Question about beaches

[nannyz]

After spending 6 days in DL, we want to take our grandkids (age 3 and 2) to the beach.
Which beach near DL would be best for kids, and how do we get there from the DL area?

 

[StageTek]

Huntington Beach is about 20 miles from DLR and easy to get to.
You would take Harbor Blvd to the 22 Freeway, get off on Beach
Blvd. and it’s pretty much a straight shot to the beach.

 

[luckylady7991]

Manhattan Beach is another one.

 

[StageTek]

Very true. Manhattan Beach is about 35 miles
from DRL - near the LA airport. You would take
the 5 freeway towards Los Angeles to the 91
freeway to the 405 freeway.

Then it gets a little complicated. If you want
specific directions I have them!

 

[TeresaBelle]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have another beach question. What kind of parking is there at the various beaches? Huntington, Manhattan, Venice or Santa Monica? Are there lots or do you have to find street parking?

 

[lntsmom]

We did Laguna beach last trip and are doing it again this trip.

I don't know about the other beaches, but Laguna was a perfect family beach. There are tide pools in the area, a playground for the kids, and even a little shop right off the beach that rents (at least I hope it still does!) boogie boards and beach toys. Last time we schlepped sandpails, etc, all the way from MO!

This trip I'm renting a car. If you do credit cards you can rent from Dollar for about $40 a day. There's a Dollar in a hotel just across from Disneyland. I don't do credit cards so the best deal I could find was renting from National at the SNA. I still need to call to see if they will give us a ride to our hotel or if I need to pay for a shuttle. (UGH!)

However, if you want to impress the kiddies, you can get a limo. I did this last time. The company I used was Tony the Limo King. I got the name off the OC tourism site. My only warning is: get everything in writing. He ended up honoring the original price I was quoted, but only after trying to increase it substantially. He charged me $100 round-trip. I got to set the times.

There are tons of other limo agencies, and if you want a tour-type thing there is something called Woodies that takes you to the beach.

If you decide on Laguna, they have their own little magazine that you can request. It gives info on places to eat, shops, etc. My kids love the fact that there's an ice cream shop right across from the main beach.

The "downs" concerning Laguna: they have seaweed. Lots of it, lol! My kids didn't mind, and the views are unbelievable! We didn't even consider going to another beach this time!

As for parking: it's about 3 blocks up the hill in a lot. There is other parking, but it's metered and that is too big a pita for me to want to deal with!

 

[Quilter007]

It's a little farther, but with small kids you might want to try either:

1) Dana Point -- there's a cove nick-named the baby beach. It's behind the breaker, so the waves are really mild for little kids. There sometimes is a tall ship there to look at. There are BBQ grills, if you take some charcoal, hot dogs & marshmallows you can have a great picnic.

2) also love San Clemente -- there's a swingset on the beach near the pier. You can also eat seafood at the restaurant on the pier.

Ultimately, as long as you can find a parking spot, there's no bad beach!

 

[Edel1975]

Sounds fantastic, just wish I had the time to visit them all.

 

[Laura22]

We just went to Laguna Beach (though only walked around Heisler Park) and Huntington Beach. I LOVED Huntington Beach. You can stand on this huge pier and watch all the surfers. There's tons of beautiful sand and I didn't really see any seaweed like at Laguna Beach. Parking was plentiful and cost $1.50 I think.

This is Huntington Beach

This is Heisler Park at Laguna Beach

 

[almostGoofy]

If you park in the lot next to the pier plaza, it's $1.50 an hour. Same is true for metered street parking. The parking lots at both the city and state beaches are $10 or $11 per day.

You might want to note that on Fridays, the parking level close to Pacific Coast Highway at the pier plaza lot is blocked off for farmer's market.

 

[jaydenhoward87]

maybe newport or laguna beach ?

 

[jerseygal]

Which do you think is nicer, Huntington Beach or Coronado Beach by San Diego?

How about LaJolla Shores????????????????????

Much thanks from a "jersey gal" who has never been to California!

