The very first time I used Uber I was on my way to Venice Beach, squished between two random people in the back seat of a 4 door Mazda.
I had been staying at a Hostel in Hollywood where they did free shuttle trips to the beach in the morning, unfortunately for myself and 3 others, we signed up for the shuttle too late and missed the opportunity for a free ride. Instead, someone suggested getting an Uber to the beach! Continue reading
Adventure
USA Hostels – Hollywood
Stayed: August 2015 for 4 Nights
Room: 6 Bed Female Dorm with Ensuite Bathroom
Overall Rating: 9/10
Everyone has to experience Hollywood at least once in their lifetime right!?
I knew I wanted to check out Hollywood Boulevard and do the Hollywood Sign when I was in the city of Los Angeles so I chose this Hostel as it was really central and had great reviews!
I read online that this hostel in Hollywood had won the ‘Most Popular Hostel Award’ from LA- Hostelworld.com for 2015 and also the 2014 ‘Certificate of Excellence’ on Trip Advisor so it really is quite a popular hostel for people staying in LA. USA Hostel’s also have hostel’s in San Diego (Downtown & Ocean Beach) as well as San Francisco but I haven’t stayed in them before.
My experience:
When I arrived in California I took a Shuttle from LAX airport to get to the hostel which took about 50 minutes. (Less without traffic but when does that ever happen in LA) Check in didn’t start until 2pm which is usually the norm but I think I arrived in the afternoon so I checked in right away. All rooms have a swipe card so it’s pretty safe, plus you have to show your swipe card before you’re even let past reception into the building so no random people can walk in.
I stayed in a room with 5 other girls and we had our own bathroom which was great. It had a toilet, sink & mirror and shower/bath combo. The only annoy thing was having to wait in the morning if a girl was taking too long (I admit on hair washing day I was that girl) Otherwise there is 2 other common bathrooms in the hostel you can go and use.
There are also rooms you can book out for yourself if you have the extra cash. They’re a bit small but you get your own space and they have either one twin bunk bed or one double bed along with cable TV, a mini fridge, air conditioning and a private bathroom.
I enjoyed staying in my room, the Hostel provided me with a fresh duvet & sheets when I arrived so I knew my bed was all clean. I was on a lower bunk next to the window and had my own little shelf, reading light and power outlet to charge my phone. The lockers they have also have power outlets in them so you can go out for the day and leave your electronics charging if you need to which was handy. You just have to provide your own lock.
All the room rates included breakfast (With make-your-own-pancakes), free WI-FI, laundry soap and free storage of your things on the day that you check out.
What I really enjoyed about this hostel was all the activities that they had available. In the reception area they had boards where you could write down your name on anything you wanted to do for that week. They also had Comedy nights upstairs in the ‘lounge’ area, Family dinners, BBQ nights and Pub crawls.
I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t join in on more stuff!
They do things on certain nights so maybe that’s why I missed out on some stuff. If you wanted to see Magic Mountain they have a free shuttle that goes there at 9.30am on certain days and provide you with discounted tickets from reception.
They also do a Runyon Canon Hike in the morning which is free and something I wish I did! I think it must have been too hot for me so I never did end up seeing the Hollywood Sign 😦
Check out this link on their website and you’ll find a monthly list of all the stuff they have planned so you can always book your trip based around those days.
I did sign up for one of the free Beach Shuttles to Venice Beach but unfortunately I was one of the last people to sign up so I missed out as the van was full. A few others and myself ended up getting an Uber instead and splitting the fare 4 ways.
There’s actually quite alot to see in LA, you can read what I did here for my 5 days in the Sun 🙂
As this Hostel was right off Hollywood Boulevard I walked down the Hollywood walk of fame pretty much every day. It’s super close to the Chinese Theatre, Madame Tussaud’s and food places so I ate a lot of Pizza! Haha.
Pros:
- En-suite Bathroom in the Dorm Rooms
- Option of Private Room
- So many activities to choose from
- Breakfast included in the price
- Free Wi-Fi
- ‘Chill out area’ upstairs with couches and DVD’s
- Family Dinner Nights (Good if you’re saving money)
- Well equipped Kitchen
- Towels & Bedding Provided
- Right around the corner from Hollywood Boulevard
- Has a beer pong table outside to set up
- Great privacy fence from the street
Cons:
- I actually can’t think of any major faults with this hostel. Maybe it was a bit noisy when I was trying to sleep as my room was right next door to a car park where homeless people would yell and get drunk some nights but I never felt un-safe or uncomfortable. The only annoying thing about my LA stay was the annoying people on Hollywood Boulevard haha. But I hardly think that’s the hostels fault.
