HELP! LOS ANGELES AND SAN DIEGO

[zootografiando]

Hello!

Does anyone in the group live in Los Angeles or San Diego?
In late August and early September, I'll be spending a few days in California. Specifically, in those two cities.

*In LOS ANGELES, I want to visit the following zoos and aquariums: the Los Angeles Zoo, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the California Science Center. I'd also like to visit The Living Desert, but it's too far away, and I don't want to rent a car to go alone.

I have a few questions.

1. Is it easy to get to the Los Angeles Zoo by public transport? I've seen that it's possible to get there by combining the subway and the bus.

2. Are the Aquarium of the Pacific and the California Science Center easily accessible by public transportation?

*In SAN DIEGO, I want to visit the Zoo, the Safari, SeaWorld, and the Museum of Natural History.

3. Is there any way to get to those places by public transport? I'm especially interested in knowing how to get to the Escondido Safari.

4. Is there no more Aethia cristatella at the Aquarium?

GENERAL QUESTIONS
5. Are August and September good times to see elephant seals on the coast?
6. Do you recommend any other places to visit?
7. If anyone who lives in Los Angeles or San Diego wants to visit these places and has a car, please write to me and we'll make the trip together, sharing the gas cost.

I appreciate any help. I'll read them. Thank you.

 

[peruvianbirdie]

Hello!

Does anyone in the group live in Los Angeles or San Diego?
In late August and early September, I'll be spending a few days in California. Specifically, in those two cities.

*In LOS ANGELES, I want to visit the following zoos and aquariums: the Los Angeles Zoo, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the California Science Center. I'd also like to visit The Living Desert, but it's too far away, and I don't want to rent a car to go alone.

I have a few questions.

1. Is it easy to get to the Los Angeles Zoo by public transport? I've seen that it's possible to get there by combining the subway and the bus.

2. Are the Aquarium of the Pacific and the California Science Center easily accessible by public transportation?

*In SAN DIEGO, I want to visit the Zoo, the Safari, SeaWorld, and the Museum of Natural History.

3. Is there any way to get to those places by public transport? I'm especially interested in knowing how to get to the Escondido Safari.

4. Is there no more Aethia cristatella at the Aquarium?

GENERAL QUESTIONS
5. Are August and September good times to see elephant seals on the coast?
6. Do you recommend any other places to visit?
7. If anyone who lives in Los Angeles or San Diego wants to visit these places and has a car, please write to me and we'll make the trip together, sharing the gas cost.

I appreciate any help. I'll read them. Thank you.

Wish I was able to answer your questions regarding public transportation as I am a LA resident (but personally never use them), so I will leave that to other ZooChat members.
6. I also recommend visiting the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, San Diego for they will soon be opening up their The Living Seas exhibit. They have a very nice fish collection and have the only Little Blue Penguins in the West Coast.
4. IIRC based on the AotP thread, their last Crested Auklet sadly passed away.

 

[Local_Shark]

I will fold my takes on your question 1 and 2 into one: it's not particularly easy to use any public transport in LA, unfortunately. I have lived here 25 years and used it so infrequently that it's almost laughable. I know people who have tried, but my understanding is those particular locations are all some degree of tough by anything but car (especially the Zoo). If you have a route that would make sense via the subway and bus combined, I'd say you could absolutely try it, I just know very little as I've only ever driven there. I do highly recommend all three institutions even though the LA Zoo is in a bit of a state at the moment. I normally would also recommend the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, but it's also in something of a state as they're still remodeling their entire filtration system, so the main exhibit hall is closed. I do live in the LA area and while I wouldn’t mind helping you myself, I don’t think I can commit to anything because of not being sure of my job/home situation in August/September lol. I may not still be in the area.

As for the rest of your questions, I know rather little about the public transport situation in SD, or about the particulars of animals there, as I’m only an infrequent visitor. I absolutely do recommend Birch as someone else here said, though, as The Living Seas will surely be an awesome exhibit by the looks of it.

Also in terms of elephant seals, I personally have never seen them in the wild outside of Northern California (San Luis Obispo is the furthest south I think I’ve ever seen them or had friends who have).

