BEFORE YOU LAND
Getting Around LA
Renting, driving, parking and rideshares all in one, with a 'Taiwan vs. LA' comparison on every page. The reader perks from the book are at the end.
Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.
Key points
- Taiwan side by side: what's different from Taiwan
- Lyft new-user code JASMINE723
- Waymo first-ride code JASMINE3HD
- At 95 Travel, say you're a 'Jas fan'
Full text
The complete guide to dodging trouble
Rental cars. Insurance. Gas. Parking. Traffic. Toll roads. All of it, explained once. Everything I wish visitors knew before driving in LA.
Renting is recommended
Malibu, Pasadena, Disneyland, the South Bay, Ojai / Joshua Tree, hopping between areas, traveling with parents or kids, lots of luggage.
You can rent a little later
The first few days are just Santa Monica / Venice; staying in DTLA and only doing downtown; not used to freeways; only one or two stops a day. Sometimes the cheapest way is: Uber in the city, rent a car for the long-drive days. Rent for the days you need freedom.
US$39／day
Final checkout: nowhere near US$39. Because after that there may be: airport fees, facility fees, taxes, additional driver, young driver fee, child seat, toll program, insurance, one-way return fee, prepaid fuel. When comparing prices, don't compare page one. Click all the way through to:
One license isn't always enough
Adult visitors with a valid foreign license can, in principle, drive in California. But the rental company's own document requirements aren't always the same. I bring: my original Taiwan license, an International Driving Permit, my passport, the booking confirmation, and the main driver's own credit card. An IDP isn't a standalone license; always bring it together with your original Taiwan license. Don't find out at the counter that the person who booked, the person paying and the person driving are three different names. One name. One card. Fewer problems.
They'll put a hold on a deposit.
So don't pick up the car with a card you've already maxed out on hotels, flights and shopping. Also note: debit cards usually have more restrictions, the name on the card should match the main driver, some companies don't accept virtual cards, and after you return the car, the hold doesn't always drop off right away. Before you go, confirm:
Third-party liability.
Don't just ask, 'does my credit card have rental insurance?' Ask: what does it cover? How much? Is it primary or secondary? If you can't make sense of it and don't want to risk it, buy the clearer coverage. Not the cheapest. But you'll sleep better.
Before you drive off, film a lap around the car
Don't drive off the second you get the keys just because the counter line was long. First, film it on your phone: all four corners, the wheels, windshield, roof, doors, bumpers, trunk, dashboard, mileage and fuel level. Even the tiny stuff: scratches. Dents. Chips in the glass. Film it all. Then confirm: plate number, fuel type, return location, toll settings, emergency contact. Those three minutes might save you three weeks of emails after you return it. Document first. Drive later.
Picking up at LAX doesn't take ten minutes after you land
LAX now has a consolidated Rental Car Center. But between getting off the plane, immigration, baggage claim, finding the shuttle signs and actually driving away, there are a lot of steps. So on day one, don't plan: land at 3 p.m. Pick up the car at 4. Malibu sunset at 5. That's not an itinerary. That's a stress test. My advice:
On arrival day, plan just one area.
Once you have the car, go to the hotel. Eat. Rest. Don't take on the 405 on day one. Arrival day isn't an endurance test.
A bigger car isn't a better car
A lot of people think: it's America, obviously rent an SUV. But in West Hollywood, Koreatown, DTLA and Venice, parking spaces can be smaller than you'd think. The bigger the car, the harder street parking gets, the more painful the turns in parking garages, the worse the gas mileage, and the easier it's to see your luggage from outside. For two people traveling, a compact or midsize is usually plenty. What really matters is:
Billing ZIP Code
Taiwanese credit cards sometimes don't go through at the pump. Don't swipe ten times at the machine. Just walk inside and say: Pump number five. Forty dollars, please. Prepay. Whatever you don't use usually goes back to your card. Also remember: check what fuel your rental takes, if unsure look at the gas cap, keep the last gas receipt before returning it, and don't wait until you're near LAX to start looking for a gas station. The most common return-day plot: the flight's about to leave. The tank isn't filled. And Google Maps just took you to the wrong entrance.
FasTrak, carpool and express lanes aren't the same thing
When you see Carpool, FasTrak, ExpressLanes or Toll Road on the freeway, don't read them all as 'more people means you can use it.'
Toll Road
Tolls are collected electronically by license plate. The rental company may collect the toll for you and add a daily or admin fee, or ask you to pay it yourself. The safest move: ask outright when you pick up the car, 'What is the toll policy for this car?' When in doubt, turn off in Google Maps:
Avoid tolls
And when you see a purple Express Lane, don't swerve in on a whim to figure out your life. The fast lane can become the expensive lane.
