Los Angeles

Flying and arriving

Los Angeles International (LAX) is one of the easiest US airports to reach from the Low Countries. From Amsterdam there are usually nonstop flights; from Brussels you mostly fly with one connection. A nonstop flight takes around eleven hours and usually lands in the afternoon or early evening local time, which for your body is already past midnight.

LAX is large and busy: expect a considerable wait at immigration and a long walk or shuttle ride between the terminals and the place where taxis and rideshares depart. California is in the Pacific time zone, nine hours behind the Netherlands and Belgium. Choose a hotel close to the airport or close to the rental depot, and plan nothing for the arrival evening except eating and sleeping.

Picking up the RV

The RV depots are not at LAX but spread across the enormous metro area, some within half an hour, others well over an hour away, depending on traffic. Most rental companies offer a shuttle from certain hotels or a fixed pickup point; otherwise you take a taxi or rideshare. So choose your hotel for the first night only once you know where your depot is — it saves a long drive straight across the city the next morning.

Here too, almost all rental companies apply the 24-hour rule: no pickup on the day you land. Plan the pickup for day two, ideally as early as the depot allows, so you are out of the city before the evening rush hour. The handover easily takes an hour with the walkthrough and inspection; film any existing damage and ask for a demonstration of the tanks and generator before you drive off.

The first night

Stay close to the coast and away from downtown for the first night in the RV: the beach campgrounds north of the city towards Malibu and Ventura, or the state beach campgrounds in Orange County to the south, are one to one and a half hours from most depots and give you that Pacific feeling straight away. If you are heading for Yosemite, a campground near Bakersfield or on the edge of the Sierra is a calmer alternative to crossing the whole Central Valley in one go. Reserve in advance via ReserveCalifornia or the system of the relevant operator; beach campgrounds are booked out months ahead in summer.

Supplies and gear

Large supermarkets and big-box stores of the Walmart, Target or Costco type are in every Los Angeles suburb, usually a few minutes from the depot, and there are more than enough outdoor stores for camping gear. Ask the rental company in advance what is in the RV: a kitchen kit and bedding are often a separate package, camping chairs and a table sometimes are and sometimes are not, and firewood you always buy locally at the campground. Do the first big shop in the city — along the coast and in the Sierra the shops are smaller and pricier — and pick up a few large bottles of water and a cooler for the road straight away.

Frequently asked questions