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Air Canada Flights from Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Los Angeles (LAX)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Air Canada, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Los Angeles (LAX), departing between 7:15pm and 11:00pm. Usually a Boeing 747-400 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Auckland, New Zealand to Los Angeles, CA is 11 hours and 55 minutes.
During your Los Angeles vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Craft & Folk Art Museum
This gallery, housed in a prominent Museum Row building, has grown into one of the city's largest. "Craft and folk art" encompasses everything from clothing, tools, religious artifacts, and other everyday objects to wood carvings, papier-mâché, weaving, and metalwork. The museum displays folk objects from around the world, but its strongest collection is masks from India, America, Mexico, Japan, and China. The museum is also known for its annual International Festival of Masks, held each October in Hancock Park, across the street. Be sure to stop in the funky, eclectic Museum Shop (tel. 323/857-4677) to peruse the wearable art, folk art books, and various handmade crafts.
NBC Studios
According to a security guard, John Wayne and Redd Foxx once got into a fight here after Wayne refused to ride in the same limo as Foxx, who called the movie star a "redneck." Well, your NBC tour will probably be a bit more docile than that. The guided 70-minute indoor tour, which departs every half-hour, includes a behind-the-scenes unstaged look at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno set; wardrobe, makeup, and set-building departments; and several sound studios. In fact, NBC is the only TV studio that offers the public a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of its television operation, and it's a lot less expensive than the competition's studio tours. It doesn't have the cachet of a major motion picture studio tour, but it's entertaining nonetheless. Note: Tours are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and sell out early during peak vacation season, so arrive early. Also, this is one of the few studio tours that doesn't have a minimum age requirement.
Los Angeles Zoo
The L.A. Zoo, which shares its parking lot with the Museum of the American West, has been welcoming visitors and busloads of school kids since 1966. In 1982, the zoo inaugurated a display of cuddly koalas, still one of its biggest attractions. Although it's smaller than the world-famous San Diego Zoo, the L.A. Zoo is surprisingly enjoyable and easy to fully explore. As much an arboretum as a zoo, the grounds are thick with mature shade trees from around the world that help cool the once-barren grounds, and new habitats are light-years ahead of the cruel concrete roundhouses originally used to exhibit animals (though you can't help feeling that, despite the fancy digs, all the creatures would rather be in their natural habitat). Highlights include the Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains habitat, where visitors can see plenty of primate activity; the Red Ape Rain Forest, a natural orangutan habitat; the entertaining World of Birds show; the Pachyderm Forest (climate-controlled digs for the elephants and hippos, complete with an underwater viewing area); the new mandrills exhibit (the world's largest and most colorful baboons); and the silverback gorilla exhibit. The gargantuan Andean condor had me enthralled as well (the facility is renowned in zoological circles for the successful breeding and releasing of California condors, and occasionally it has some of these majestic and endangered birds on exhibit).The zoo's latest attraction (and one they're rightfully proud of) is the Winnick Family Children's Zoo, a fantastic and forward-thinking children's zoo that contains a petting area, exhibition animal care center, Adventure Theater storytelling and puppet show, and other kid-hip exhibits and activities. Tip: To avoid the busloads of rambunctious school kids, arrive after noon.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Los Angeles area, including:
Casa del Mar
Housed in a former 1920s Renaissance Revival beach club, this Art Deco stunner is a real dream of a resort hotel, equal in every respect to big sister Shutters just down the beach. Which one you prefer depends on your personal sense of style. While Shutters is outfitted like a chic contemporary beach house, this impeccable, U-shape villalike structure radiates period glamour. The building's shape awards ocean views to most of the guest rooms; unfortunately, windows don't open more than an inch or two (which gives Shutters, whose rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies, a slight advantage). You're unlikely to be too disappointed thanks to the gorgeous, summery, European-inspired decor in golds and sea grass hues, plus abundant luxuries that include sumptuously dressed beds and big Italian marble bathrooms with extralarge whirlpool tubs and separate showers. Rooms are laid out for relaxation, not business, so travelers with work on their minds should stay elsewhere.Downstairs you'll find a big, elegant living room with ocean views, a stylish lounge, and the Oceanfront restaurant, which has earned justifiable kudos (and more than a few celebrity fans) for its beautiful setting, great service, and seafood-heavy California cuisine. Outdoors, the Mediterranean-evocative Palm Terrace boasts a gorgeous Roman-style pool and Jacuzzi with spectacular ocean views.Facilities: Oceanfront restaurant; lobby lounge for cocktails and light fare; alfresco cafe for daytime dining; heated outdoor Roman-style pool; plunge pool; Jacuzzi overlooking Santa Monica Beach; state-of-the-art health club with spa services; 24-hr. concierge; business center; 24-hr. room service; laundry service; dry-cleaning service.
Inn at Venice Beach
This cheery motel at the (relatively) quiet residential south end of Venice is a good choice for travelers who want a near-the-beach, near-the-boardwalk location without being at the center of the fray. Rooms are cheerily colorful (lots of blues and yellows); open-beam ceilings add to the spacious feel. All rooms overlook a cobblestone courtyard, where complimentary continental breakfast is served on warm mornings. It all adds up to a reasonable value for budget-minded travelers (the bi-level loft suites are a great value if there's more than two of you). Since the hotel is just 3 blocks from the ocean on the border between Venice and Marina del Rey, there's an endless parade of people exploring the marina, the beach, or the nearby canals on foot, bike, or in-line skates (rentals are 2 blocks away). About the only thing missing is a pool, but the staff will lend you beach towels for an ocean dip.
Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood
This 12-story Hollywood landmark is located on an unabashedly touristy but no longer seedy section of Hollywood Boulevard -- across from Grauman's Chinese Theatre and along the Walk of Fame. Host to the first Academy Awards in 1929 -- not to mention a few famous-name ghosts -- this national landmark is Hollywood's only historic hotel still in operation today. It celebrated its 75th anniversary with a $15 million renovation that has harmoniously melded the Roosevelt's historical highlights with modern hotel luxuries. Much of the 1927 Spanish-influenced sunken lobby remains the same -- the hand-crafted columns and dramatic arches are magnificent -- but the guest rooms have been completely -- and tastefully -- renovated with colorful extralarge bathrooms, dark-wood platform beds with luxurious Frette linens, and all the latest high-tech accessories. Rooms on the upper floors have unbeatable skyline views, while cabana rooms have a balcony or patio overlooking the Olympic-size pool, whose mural was originally painted by David Hockney. Theodore's Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, and the poolside Tropicana Bar is your new best friend, offering refreshing cocktails and great brick-oven pizzas. Also here is Feinstein's at the Cinegrill, a cool, dark, tier-leveled supper club hosted by celebrity performer Michael Feinstein. Tip: Request the Steven Spielberg room on the ninth floor -- the view of Hollywood Boulevard is fantastic.Facilities: Asian-fusion restaurant; cocktail lounge; Feinstein's at the Cinegrill cabaret and nightclub; outdoor pool and Jacuzzi; spa and fitness center; concierge; activities desk; room service (6am-11pm); babysitting; laundry service; dry-cleaning service; executive-level rooms.
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