You can't just hop in and out of the carpool lane whenever
The carpool lane is usually the far-left lane of the freeway. On some stretches, the edge is a double solid line. That's not decoration. Don't cross it. Wait for the designated dashed entry and exit points. And one more thing that's easy to get wrong in 2026:
Driving an EV doesn't mean you can ride the carpool lane solo.
California's Clean Air Vehicle solo-driver exemption has ended. Now you still follow the occupancy signs posted on site. Renting a Tesla doesn't come with traffic privileges.
Don't just read the parking sign closest to you
LA street parking's biggest trap: one pole can hold three or four signs. You have to read every one. They might say, all at once: no parking in the morning, two-hour limit in the afternoon, street sweeping on a certain day, permit required at night, tow-away during certain hours. Don't just look at:
🔵 Blue
Disabled spaces require a valid placard. Also: don't block driveways. Don't park on the sidewalk. Don't park too close to a fire hydrant. Don't assume it's legal just because the cars in front and behind are parked that way. They might just not have gotten their tickets yet.
$10 Parking
Read the fine print first. It might be: US$10 every 15 minutes, US$10 for the first half hour, an event rate, a 'maximum' that doesn't mean all day, validation only, a lost ticket charged the full-day max, no overnight. With valet, don't just look at the price out front either. There may be tax, a service fee, tip and an overnight fee on top. A restaurant with validation doesn't necessarily mean free. It might just take you from US$30 to US$18. LA's most expensive appetizer is sometimes called Parking.
Don't leave anything in the car, even stuff that 'looks worthless'
Don't leave: suitcases, shopping bags, camera bags, laptop bags, things hidden under a jacket, passports, rental papers, garage remotes. Even a charging cable can sometimes hint that there's something else in the car. The best approach:
Stash your luggage before you leave the hotel.
Don't wait until you're in the parking lot at the sight to open the trunk and reorganize in front of everyone. A rental car isn't a mobile storage locker. Nothing visible means nothing tempting.
Planning LA travel isn't about the mileage
The same 10 miles. Could be 20 minutes. Could be an hour. Especially on weekdays: morning commute, after school lets out, evening rush, Fridays and big events letting out can all suddenly balloon the time. The way I plan it:
Stick to one direction per day.
For example: Santa Monica + Venice + Abbot Kinney, or Los Feliz + Silver Lake + Griffith. Don't plan: breakfast in Malibu, lunch in DTLA, dinner at Disney. That's not a road trip. That's LA-style shuttle runs. Plan by neighborhood, not by wish list.
Metro
Good for: DTLA, Hollywood, Koreatown, Santa Monica, some museums and venues. In 2026 a regular one-way fare is US$1.75. The same TAP card or tap-to-pay credit card gets you transfers and a daily fare cap. But don't assume it's convenient once you get off just because there's a station on the map. Check first: how long the last stretch on foot takes, return times at night, the area around the station, and whether it works with luggage.
FlyAway
Round trips between LAX and Union Station / Van Nuys are also a great option when you don't want to drive. LA isn't just rent a car, or you can't do anything at all. The smart move is:
Do these first
Make sure everyone's safe, move somewhere safe, turn on your hazards, photograph the scene and the damage, exchange license, plate and insurance info, contact the rental company, contact your insurance or credit card company, and don't casually promise to pay for anything on the spot. In California, if anyone's injured or property damage is over US$1,000, you generally need to file an SR-1 with the DMV within ten days. Police coming to the scene doesn't mean this step is done automatically. Keep every document. Don't delete the photos. Don't put off the emails. An accident is stressful enough; don't let one missing document stress you out a second time.
The LA car rental checklist
Original license, International Driving Permit, passport, the main driver's credit card, enough credit limit, insurance coverage confirmed, additional driver confirmed, toll policy confirmed, fuel type and return fuel level confirmed, a full video at pickup, Google Maps set to Avoid Tolls, each day planned by area, nothing left in the car, and at least an hour of buffer before returning it.
Is driving in LA hard?
Honestly, the hard part isn't the steering wheel. It's that you're juggling insurance, freeways, parking signs, gas, toll roads, and traffic that always takes longer than you expect. But once you're prepared, driving is one of the best ways to get to know LA. You'll pass coastline. Canyon roads. Palm trees. Completely different neighborhoods. Sometimes your favorite view isn't somewhere you planned. It's right after you took the wrong exit. Sometimes the drive becomes the destination. Save this and look again before you pick up the car.
Los Angeles + Las Vegas, new edition
See you in LA. @jslalaland
In this series
Read it with the slides →The illustrated version on the LA Guide →
An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).