If you’re ever in Hollywood, I’d really recommend this hostel!!
Day 41 – New York City (8)
My final day in my favorite place!
I have been waiting years to get to New York and now that I’ve been I don’t want to leave. 😥
However, from a tourist point of view. You can defintaly get alot done in 1 week.
I saw Central Park more than once, I experienced taking the Subway, I saw the lights in Times Square and spent my money in the stores. I travelled to the Top Of The Rock, ate at the Chelsea Markets, walked the High Line and lay in the sun on Coney Island. Not to mention had dinner out in Brooklyn and went past Jersey on my way to JFK airport. (Which by the way does look exactly like the Jersey shore from MTV)
It’s all been a wonderful 8 days but now it’s time for me to take my Iceland Air flight to London (with a quick stopover in Iceland on the way)
I woke up at a respectable time this morning. The girls in my dorm room always get up early and drippy phone girl makes the most noise! She slams her locker closed, rustles everything really loudly and talks to her mate in NOT a whisper.
It drives me insane.
I got up and washed my hair, did my make up etc… and packed my bag. It kind of ended up looking like this
So not quite closed…
I had breakfast with Alicia this morning at the hostel cafe (bagels again suprise suprise)
Then we walked to the post office together which was thankfully down the road.
After talking to the rude lady at the counter, I bought a box and put what I thought was 6 pounds (3kgs-ish) in from my backpack.
Alicia went to go weigh it and I could tell by her face it was defintaly over 3kgs. It was 6kgs!
I really don’t see how clothes can weigh that much 👿
I did have my old pair of nikes in there though and my small hairdrier and a pair of heels.
I ended up taking the heels and hair drier out and ended up getting a different box from a different lady which made it about $15 cheaper.
I didn’t get to send my magnets back home but currently on their way to NZ are pretty much a bunch of clothes that I really should have just thrown out. I think the postage was worth more than what was in the box now that I think about it.
I have a hard time parting with stuff unless I’m in a I-dont-care kind of mood.
At least I had room in my bag to zip it up! I think when I get to London I’m gonna throw out the travel hair drier I never ended up using. All the places I’ve stayed at have hair driers, plus the voltage is shit and it barely blows out any air. My ugly platform shoes can go as well (Even though they’re incredibly comfortable) they’re just so hideous. And they’re not looking so clean either…
At some point along the way I’ll buy a duffle bag and add it to my luggage but for now I’m not doing too bad…
After the post office experience, Alicia and I headed off to Sephora where I bought another bottle of fake tan. I’ve only just run out woohoo! That big bottle lasted me ages.
By 1pm I thought I better be on my way so me and Alicia said our final goodbyes 😥 and I hopped on the subway to Pennsylvania Station.
Alicia is defintaly one of my favouritest people I’ve met along my travels. We must get along because we’re both from Wellington haha. She’s moving to London though so hopefully we’ll catch up when I’m there!
It was a bit confusing once I got off the subway in Madison square Garden and finding the Pennsylvania Station but I got there eventually after asking like 3 different people.
I had to get off the Amtrak at Jamaica and then take the JFK airport train take terminal 7.
I was super early. I was so early in fact that the Iceland Air counter wasn’t even open 😯
I had like 3 hours to pass, which went by really quickly actually. I ate at subway and wrote a blog. Re-organised my suitcase on the airport floor and took a picture in the bathroom.
Haha!
By 5pm, I checked in and I asked the lady if I could choose my seat. She said no and when I looked at my ticket I saw I’m in seat 32c.
Not just the aisle seat, but the BACK of the plane as well. This is like my nightmare. Back of the plane = lots of turbulance. Aisle means I don’t get to see NYC lit up at night :'(:'( either.
I hate this so much.
And my flight from Iceland to london, I’m in the middle seat. I’m not loving Iceland air so far… Air New Zealand would never do this to me 😐
Also JFK has been a disappointment.
I couldn’t find a MAC store when I came through security into duty free. OR a Victoria secrets store. I asked one of the counter staff and they said all that kind of stuff is over at terminal 4!!!
I wouldn’t even be allowed in there because my flight doesn’t depart from there.
So I saved some American money and purposely didn’t spend any more at Mac so I could buy make up duty free. 😥
Instead I bought a Buttermilk chicken burger meal deal from McDonald’s and a reese’s mcflurball.
What a disappointment.
The mcflurry was good though.
It’s 7.30pm now and I don’t board till 8pm. I’m going to try and upload this blog but to be honest it probably won’t work until I get wi-fi in London. I get like no internet reception at JFK!!
I don’t have a UK SIM card either so will have to get onto a travel SIM or something when I land.
Lots of love,
Your little passport princess x
ThePassportPrincess 