Beach Day advice please

[lovetogowdw]

I'm a single mom traveling with two boys, ages 4 and 9. We're arriving July 4th, departing the 11th (full days of travel) with 5 park hopper days and one "beach day" planned in between.

I'm looking at the Anaheim Tour Company's OC Beach Bus Tour. It seems like a better idea than renting a car for the day and then having to haul booster seat along and deal with the parking (or lack thereof) and walking to the beach with a 4 year old. (Doing shuttle to/from hotel.)

They have three stops where you can choose up to two of the three to stay for a 2-3 hour long stop, and the other stop(s) are just "picture stops". I'm thinking that will be a sleep in day for us, so we'll only have one long stop and have a shorter beach day. The choices for the long stop: Laguna, Newport, Huntington.

If we only have one long stop, which would you suggest for two boys? And if we wake up early and do two stops, which as second choice?

 

[StormyCA]

Newport, but I'm biased as I spent my summers there growing up. Second choice would be Huntington.

But at $43.00 adults and $29.00 child, you'd be better off renting a car and driving! A 24 hour rental with 2 car seats from Alamo at DTD is $68.00 midweek.

 

[Sherry E]

Ooooh... that's a tough choice, as all 3 that you mentioned are very popular. I'm thinking maybe either Newport or Huntington, but it's so hard to decide. I hope someone else will post and give a more decisive answer!

 

[lovetogowdw]

So are there bicycles/surreys to rent? Tidepools? Any particular activities at any of these? Thanks!!

 

[Lilly Belle 84]

Laguna is so fun for the littles, at main beach they have a park that's right on the beach and next to the bathrooms. There are also a lot of shops and restaurants that are directly across from main beach. Huntington and Newport are nice too, but with kids and not having your own car, Laguna would be my first choice. Depending on where you get dropped off in HB or NPB some of the facilities may not be as close, you won't be stuck anywhere at those beaches by any means, I just think Laguna may be the easiest to navigate.

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

I was also wondering about this tour. What if you don't want to stay 6 or 9 hours at the beach? I want my girls to see the Pacific Ocean and they will probably want to lay out but, I know it will be too cold to swim so I'm wondering what we are going to do the rest of the time. Do they let you bring 1 beach bag per person?

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

I was also wondering about this tour. What if you don't want to stay 6 or 9 hours at the beach? I want my girls to see the Pacific Ocean and they will probably want to lay out but, I know it will be too cold to swim so I'm wondering what we are going to do the rest of the time. Do they let you bring 1 beach bag per person?

 

[undertheseas]

My order would be Newport, Huntington and lastly Laguna. I will say that Laguna did have the nicest bathroom by far but we prefer the beaches at the other two more. At Newport we have seen dolphins too.

 

[lovetogowdw]

Thanks for the info everyone. Dolphins at Newport? Hmm. Can you see them from the shore? That would be awesome. Or do you have to take a boat tour?

MickeyMinneMelanie - I called and spoke with a lady from the tour office. It sounded like a couple of hours + of drive time, including the hotel stops and multiple short beach stops and then it sounded like they make the loop again. A couple of stops are just like 5 minute photo ops. Then the three main beach stops are like 15-20 minutes for those not staying for the 2-3 hours. At Newport, it seems you have time to take the ferry over to Balboa Island if you make that your long stop. They advertise "tide pools" at Ihe Laguna stop, but I'm not sure if that depends upon the time of day/day (for the tide) or if they are consistently found there. Would love to know!

And I get that a rental car would be cheaper, but I've heard that parking is really hard to come by near the beach. Am I mistaken? I also fear being the distracted driver with my iPhone acting as the GPS and two kids in the car. I was thinking of doing the tour so I could relax and just play tourist on vacation with kids, but if navigating and parking aren't tough, then maybe that is the way to go.

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

Thanks lovetogowdw.

What's at Balboa Island?