 

[zootografiando]

I've already mentioned in another post that I have two weeks left to visit California. I'm going to be in Los Angeles for five days and San Diego for five. The plan is to visit as many zoos and aquariums as I can, but that's not a lot of days; some parks are very large and have many species. I'll also be getting around using public transportation and on foot, since I don't want to rent a car to go alone.

Some of you already know that I have an animal photography blog and that I enjoy traveling in search of new species. This year, I've focused on the USA, and after New York and Miami, now it's time for California.

Here's a summary of the places I want to visit and the animals that Zootierliste has, in case anyone can give me any other information or advice. Thanks.

DAYS 1 AND 5: Tourism and probably some other centers like the Santa Monica Pier aquarium or The living desert (But I don't think I can visit the latter without a car).

DAY 2: LOS ANGELES ZOO (Antilocapra americana peninsularis, Cephalophus niger, Gazella spekei, Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi, Sapajus robustus, Tapirus pinchaque, Taxidea taxus, Gymnogyps californianus, Gyps coprotheres/kolbi, Struthio molybdophanes, Bogertophis/Elaphe rosaliae, Crotalus catalinensis, Crotalus morulus, Crotalus oreganus, Crotalus willardi, Elusor macrurus, Gopherus agassizi, Lophosaurus/Hypsilurus boydii, Sauromalus klauberi, Sauromalus varius, Tropidolaemus wagleri, Vipera/Pelias kaznakovi, Rana/Amerana muscosa, Ranitomeya/Dendrobates uakarii)

DAY 3: CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER (Anolis porcatus, Gopherus agassizi, Anaxyurus/Bufo punctatus, Myliobatis californica, Paralabrax maculatofasciatus, Cheilotrema saturum, Halichoeres semicinctus, Trachurus symmetricus, Paralichthys californicus, Stereolepis gigas, Rhacochilus toxotes, Micrometrus minimus, Phanerodon/Rhacochilus vacca, Gymnothorax mordax, Sebastes serriceps. Sebastes atrovirens, Sebastes chrysomelas, Sebastes umbrosus, Pleuronichthys coenosus, Pleuronichthys verticalis)

DAY 3 ALSO: NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM (Didelphis virginiana, Megascops kennicottii, Crotalus oreganus, Gopherus agassizi, Pseudacris/Hyla hypochondriaca, Gila orcuttii)

DAY 4: LONG BEACH (AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC) (Sula sula, Limnodromus scolopaceus, Recurvirostra americana, Charadrius vociferus, Fratercula corniculata, Tringa semipalmata, Podilymbus podiceps, Pseudacris/Hyla regilla, Rana/Amerana muscosa, Ambystoma californiense, Taricha torosa, Myliobatis californica, Hypsoblennius gentilis, Scorpaenichthys marmoratus, Paralabrax nebulifer, Cheilotrema saturum, Lythrypnus dalli, Paralichthys californicus, Seriola dorsalis, Micrometrus minimus, Gymnothorax mordax, Holacanthus limbaughi, Sebastes levis, Scorpaena guttata, Brachygenys/Xenistius californiensis)

DAYS 5 AND 1: Tourism and probably some other centers like the Santa Monica Pier aquarium or The living desert (But I don't think I can visit the latter without a car).

DAY 6: Arrival in San Diego and sightseeing. I will try to visit the NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM (Crotalus oreganus, Arizona elegans/occidentalis, Chionactis/Sonora occipitalis, Bogertophis/Elaphe rosaliae, Coleonyx variegatus, Urosaurus graciosus, Sceloporus orcutti, Elgaria/Gerrhonotus multicarinata, Xantusia henshawi)

