Best Beach Choice When Driving From Burbank to Disneyland

[dtk07]

We are flying into Burbank for a Disneyland trip. We want to use the one way rental car for a one day Hollywood mini road trip while on our way to Disneyland. Our intent is to stop and see the Hollywood Blvd sights, stop at a beach, then drive to our Disneyland area hotel. (We are open to any other ideas of other stops that we might like, BTW)

Huntington Beach will be taken over for the Van's US Open of Surfing while we are in town, so that is out. Which beach is the nicest/least out of the way of our drive?

 

[DLgal]

None of the beaches are really on the way to Disneyland. You will have to go out of your way for all of them. My favorite is Newport Beach, but if you want the full LA experience, go to Venice beach and the Santa Monica pier.

 

[LAS2AMS]

That's accomplishing a lot in one day; as mentioned, the beach is out of the way, and driving through Los Angeles (the city and its adjacent suburbs) plus the beach during the summer will always equate into a slow commute.

My personal suggestion: use the Metrolink. The station is across the street from the airport, and connected by a designated crosswalk with traffic control. Take the train into Union Station, then take the subway into Hollywood. Take the subway back to Union Station, then take the Metrolink to Anaheim. You get free ART access with your Metrolink ticket, and can take it to your hotel. On another day, ride the Metrolink south into Oceanside. It takes a couple hours, and the last hour the train rides along the water. From the Oceanside station, it's a short walk to the beach/pier. Alternatively, you can get off at San Clemente, which yields a shorter (less scenic) ride, but the station by the pier has limited scheduling. The fares are fairly reasonable, and some include transfers. On weekends, you get unlimited access for $10. Kids 5 & under ride free ... but they're pretty liberal about this, so if you have young kids, they'll pass.

Much less stressful than driving (try finding street parking in Hollywood... be aware of restrictions! Monday afternoon is OK, but you'll be towed in the evening ... Tuesday afternoon is a no go either but the evening is OK ... and is that red or purple? I ca't tell), and likely cheaper than a one way rental.

 

[teruterubouzu]

I think it would be pretty challenging to schlep through Hollywood and to the beach with your luggage, so I think the idea of a one-way car rental is a good one.

As others have said, the beach isn't really on the way to Disneyland. However, as a fellow tourist, I can see why you would want to visit one. I really liked the Will Rogers State Beach when I visited on my last two trips. We timed our visits to sunset and it was gorgeous and a lot more peaceful than the area right around the Santa Monica pier. It all depends on what you are looking for.

 

[Rockette]

Redondo, Hermosa, and Manhattan Beaches are nice beaches to visit and in nice areas. I'm personally a fan of southern Orange County beaches, but that's also where I call home and I'm biased. They are way off your traveling path though.

edit: wrote Redondo Beach twice. Meant Manhattan Beach.

 

[teruterubouzu]

Redondo, Hermosa, and Redondo Beaches are nice beaches to visit and in nice areas. I'm personally a fan of southern Orange County beaches, but that's also where I call home and I'm biased. They are way off your traveling path though.

Yes and Redondo Beach has that pier if you want to have that sort of beach experience.

 

[Rockette]

Yes and Redondo Beach has that pier if you want to have that sort of beach experience.

Yep, and so does Manhattan Beach. Not sure why I wrote Redondo twice. Probably because I have a great friend who lives there and I'm up there so often.

 

[teruterubouzu]

Yep, and so does Manhattan Beach. Not sure why I wrote Redondo twice. Probably because I have a great friend who lives there and I'm up there so often.

I stayed in Manhattan Beach for the non-Disneyland part of my trip a few weeks ago, but we didn't have time to check out the pier. Next time!