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Money-Saving Tips for Your Los Angeles Visit
Ways to Save on a Los Angeles Vacation

By Betsy Malloy, About.com

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Here are some ideas to keep the cost of your trip under control.
  • Shop Around for Airfare: Check all the area airports: Los Angeles (LAX), Burbank (BUR), Long Beach (LGB) and Orange County (SNA). Use Kayak.com to check fares and compare prices. Did you know that Southwest Airlines does not participate in any of the fare-comparison sites? Always check their prices separately by going directly to their website.

  • Choose an inexpensive hotel or even better, use our simple guide to finding the best hotel rates in Los Angeles to get a nice hotel for the price of a "cheap" one. Don't be short-sighted, though. The hotel rate that looks the lowest may come with a hefty daily parking fee, Internet charges and other fees, while the place with a slightly higher daily rate may provide free breakfast, free Internet and free parking.

  • Get a Discount Admission Card: The Southern California CityPass includes Disneyland, Universal Studios and Sea World at significant savings over buying all the tickets separately. If you're going to Hollywood, you may also get save money by getting the Hollywood Citypass. Save time; order them online by clicking on the links.

    The Go Los Angeles Card comes in 3, 5 and 7-day versions and offers a lot of choices for things to do. Do a little comparison shopping to choose the one that will work best for you.

  • Free Attractions: You can't get much cheaper than this. Some of the things you can see for free include a television show taping and the Rose Parade, and we'll even tell you a little-known secret for getting into the Hollywood Bowl for free.

  • Do Lunch (or not): If you want to try an expensive restaurant, their lunch prices are often lower than dinner. Or, (this is one of my favorite strategies) get a really cheap lunch and use most of your meal budget for dinner. Every January, many of Los Angeles's top restaurants participate in the Dine About Town program, offering special, fixed price meals for discounted prices.
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