Los Angeles

Getting around: LA Metro (B and D lines) serves Downtown, Hollywood and Koreatown, with the D Line newly extended to Beverly Hills (May 2026), but the city's sprawl makes a rental car or heavy rideshare use the more common practical choice. LAX has no direct rail — take the free shuttle to the LAX/Metro Transit Center (C/K lines) or the FlyAway bus (~$12.75 to Union Station). Uber/Lyft pick up from the dedicated LAX-it lot (~$28–55 to Downtown).

Halal & prayer places: A genuine, well-documented halal scene. Little Arabia in Anaheim (Brookhurst St) has 100+ Arab/Middle Eastern businesses. The official tourism site lists 32 halal restaurants citywide, clustered in Koreatown. Two large, active mosques: King Fahad Mosque (Culver City) and the Islamic Center of Southern California (est. 1952).

Local safety: The tourist zones are fine by day, but avoid Skid Row in Downtown (a large concentrated-homeless area just east of the core). On Hollywood Blvd expect aggressive street solicitation and costumed-character/fake-tour hustlers. LAPD reports most tourist crime is theft from vehicles and pickpocketing — never leave anything visible in a parked (often rental) car.

Cost figures: 2026 prices: casual meal $12–25, mid-range restaurant $25–40, Metro daily fare cap $5, Disneyland 1-day ticket $104–224 (date-based), Universal Studios Hollywood $109–154+.