Top 5 Los Angeles Locations For Group Trips and Family Fun

by Joanna Ramirez

Los Angeles may be more known to the world as the land of Hollywood, glamorous celebrities, the infamously cunning paparazzi, and the land of movies and music. However, you’ll be surprised at the number of attractions within the cityscape that are completely suitable for kids and their parents or grandparents. Right in the midst of all the glitz and glamor, you’ll find fun and lively gems like theme parks and some old-school amusement centers. Of course, at this point, most people would be thinking of Disneyland and the Hollywood Walk of Fame…but really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

You’ll find a play space (and delicious food and drinks for everyone else) at the unsuspecting Giggle N’ Hugs; immersive playful exhibits and real-world action about global citizenship and world injustices at The Zimmer Children’s Museum; electric bike tours around Santa Monica and Venice Beach; and a fun day-out splashing around in the waves and cooling waters of Hermosa Beach located 30 minutes southwest of the main downtown LA area.

But frankly, who can leave the theme parks and amusement centers of Los Angeles out of the list when talking about the best family-friendly attractions in the City of Angels. Here, allow me to just skim the surface with just the top 5.

1. Griffith Park & Southern Railroad

4400 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 664-6788
www.griffithparktrainrides.com
Little boys…and little girls too, in fact…are naturally attracted to the chuggin’ trains and locomotives at The Griffith Park. The relaxing ambiance allows for easy cognizant tours while the little ones as families sign up for the gripping affordable rides. The friendly staff is always readily available at the well-kept as it remains open every day of the year except for major holidays like Christmas. Just to be sure, visit their website or social media sites for the latest update or schedule. Visitors can enjoy the one-mile easy track along the bridge, into forested areas, and around the Old Western Town with the Southern Railroad, enjoy a mini 16” train ride (twice for good measure) with Travel Town Railroad while exploring ancient cars and rolling stocks, or sign up for the limited number of Holiday Lights Train Ride which takes place at the end of every year.

Also be on the lookout for The Colonel Griffith Locomotive which was built by one of the world’s premier builders, The Freedom Train which is a streamliner built by the All American Streamliner Company of Los Angeles, The Stanley Diamond, Five-Seat Steel Coaches, or the Six-Seat Wood Gondolas. The last two were commonly used, back in the day, to carry bulk goods across the great continent of North America. Which is no mean feat considering the technology they were working with at the time.

2. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608
(800) 864-8377
You don’t need to know how Hermione used ‘Alohomora’ to unlock doors so that she can go sneaking around the great Hogwarts castle because you’ll get to ‘Accio’ your way around the theme park to enjoy the fantastic and magical rides. The wizarding world is located on the grounds of the world-renowned Universal Studios Hollywood and the dedicated Harry Potter franchise features daring heroes and dark villains that you’re already familiar with. Apart from the rides, fans will get their fill of thrill by purchasing wands with magnetic sensors from Ollivander’s Wand Shop to perform popular Harry Potter spells around the theme park…like opening a box of candy without lifting a finger or unlocking a cabinet with a wave of the wand. Kids and adults alike will also be entertained by shows like The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle, Ollivanders, Frog Choir and Triwizard Spirit Rally.

The theme park stays true to the Harry Potter stories while also helping non-fans enjoy the experience. The experience, however, will simply be more memorable for fans of the long-standing series. 

Continue Reading this article on Bus Charter LA website right now! 

*** *** ***

Bus Charter LA has a large fleet of charter buses, mini buses, coaches and corporate vehicles that can be used for your trips to LA. 

Count on the Decades of Experience to Bring You Reliable Charter Buses for Events in Los Angeles

LA Charter buses, mini buses, school buses, coaches, and limousines are amazing ways to get around the theme parks. You can forget about who is driving who and when everyone is EVER going to get to the drop-off point on time. Instead, set up a charter bus service to bring everyone there on schedule! Give Bus Charter LA a call right now and get yourself a quick quote. You’ll be surprised at how affordable the vehicles are for your group trip.

Shows and Activities at the Los Angeles Zoo

Zoos are always fun, especially when planning where to go on a family trip. So if you are planning a holiday to Los Angeles on your charter bus, do take some time to visit the Los Angeles Zooand experience the many shows and activities offered by them.

This 133-acre zoo houses many different species and features exhibits that will catch your eye. The exhibits and attractions offered here are such as:

• Botanical Gardens
• Campo Gorilla Reserve
• Elephants of Asia
• The LAIR
• Red Ape Rain Forest

Other than the exhibits, there are a number of shows not to be missed at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Read more here

Mishe Mokwa Trail and Sandstone Peak

If a great view is what you are looking for while vacationing in Los Angeles via bus charter, we think visitors should take time to bring the charter bus to Los Angeles’ Mishe Mokwa Trail which ends, if you take on the whole trail, at Sandstone Peak.

Officially known as Mount Allen, one of the most astounding mountains along Ventura County, Sandstone Peak offers LA visitors unprecedented views of Santa Monica mountains at the elevation of 3,111 feet above sea levels. Hikers are also rewarded with breathtaking views ofThe Pacific Ocean, Conejo Valley and Malibu area. The whole trail is connected to other trails with the major one being Backbone Trail.

Read more here..

Good, Cheap Eats in Los Angeles

Los Angeles may be a city that is known for the bling, the fanfare and the larger-than-life setting but make no mistake about it, it is still possible to find cheap eats in the downtown area, including places like Santa Monica Boulevard.

Here, we will rundown some great cheap eats that you can check out during your stay as recommended by our bus rental Los Angeles customers.

