LA is vast and sprawling, with so many things to do. But often these things are a little underwhelming – trips to the Chinese Theatre, seeing the Hollywood sign, downtown LA . . . all a bit meh. Whereas strolling around in the afternoon in Santa Monica was cool, and would be my recommendation for a place to stay for a first time LA visitor.
Staying in Santa Monica was a small part of a whirlwind road trip around the Western US states. See the itinerary and tips for this adventure here – Rapid 2 week roadtrip around the US West Coast States