DAY 7 AND 8: SAN DIEGO ZOO (Antilocapra americana peninsularis, Damaliscus pygargus pygargus, Cercopithecus wolfi, Hemigalus derbyanus, Nanger soemmerringii, Gazella spekei, Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi, Cricetomys ansorgei, Urocyon littoralis, Diphyllodes/Cicinnurus magnificus, Lophorina superba, Vanellus albiceps, Spizixos semitorques, Spermestes fringilloides, Eurystomus orientalis, Zonotrichia/Brachyspiza capensis, Calypte ana, Calypte/Archilochus costae, Gymnogyps californianus, Psittacula longicauda, Ducula pickeringii, Ducula rufigaster, Pytilia hypogrammica, Lipaugus vociferans, Chlorophanes spiza, Pheucticus ludovicianus, Manacus vitellinus, Cinnyris pulchellus, Megapodius pritchardii, Ixothraupis/Tangara punctata, Tangara velia, Chloropsis aurifrons, Vidua interjecta, Vidua chalybeata)

DAY 9: SEAWORLD SAN DIEGO (Globicephala macrorhynchus, Arctocephalus townsendi, Urile/Phalacrocorax penicillatus, Rallus obsoletus, Actinemys marmorata/pallida)

DAY 10: ESCONDIDO SAFARI (Antilocapra americana peninsularis, Damaliscus pygargus pygargus, Kobus cob, Eudorcas/Gazella rufifrons, Nanger granti, Nanger soemmerringii, Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi, Ornithorhynchs ahatinus, Cricetomys ansorgei, Perognathus longimembris, Nilgiritragus hylocrius, Laius ludovicianus, Loporina superba, Gyps coprotheres/kolbi, Gymnogyps californianus, Ducula rufigaster, Chlorophanes spiza, Hypotaenidia owstoni, Rallus obsoletus, Tangara velia, Chloropsis aurifrons, Gopherus agassizi)

 

[Coelacanth18]

Your questions about public transit are a bit hard to answer without knowing where you'll be based at. Did you book lodging close to a transit hub, or at least close to a bus stop? All of the zoos and aquariums you want to visit can be accessed via public transit (I think), but the time and effort involved will vary. If you look at each zoo's website, they will often have information about public transit or where to look for that information. I'd also recommend just researching it on your own using navigation apps and each public transit agency's website, from wherever you are staying.

I do know that the California Science Center and LA Natural History Museum are easily accessed via Metro Rail, as is Aquarium of the Pacific. Public transit to the LA Zoo would be via bus. Public transit to SeaWorld is easy, I did it; you can take a bus straight to the park from the Old Town light rail station. San Diego Zoo and the natural history museum are a pretty easy bus ride away from downtown, according to Google Maps. The Safari Park is the one I'm least confident about, transit-wise; I think there is bus service that goes there, but I don't know what its route or schedule are.

5. Are August and September good times to see elephant seals on the coast?

It's fine for it, but you'll have trouble doing so 1) in southern California, and 2) without a car. The good spots for them are further north.

6. Do you recommend any other places to visit?

The Living Coast Discovery Center (in Chula Vista, close to San Diego) is close to a light rail station and might have some species you're interested in. I second Birch Aquarium also.

I'm assuming you've either done research on how visible these target species are at each zoo? Some of the ones you've listed are either ambassador animals or completely off-show.

 

[zootografiando]

Your questions about public transit are a bit hard to answer without knowing where you'll be based at. Did you book lodging close to a transit hub, or at least close to a bus stop? All of the zoos and aquariums you want to visit can be accessed via public transit (I think), but the time and effort involved will vary. If you look at each zoo's website, they will often have information about public transit or where to look for that information. I'd also recommend just researching it on your own using navigation apps and each public transit agency's website, from wherever you are staying.

I do know that the California Science Center and LA Natural History Museum are easily accessed via Metro Rail, as is Aquarium of the Pacific. Public transit to the LA Zoo would be via bus. Public transit to SeaWorld is easy, I did it; you can take a bus straight to the park from the Old Town light rail station. San Diego Zoo and the natural history museum are a pretty easy bus ride away from downtown, according to Google Maps. The Safari Park is the one I'm least confident about, transit-wise; I think there is bus service that goes there, but I don't know what its route or schedule are.

Thank you very much for your time. Yes, I know some species are not on display. I've also checked transportation, and yes, I can get to any of these locations. The farther ones may take an hour and a half, but I'll have plenty of time to get there before they open and make the most of the day. Thank you very much.