What beach do you rec?

[kewlteachermom]

Last time we were in Cal, we couldn't see the beaches because it was so crowded (it was July 4th). Hoping to finally get there in 2 weeks. What beach is the closest to DL and best for the kids (15 & 10)?

 

[Girimama33]

Huntington or Newport would be the closest. I prefer Newport.

 

[HydroGuy]

Huntington or Newport would be the closest. I prefer Newport.

Ditto.

 

[jenksdj]

We're thinking of staying at Huntington or Newport for 2 days before our stay at DLH Oct 8-12. Any recommendations on where to stay? We probably won't rent a car, but will cab it from John Wayne airport (is that crazy?). Haven't figured out how to get from the beach to Disneyland yet (cab?). Our daughters are 10 and 12. Any suggestions are welcome! TIA

 

[brettandlyndi]

Not sure how far it is, but I love Laguna beach! Great beach, the one I grew up on

 

[socalduo]

Theres a Marriot (it was Marriot when I lived down there at least) in Huntington Beach on the ocean. Its a block or so south of Main Street and the pier. Main has all the shops and trendiness you would expect of "Surf City".

 

[AnabellaAnaheim]

Newport Beach is the closest beach to John Wayne so some of the hotels probably have a shuttle. Newport has a great mall (Fashion Island) and a cool island (Balboa) that has a little midway you can walk around on.

 

[rokstedy]

Huntington would be pretty crowded. You wont have to go much farther to hit Sunset or Seal beach. I recommend those myself. They are less populated because there are no fire pits and the waves aren't quite as good.

 

[nannyz]

I've given up on the California beaches -- they are dirty and the water is cold. I grew up in Florida so I'm spoiled by the clean beaches and lovely warm water.
If anybody can recommend a CA beach that I might like, please let me know. I know we can't control the water temperature but the seaweed and tar everywhere is nasty.

 

[rokstedy]

I've given up on the California beaches -- they are dirty and the water is cold. I grew up in Florida so I'm spoiled by the clean beaches and lovely warm water.
If anybody can recommend a CA beach that I might like, please let me know. I know we can't control the water temperature but the seaweed and tar everywhere is nasty.

Nope. All the beaches in SoCal are in fact dirty and cold.

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

I love Newport Beach.

 

[Armadillo4]

Huntington or Newport would be the closest. I prefer Newport.

I love Newport Beach.

Another vote for Newport Beach here! In fact I was just there last weekend for the very first time. Like all SoCal beaches, the water is cold, but the beach is very clean. I have a few friends in the OC and they frequent Huntington Beach. They feel Huntington is less crowded than Newport on weekdays. On weekends, it's about the same.

Speaking of crowds, my one piece of advice for a beach goer is to avoid weekends during the summer--if at all possible. I think all the SoCal APs who are blocked out from the parks were at the beach last weekend. LOL! The nice thing about Newport is that the beach area was really wide, so it didn't "feel" crowded, but finding parking was difficult. If your beach day has to be on the weekend, following a tried-and-true Disneyland tip would be helpful: try to get there early before the crowds show up.

There is a dedicated thread to Newport Beach in the Southern California sub-forum if you're looking for more tips from frequent visitors.