Eat this Cafe

Strategically-located at 6547, Santa Monica Blvd, LA in Hollywood neighborhood, Eat This Cafe is a popular choice for tourists and office workers alike. They are known as a breakfast and lunch eatery because they open from 10am to 8pm from Monday to Friday; 10am to 3pm and 4pm to 8pm on Saturday; and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.

Read more here…

Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits

You may have seen one too many replica of structures and bones in museums and other famous exhibits but here is your chance to see and learn about a real one now that you are at one of the world’s most famous fossil excavation site which has been digging out saber-toothed tigers, dire wolves, mammoths which dates back as far as 40,000.

The museum is largely a rather small one, just a point to note, just in case our bus charter Los Angeles customers were expecting to see a huge mansion-like, glistening building. No, that is not what you are going to get but is that a reason to give visiting this Los Angeles gem a miss? We think not. For some of us who have been to Page Museum when we were kids, it brings back tons of memories when we step back into the place. It makes us a little sad too because some visitors dumped rubbish into the tar pits. We would like to remind charter bus Los Angeles to leave the museum the very same way you found it when you arrived.

Weekdays are great times to visit as some foreign visitors might make their way here during the weekends and because of the size of the museum, can make things a little uncomfortable for little kids. You don’t need to spend a whole lot of time here because whatever that you can see and learn about can be done in right about half an hour. So, make this an interesting, short charter bus Los Angeles pit stop, enroute to another tourist attraction.

You can find loads of information about the history of Page Museum on the internet but we think that you ought to know that the piece of land, which originally measured up to four thousand and four hundred acres, was given to Antonio Jose Rocha in 1828. The only condition tied to the gift was that it was to be kept open so that local residents could extract as much asphalt as they needed for personal use. Hancock Park was the man who, in 1924, gave a part of the park to Los Angeles County with pretty much the same condition with the addition for it to be a fossil exhibition center (museum).

It’s funny that when they started excavating bones after bones, they thought that they belonged to dead animals like your ordinary chicken, stock or even larger animals like elephants and tigers. In 1901, popular geologists, W.W. Orcutt and F.M. Anderson started collecting them for years and discovered the bones were of some extinct animals, namely bison, camel, condor, mammoth, ground sloth, smilodon and coyote.

Since it isn’t a very large museum, we think it will be worth your time checking out this extraordinary charter bus Los Angeles landmark museum.

Autry National Center

Cowboys and their stories do not merely live on in movies, songs and books…they actually come alive at the Autry National Center which is a museum completely dedicated and committed to their mission of sharing and educating the general public and bus charter LA visitors about the diversity of American West. The people, the stories, the lives and perception of the American West is deeply appreciated right here in the Autry National Center.

In short, there are more than half a million different arts and discovered artifacts that are related to America’s West and history. The exhibitions includes self-initiated films, talks, fun festivals and of course, there are family-themed events as well. Please visit their website for more information on their updated programs which are suitable for even the young kids. We are sure the teenagers are going to enjoy learning up more about how the West worked. The museum is also, thankfully, strategically located in Griffith Park so that you can kill two birds with one stone during the visit.

For students who have their student cards with them, admission is merely $6 per person but the cost of entrance may change from time to time, depending on the time of the year.

If you are visiting during summer, be sure to head over to catch their Sizzling Summer Nights program during which the center provides bus charter LA visitors with a whole lineup of unique entertainment. Most of the time, during this year, an outdoor dance party is organized to help visitors learn more about the American culture, mingle with each other and make new friends along the way. It is also a wonderful opportunity for the center to introduce a whole lineup of new performers and rookie bands. If you want more out of the dance party, stay back after 6pm because that is when the drink bar is open and the fun really begins.

There are sometimes boxes of cowboy clothes in store for bus charter LA visitors so that they can play dress-up with the clothes and costumes and then take some fun pictures of them doing ‘cowboy-related’ activities. The fun video clips about how kids used to have fun back in the days is really educational and entertaining as well. The great part about Autry National Center is that you will never tire of visiting the place…they keep adding more and more activities at the center so that returning visitors will find something new and interesting to do each and every time they visit.

Discover Old is Gold – Nethercutt Museum

Fancy walking through a place that is filled with antique and classical cars from the 1910s right through to 1930s? Nethercutt Museum is home to about over 130 antique, classic and special interest automobiles – where else will you be able to find a place that houses so many of such cars? This place is definitely the place to go for car lovers – especially if you adore vintage, classical cars. So, gather your car lover friends and charter a bus to take all of you to this magnificent place.

If you have not heard of this place before, it simply is because this place is a well hidden gem in Los Angeles that many have yet to discover! But have no fear, though this may be a not so discovered yet place, any LA charter bus company drivers would know how to get their way here. The Nethercutt Museum is a self guided museum and is open from Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 9 in the morning till 4.30 in the afternoon.

One of the rules of the Nethercutt Museum is that if you intend to bring children, they must be by your side at all times and are expected to be well mannered, as the museum do not tolerate loud noises and children running around the museum. You are allowed to take photos or videos of the displays but food and beverage are a no-no inside. However, they do allow visitors to bring bottled water. At the Nethercutt Museum, there are a great range of cars to see – from the antique to the vintage to the classic right up to the post war eras! Other than cars, they also have antique furnishings plus many other collections that will intrigue you.

Right at the back of the Nethercutt Museum, you will find a 1937 Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson Locomotive that was built by Montreal Locomotive Works – a great proof to the awesome era of steam locomotive engineering.

Guided tours to the Nethercutt Collection are also available – but because the demand for the tour is really high, you will have to pre-book for a tour before you arrive in your chartered bus. Unfortunately, for this guided tour section, children under ten years of age are not allowed. Tours are on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 10 in the morning or 1.30 in the afternoon. Again, no food or beverage but bottled water is allowed.