Jeff Hatch, a retiree from Truckee, Calif., turns to the Internet when he’s looking for a bargain on a hotel in Los Angeles. With good reason. He recently clicked on a website called California Riviera to find a room near the beach, and the booking service landed him a good deal.
“They booked me a suite at Four Seasons in Newport Beach,” he recalls. “The price was so good that the desk clerk thought it was an error and put me in standard room.”
Hatch fixed the problem with a phone call and got re-upgraded.
Saving money in the City of Angels is no easy task. LA is as spread out as it is cluttered with Internet travel sites that are marginally useful. Finding the bookmark-quality URLs for your next visit to Southern California can be tricky. But it’s not impossible.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Things to do in Los Angeles: You’ve probably heard the jokes like, “What’s the difference between LA and yogurt? At least the yogurt has culture.” Totally unfair, as this website so eloquently proves. I mean, nearly a hundred museums are listed here, including the Getty, which, by the way is free. And speaking of free attractions, this site maintains a list of completely free things to do in Los Angeles. For example, the Page Museum at La Brea’s famous tar pits is free on the first Tuesday of each month.
Johnny Jet’s Los Angeles Portal: I don’t normally plug Web portals in my column, but Johnny Jet does a terrific job producing a well-researched and comprehensive links page for LA that I just have to mention it. What I like best about the page is that it includes relevant information on the region’s alternate airports (Long Beach, Orange County, Ontario) and lists transportation options, many of which are considerably cheaper than calling a cab after you’ve landed. It also helps that the guy behind the site, John Discala, lives in Southern California.
Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau: I’ve given up on trying to keep “official” websites out of this column series because many of them-including Los Angeles’-simply can’t be ignored. A few clicks into the site you can find a whole section on two-for-one specials at LA hotels. For example, the Holiday Inn-Hollywood is offering a two-for-one through the end of the year. Some other properties have similar specials running through the end of the summer, so check the fine print before booking. To be sure, you’ll find a lot of really useless information on the site, too, but keep digging. It’s worth it.
The LACard: Yes, it costs $39. Yes, that’s a lot of money for someone who is trying to save money. No, it’s not always worth it. But sometimes it is. For instance, get 10 percent off when you book a tour with Heli USA L.A. Helicopter Tours. I like the “Weekend Fly and Brunch” package, which is priced at an already-affordable $69 per person. It includes a champagne buffet brunch at the 94th Aero Squadron, a limousine ride from the restaurant to the helicopter and a 20-minute flight.
Finally, as someone who lived in Southern California for four years, here’s something that you won’t find online: the cheap eats, the legendary hole-in-the-wall restaurants that serve unbelievably good, inexpensive food. They’re not online. Sure, you might find links to In-N-Out’s burger restaurants. Note: they’re really worth a visit. But the true hidden treasures that I discovered as an undergraduate just don’t have websites.
Log off. Ask the locals. They know.
Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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