors with trendy food stalls. Eggslut does brilliant breakfast sandwiches (expect a 20-minute queue), Sarita’s Pupuseria serves authentic Salvadoran food for under £8, and you can grab anything from oysters to ramen to tacos all under one roof. Downtown LA has transformed massively in recent years with the Arts District becoming a proper destination for galleries, bars, and restaurants.

Long Beach sits about 35km south of LA proper but makes a good day trip. The Queen Mary (the actual ocean liner permanently docked there) offers self-guided tours for $22, the Aquarium of the Pacific is excellent if you’re into that sort of thing ($36/£28), and the waterfront has a different feel than Santa Monica’s scene.

The Reality Check Section

British visitors sometimes expect LA to be this glamorous film-set city where everyone’s beautiful and successful. The reality includes plenty of homelessness (particularly around Venice and Downtown), inequality that’s more visible than what you see in British cities, and neighborhoods that shift from wealthy to rough within a few blocks.

Some harder truths:

• LA County has roughly 75,000 homeless people, the largest homeless population in the US
• The wealth gap is stark – median home price in Beverly Hills hits $3.7 million while areas 10 miles east average $450,000
• Crime rates vary wildly by neighborhood, with some areas seeing 10x the incidents of others within the same city
• Air quality ranks among the worst in the US, though it’s improved significantly from the 1980s

The car dependency takes getting used to. There’s no popping to the shops for milk like you would at home. Even buying groceries means getting in the car, driving to a massive Ralphs or Whole Foods, and navigating a car park the size of a football pitch. Everything is bigger, more spread out, and designed around driving everywhere.

Americans are generally friendlier and more chatty than Brits, which throws some people off at first. Shop staff actually mean it when they ask how you’re doing, servers introduce themselves by name, and strangers strike up conversations in queues. It’s not fake, it’s just cultural difference.

Making It Work

The best LA trips happen when you abandon British expectations about how cities should work and accept that this place operates differently. You’ll drive more than you’d like, spend more on eating out than seems reasonable, and cover less ground each day than you planned. That’s fine. That’s LA.

Book accommodation near where you’ll spend most time rather than picking the cheapest hotel miles from everything. Pay the extra £30-40 per night for a Santa Monica hotel instead of staying in Inglewood to save money, and you’ll actually enjoy your trip instead of spending six hours daily in traffic.

One practical tip that saves hassle: if you’ve got a late flight home but need to check out of your hotel at 11am, don’t spend your last day dragging suitcases around. Luggage storage services in LA let you drop bags at locations near beaches, shopping areas, or downtown for £5-8 per bag per day. Much better than sitting in a hotel lobby for six hours or driving to LAX at noon for an 8pm flight.

Download Spotify playlists or podcasts before you go. You’ll spend enough time driving that you’ll want something better than ads-heavy American radio. Pack sunscreen and sunglasses even if you’re visiting in winter because that California sun is no joke. And bring layers because inside temperatures run freezing cold with air conditioning while outside you’re melting.

The time difference works harder on your body flying home than flying out. You’ll feel rough for a few days back in the UK. That’s the price for swapping grey clouds for palm trees and sunshine.