 

[Lilly Belle 84]

You're just as likely to see dolphins at any point along the coast as another, I would see them everyday on my drive to work for weeks at a time and then not see them at all for a year.

The tide pools in Laguna are just north of the main beach, they don't wash out at low tide and high tide, but if the tides too high or water too rough, it may be hard to get to, but I don't remember ever having that problem with the tides (I grew up a few miles from there in Laguna Niguel and then moved a few more miles south to San Clemente as an adult).

One thing to keep in my mind is that there are tons of tiny crabs covering a lot of the beaches right now and they stink! You may want to keep an eye on that, we'll be staying at in Newport Beach for the majority of our trip at my parents and my dad told me the smell is awful. It happened once before, but I was away at school and didn't experience it first hand.

 

[TechGuy]

I grew up near Laguna and it has a special place in my heart. We had fun at Redondo (tons of parking, pay your parking, place your permit) and it was no where near as crowded. I am sorry, 2 hours at the beach is like a tease to me. Whatever you can do to get to the beach, any beach, and it will be great.

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

What's Redondo?

 

[cheekybulldog]

If you are looking to be in The water and play I would say Newport. If you're not going to play in the water the tide pools at Laguna are pretty cool and I think your boys would have fun playing and seeing them. My last choice would be Huntington, I'm just not a fan of the sand there, but I'm admittedly picky and grew up with super fine, white sand beaches in Coronado(San Diego).

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We were in that area the week of June 7th, and we did not find parking to be a problem as long as we were willing to pay up to $15 for the day. At Crystal Cove (Newport Coast) there was free parking across the highway and then a shuttle for $1 per person would drop you at the beach and bring you back. We paid for parking at Huntington Beach and were right by the sand.

 

[calilou]

You are going to get a different experience at each one. Huntington is the stereotypical California surf spot beach. There are some fun restaurants and surf shops too as well as a pier. If your boys want to rent boogie boards and play in the surf this is a good spot. The water won't be too cold to play in. I've never really cared for this beach though - can't put my finger on it but maybe because it doesn't seem very family friendly.

If you want to do less playing in the sand and surf only and more exploring tide pools and people watching in addition to beach play I would do Newport or Laguna. Newport would be a better spot for sand and surf and you can also take a ferry to Balboa Island (actually a pennisula connected to Newport) and walk around the shops and restaurants and fun zone (small Ferris wheel there). Balboa is very charming, reminds me of a little east coast beach town. Laguna would be great for tide pool exploring and it is known for its art galleries and quirky shops. The main beach is fun with beach volleyball always going on, a very active spot.

Redondo Beach is one of the LA beaches (not Orange County) more north and close to Santa Monica.

 

[Magalex]

We did the OC Beach Bus Tour in 2013 and loved it! It was the best day ever. I highly recommend it! If we return I will definitely be booking this tour again. We stayed at Candy Cane Inn. Easy pick up and drop off!

 

[lovetogowdw]

Thanks for all the info everyone! I'm thinking I'll book the tour and call the day before to inquire about the stinky little crab situation. Thanks Lilly Belle 84 for that heads up! That could definitely impact what we focus on.

The boys have spent many days at the lake and man-made inland "sandy beaches", but they've never even seen the Pacific Ocean (and just experienced one afternoon at the Atlantic), so this is more about an overall experience/adventure/ocean's vastness California day. We're more movers/doers than lay out on the beach types, so I really appreciate all of the specific input about what is available at each location. If we can explore some tide pools (without being overpowered by stinky little crab), that will be awesome.

 

[GoBears 1980]

By far the best beach for your needs/wants is Laguna Beach. Main Beach Laguna has two child play areas next to restrooms and showers, the beach is relatively narrow (so no long walk over hot sand to get to the water), you have the tide pools and the main part of town is right there just across the street.

Main Beach

Huntington Beach would be my last choice, Newport it would depend on where they drop you off, but it would still be second choice behind Laguna.