SydneyPaige My favorite podcast, No Jumper, was doing their first live show…so I made a 4 day solo trip out of it. Hollywood, Catalina Island, Santa Monica & Venice, and layover hike in AZ.
Some of my favorite weekend/day trips usually revolve around one event and I just find other fun stuff to do in the area around it. This was a solo trip so ill give some solo female travel tips/advice:
- Do what you wanna do! – This is your trip, if you want to wake up at 5am and go watch the sunrise do it. If you wanna sleep in and grab brunch do it.
- Make sure someone knows/has your location – Especially with hiking, you may lose service, or your phone dies
- Plan ahead – Like a majority of the trips I take; I plan and prepay for as much as I can before hand. Having an itinerary and idea of what you got going on for the day gives sense of direction. People are less likely to bother/approach you if you look like you know where your going
- Pay attention to your surroundings – I love wearing headphones, but they can be a distraction. Know when to wear them and when not.
- Be strategic when booking Uber/Lyft – When I was coming back on the ferry from Catalina Island, I had booked the ride before I even got off so I wasn’t standing outside in the dark waiting. By the time I got off the ferry the ride was already waiting for me.
Itinerary:
*** Day 1 & 3 can be interchangeable – I made schedule flexible depending on mood when I got off the plane and how much time I would have for the day.
Day One Hollywood:
I stayed at the cutest hotel — The Godfrey — it was also featured in selling sunset season 5 (when Chrishell and Jason met with Jason’s mom for lunch on rooftop lol). The room was a tad small but it was just me so it was perfect. It had two restaurants so for brunch when I landed I ate at the ALK. For dinner I ate at the roof top. The rooftop had amazing views from the city and so many different options to sit. I would honestly go to this restaurant even if I wasn’t staying at the hotel. The sushi was my favorite! During the day I explored Hollywood, walked around Sunset Blvd, went shopping.
Day Two Catalina Island:
First let me say, I spent so much time planning this day and it wasn’t even my “main event” day on the trip. But day two was so much fun, I highly recommend Catalina Island.
I took an Uber from my hotel to Long Beach where I got on the ferry to Catalina Island. I bought ferry tickets for 9:15am and a 7:45pm return. I bought tickets for the commodore lounge which was the top deck and they provided a drink and a snack each way. Once I arrived, I used the moovit app once I got off the Catalina Express Ferry which helped me locate the bus stops. BRING dramamine. I stopped at grocery store on the island, Vons where I picked up some snacks before my hike.
I wanted to rent a golf cart but I knew I wanted to spend majority of time at the gardens/hiking so wasnt worth it. Bus ride was short to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden , if you wanted to walk from Avalon to the park you could but I didn’t know how strenuous the hike was so I preserved some energy. $10 to get in the park.
The hike was maybe a mile up and back pretty quick but I stopped a lot and took some great photos. Its a good hike to get blood pumping but not to completely wear you out. I headed back to Avalon VIA bus and ate at the Bluewater grille in downtown Avalon. For the rest of the day I explored all the little shops they have and just laid out at the beach.
Day Three – Santa Monica & Venice Beach:
I had nothing special planned while I was in Santa Monica and Venice. Just to check out the beaches, relax, and get some good food. I was almost about to walk off the pier then this restaurant caught my eye. I love ordering a few apps as my meal. Prices, vibes and food were great.
Theres a nice walk/bike path from Santa Monica to Venice that I enjoyed after my lunch. I definitely like Santa Monica better than Venice. Podcast was at 8pm. I had started watching the No Jumper podcast during the pandemic and have been obsessed since. So it was only fit for me to see their first show which was amazing.
Day Four – Phoenix, Arizona:
Early Flight from LAX to layover in Phoenix. Something that frequently happened to me during this trip was Ubers cancelling on me. On the way to the airport I had 3 different drivers cancel. So I got to the airport VERY late. I had less than 30 minutes til boarding closed. (This was the fastest I have ever gotten through the airport). No Clear, No pre-check. My terminal even got changed last minute. Despite all that, still made the flight.
This was the first time I have ever left the airport and was the best decision. My layover was a little over 4 hours. I was indecisive between going downtown Pheonix to check out the city/go to a brunch or go hiking and explore arizona. Because I was so late to getting on the fight they made me check my carry on, normally I would be annoyed but this played out perfectly. I didn’t have to carry my cary on around while in AZ or pay for a locker to hold it. I would just get it at my final destination.
That sealed the deal that I had to go hiking. I got dropped off by my uber at Papago Park which was extremely close to the airport. I went hiking and explored the park for about 2.5 hours and got back to the airport with just enough time for lunch before boarding.
