Choosing to stay in Hollywood vs Santa Monica comes down to what you want within walking distance. Stay in Hollywood and the Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theatre and the Dolby sit outside the door. Santa Monica trades all of that for the beach, the pier and a walkable stretch of shops along the Third Street Promenade. Beverly Hills sits between them.
On your first morning in LA you walk out of the hotel, and depending on which one you booked you’re either a short walk from the beach or standing on a star with somebody’s name on it. Either one works. But before you fly home you’ll want to see the other one.
You’ll likely cross between the two at some point. The road from the coast runs through Century City and Wilshire into Beverly Hills, past Rodeo Drive and the Beverly Hills Hotel, then climbs onto the Sunset Strip. Most of what you came to LA to see is sitting in the middle.
See LA’s top highlights in one day from either location, with someone else handling the driving for you on our Half Day Best of LA Tour.
Our Half Day Best of LA Tour runs 5.5 hours from both Hollywood and Santa Monica, with stops that include Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign viewing area, and The Grove and the Original Farmers Market.
Hollywood and Santa Monica Compared
Hollywood and Santa Monica work as two different bases for the same trip. One puts you in the middle of the city’s film history, the other puts you on the coast, and the rest comes down to what you want to do on foot.
| Hollywood | Santa Monica | |
|---|---|---|
| Walk out your door to | The Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theatre, the Dolby | The beach, the pier, Third Street Promenade |
| Ocean access | A drive away | At the end of the street |
| Evenings | Sunset Strip and Hollywood Blvd nightlife | Promenade restaurants and the pier |
| Closest big sights | Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Sign viewpoints | Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach |
| Feel | Busy, loud, central | Slower, coastal, compact |
| Best for | A trip built around film and city sights | A trip built around the coast, or traveling with kids |
| Metro to downtown LA | B Line from Hollywood/Highland | E Line, direct from Downtown Santa Monica |
| Our departure point | 7044 Hollywood Blvd | 1447 Ocean Ave |
What You Get in Santa Monica
Santa Monica gives you a piece of Los Angeles you can cover on foot, and there isn’t much of that anywhere else in this city. You can fill two days between the pier, the beach and the Promenade without getting in a car, which is worth a lot on your first day, when you’ve just landed and the last thing you want is to get straight into a car.
Walking Distance From the Pier
You get the Ferris wheel and the arcade out on the pier, the beach path running south toward Venice, and Third Street Promenade a few blocks inland with the shops and most of the restaurants you’ll eat at. It’s a compact area and an evening’s walk covers most of it.
Venice sits a short walk or ride down the same path, and it looks and sounds nothing like Santa Monica once you get there. Give it a morning. Our first-timer’s guide to Venice Beach covers what to see and what to skip.
The Trade-Off for Staying on the Coast
Most of your list sits inland. Griffith Observatory, the Walk of Fame, The Grove, Universal and the celebrity neighborhoods all sit east of you, so plan them as one trip out and back instead of three separate runs across town.
Our Hollywood, Beverly Hills, & Celebrity Homes Open Air Tour departs from both Santa Monica and Hollywood, so you can take it from whichever end you’re staying in.
The coast also runs grey and cool most mornings through late spring and summer, a pattern locals call May Gray and June Gloom, while it’s sunny five to fifteen miles inland. Pack a layer even in June.
What You Get in Hollywood
Hollywood puts you in the middle of the movie landmarks, which is the whole argument for staying here. The Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theatre and the Dolby sit within a few blocks, Griffith Observatory is a short drive north, and the Sunset Strip starts a few minutes west.
Walking Distance From the Walk of Fame
From a hotel on or near the boulevard, you can walk the stars, stand in the Chinese Theatre forecourt with the handprints, and reach the Hollywood and Highland complex, all of it on foot. For a first trip that matters. It’s the one stretch of LA that behaves like a normal walkable tourist district, and you’ll come back to it through the trip.
Our Hollywood tours depart from the Hollywood Visitor Center at 7044 Hollywood Blvd, right on the Walk of Fame, so the bus is a short walk from most hotels along the boulevard.
Living With the Crowds
Hollywood Boulevard gets busy, and it’s busiest on exactly the blocks you’ll want to walk. Costumed characters will ask you for photos, people hand out flyers, and the stretch between Highland and Vine stays packed most of the day.
Some people find that fun and some people find it a lot. If you’d rather have it quieter, book a few blocks off the boulevard instead of on it.
We cover what to expect in the evenings in our guide to Hollywood safety for visitors.
Where West Hollywood Fits
West Hollywood is the answer for people who want the nightlife without the boulevard, and it sits between the two areas you’re comparing. You get the Sunset Strip, Santa Monica Boulevard, and a run of design shops and restaurants you can walk between, which is rare for LA.
Hollywood and West Hollywood Are Two Different Cities
West Hollywood is its own incorporated city, 1.9 square miles bounded by Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, with its own council since 1984. Hollywood is a district of Los Angeles.
On the ground the difference shows up in what each one is built around, film history and the tourist trade in one, nightlife and restaurants in the other.
Pick it if you want the Strip at night and a shorter run to the Westside.
Getting From Santa Monica to Hollywood
You’ll make this crossing at least once, and how you plan it matters more than where you start. The road inland runs through Century City and Wilshire, into Beverly Hills past Rodeo Drive and the Beverly Hills Hotel, then up toward the Sunset Strip and Hollywood. We drive it several times a day out of both ends.