Thanks!

 

[jerseygal]

Where is the best beach at Laguna for the day? Someone mentioned to park by the Montage????

Wow, HUNTINGTON BEACH LOOKS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Truly having a hard time deciding between staying in San Diego 3 days, then headed to Disney or just flying in/out of LAX and seeing Huntington Beach/Laguna then Disney..

Any thoughts????????????
Thanks.!

 

[jessica52877]

We fly into and out of LAX but drive to San Diego usually 2 different days. We have found the drive enjoyable and never much of a traffic issue.

We have hit Huntington Beach 2x and enjoyed it both times. Plenty of parking and the water/sand is great. Along with the pier.

We have also hit Santa Monica and it was nice too. More people on the actual beach it seemed. Nice little playground nearby. They both have the piers but of course Santa Monica had the amusement park! We do both when in CA. No issues parking at either. SM I think was $6 or $8 for the day/night. Huntington you pay by the hour. I think we normally spend around $4 for a few hours.

 

[Disneyof3]

Is there anywhere to eat around Huntington Beach area? Nothing fancy but somewhere to pick something up quick or a nice sit down but not fancy?? The Pictures of this beach look amazing. The pier looks amazing and a great photo op!!!

 

[jessica52877]

We ate at Ruby's at the end of the pier. It was good food and the prices weren't horrible. The view was beautiful.

 

[lntsmom]

That's the original Ruby's. I wouldn't usually recommend Ruby's, but just for the history, that one would be worth a visit.

All the beach towns have their own free publications that list things like restaurants. I ordered all of them, just in case we decide to stop somewhere else along the way during our visit.

 

[lcasa]

Finding this entertaining - I never think of my home town as a vacation resort - I walk 1 mile to that beach in the picture most Saturday mornings to watch the dogs frolic at dog beach ( separately marked - up a couple of blocks.) It takes me about 30 min to get to Disneyland - but then there's the parking entry and taking the tram - so an hour to get in somedays.

Ruby's is good - 50s style diner. They validate parking in the Pier structure ( a couple of blocks up off of Main street - pretty clearly marked). Gets you a couple of hours free. The downtown area has some fun/unique places -especially if you're a surfer ( I'm not ). Good bike path -- I'm sure there are rentals. Duke's is pretty good as well - pricey though. Fabulous desert - think it's a Hina Pie -- anyway, it's an ice cream/macadamia pie that's big enough for 2 or even 3!

I do like Laguna for pure beauty - very dramatic. Also Laguna is full of art galleries and cute little places to eat/buy unusual things. I think it has more personality than HB. Not as much sand -but in a way I like that -- easy to clean your feet off on the grass.

There are fun tide pools for kids in Dana Point. Getting fairly far south though - quite a bit further to DLR.

 

[Nina3570]

What about for kids though? I have a 5 year old, would Huntington Beach or Laguna Beach be better for him? Does any of them have a playground for kids?
TIA

 

[lcasa]

What about for kids though? I have a 5 year old, would Huntington Beach or Laguna Beach be better for him? Does any of them have a playground for kids?
TIA

That's why I mentioned Dana Point - my 6 year old granddaughter loves it there -tide pools and a playground. I can't think of anything at Huntington except volleyball courts and sand - and the pier to walk around. Across PCH is a wetlands with a lot of wild birds so if you've got a nature lover that could be fun. You do find people flying kites a lot -and selling them there. Don't play right around the pier -it can be rough/dirty/full of surfers. You need to move a bit to either side. There is a city beach and a state beach and both have parking lots too - some meters, some $$$ but all day parking.
I can't picture a playground at Laguna either.

Going north a bit is Long Beach - there's a "mother's beach" there that apparently is more calm for water play ( think there's one in newport beach as well). And there is a seaport area with a carousel as well as a really excellent aquarium (Long Beach). That's not much further from DL - a little more crowded generally. It's also where the Queen Mary is ( not much interest for a 5 year old though)

Maybe this will help:
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/beach-swings-playgrounds.html