Driving and Parking
Driving works if you pick your window. LA rush hour runs long in both directions, and a crossing that’s easy at ten in the morning turns into a different trip at five.
Hollywood parking means structures and paid lots more than street spots, and beach parking in Santa Monica fills early on weekends. Our Walk of Fame parking guide covers the garages, rates and walking distances.
Getting Around Without a Car
You can do this whole trip without renting anything. Rideshare handles the crossing door to door, and Metro’s E Line runs from Downtown Santa Monica station, a few blocks from the Promenade and the pier, straight into downtown LA with no transfer.
Reaching Hollywood by rail means riding the E Line downtown and changing to the B Line, so budget for two trains rather than one. Either way, group your inland stops into a single day instead of crossing twice. Our guide to getting around LA without a car goes through the options.
Sightseeing From Each Base
Everything on a first-timer’s list is reachable from either end, and your base mostly decides how you group your days. The difference is which trips feel like a quick hop and which ones need a morning.
From Hollywood, Griffith Observatory is a short drive north and the Sunset Strip is a few minutes west, so you can fit either around a half day of something else. The Hollywood Sign viewpoints are close enough to catch at sunset without rearranging your plans. Universal Studios sits over the hill in Universal City, which makes it a comfortable day trip.
From Santa Monica, the beach cities open up. Venice is a walk or a short ride down the beach path, Malibu runs north up the coast, and the pier is there whenever you want it. Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive sit inland on the way to everything else, so pair them with your Hollywood day instead of making a separate run.
Disneyland is a drive from both, down in Anaheim, and it’s a full day from either one. Getting to and from LAX is the one place Santa Monica has a clear edge, since the airport sits closer to the coast than to Hollywood.
Splitting Your Stay Between Both
Two or three nights in each area works well on a trip of five days or more, and it saves you the longest crossings. You see both halves of the city properly, and you only move hotels once.
Start in Hollywood and finish in Santa Monica if you’re flying out of LAX, since the last morning is shorter from the coast. Flip it if you want the beach while you’re still fresh from the flight.
On a trip of three days or less, pick one and stay put. Packing and checking in twice eats more of a short trip than the driving does.
Tours From Hollywood and Santa Monica
You can book the same tours from either end of the city, which takes most of the pressure off this decision. We run from 7044 Hollywood Blvd at the Hollywood Visitor Center, and from 1447 Ocean Ave in Santa Monica.
Our Hollywood, Beverly Hills, & Celebrity Homes Open Air Tour runs two hours from Hollywood with a photo stop at the Beverly Hills Sign, and three and a half hours from Santa Monica with a longer stop at the Beverly Hills Sign and Rodeo Drive plus time on the Walk of Fame.
Same neighborhoods either way, and the Santa Monica version hands you Hollywood for an afternoon without a rental car.
Our Half Day Best of LA Tour runs 5.5 hours from both departure points, with stops that include Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign viewing area, and The Grove and the Original Farmers Market, with free time at each one.
Our Malibu Beaches, PCH & Celebrity Homes Open Air Tour runs two hours up the Pacific Coast Highway and departs from Santa Monica only, which is one of the real arguments for basing yourself on the coast. Our Malibu day trip guide goes through the beaches, the stops and how to plan the day.
All of our scheduled tours run with a live English-speaking guide, and our audio app carries commentary in 10 languages.
Book a tour from Hollywood or Santa Monica, whichever one your hotel is in.
FAQ
Is it better to stay in Hollywood or Santa Monica?
Stay in Hollywood if your trip is built around film sights and city landmarks. Stay in Santa Monica if you want the beach, or if you’re traveling with kids. Hollywood puts the Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theatre within a few blocks and sits closer to Griffith Observatory and Universal. Santa Monica puts you on the beach with the pier and Third Street Promenade in walking distance.
Is Santa Monica part of Los Angeles?
Santa Monica is its own incorporated city in Los Angeles County, not a neighborhood of Los Angeles, though it sits inside the LA metro area and most visitors treat it as part of the same trip.
How far is Santa Monica from Hollywood?
Santa Monica sits roughly 15 miles west of Hollywood, and the drive runs through Century City, Wilshire, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip. Traffic decides the timing more than the distance does, so a crossing that’s quick mid-morning can take much longer at rush hour.
Is Santa Monica walkable without a car?
Santa Monica is one of the few parts of Los Angeles you can cover on foot. The pier, the beach, Third Street Promenade and most hotels sit within walking distance of each other, and the beach path runs south to Venice.
What is the difference between Hollywood and West Hollywood?
West Hollywood is a separate city, incorporated in 1984 and covering 1.9 square miles between Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, while Hollywood is a district of Los Angeles. West Hollywood holds the Sunset Strip and a run of restaurants and design shops. Hollywood holds the Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theatre and the Dolby.
Is Hollywood safe at night?
Hollywood Boulevard stays busy and well lit into the evening, and the main tourist stretch between Highland and Vine draws heavy foot traffic rather than empty streets. Use normal city sense, stick to the lit main roads after dark, and book a hotel a few blocks off the boulevard if you’d rather have it quieter.
Can you see LA in one day from either area?
You can cover the main sights in one day from either Hollywood or Santa Monica, and a guided tour is the easiest way to do it without driving. Our Half Day Best of LA Tour runs 5.5 hours and departs from both Hollywood and Santa Monica, and our Hollywood, Beverly Hills, & Celebrity Homes Open Air Tour runs from both as well if you have less time.
