Santa Monica - Safe?

[Buckimion]

We'd planned to stop at Santa Monica immediatly after our arrival at LAX. Daughter wants to swim and I want to hit the amusement pier. I just read that the water is pretty polluted and gang violence is a problem. My info may be outdated though...what are things like now?

 

[JDarling]

Personally, I wouldn't leave your daughter alone in the pool unless you're staying at a resort with an indoor pool (like a hilton or something). My brother just moved out of Santa Monica. It's pretty safe for adults who keep to themselves. BUt a young kid (under 20) I would think twice about.

 

[RalphMouth]

Where are you staying?? I assume you are going to Disneyland .......

To me Santa Monica is a bit 'overrated'-
a bit dirty, not gang infested but not necessarily my first choice.

If I were you I'd go south to Laguna Beach. Great public beach, wonderful art galleries & quaint shops & restaurants. I think you will feel much safer there.
If you are staying in Anaheim you can get from Laguna to you hotel in about
45 min to an hour depending on traffic.

If you are already planning to visit DL then I wouldn't worry about missing
the boardwalk amusements of Santa Monica.

 

[Buckimion]

Personally, I wouldn't leave your daughter alone in the pool unless you're staying at a resort with an indoor pool (like a hilton or something). My brother just moved out of Santa Monica. It's pretty safe for adults who keep to themselves. BUt a young kid (under 20) I would think twice about.

Whoops...under no circumstances did I mean to imply I was leaving her unattended! I wanted to know if the WATER was really safe to swim in. Wife and I never let her go anywhere strange alone...and LA is about as strange as it gets.

 

[RalphMouth]

Whoops...under no circumstances did I mean to imply I was leaving her unattended! I wanted to know if the WATER was really safe to swim in. Wife and I never let her go anywhere strange alone...and LA is about as strange as it gets.

Couldn't answer your water question for Santa Monica but I guarantee
you it's better near Laguna & Dana Point.

 

[JDarling]

Whoops...under no circumstances did I mean to imply I was leaving her unattended! I wanted to know if the WATER was really safe to swim in. Wife and I never let her go anywhere strange alone...and LA is about as strange as it gets.

Oh! Well that's a horse of a different color then! LOL

As for the water, it should be! If it rains heavily before your trip, then the beach won't be (sewage - happens every time). Just look for signs at the beach. Usually it is safe, but we've had some odd occurances the past couple years in our So Cal waters, ranging from Jelly fish, which caused a bunch of seals to come eat them, which caused a bunch of sharks to come eat the seals...
LOL
I agree with the others though. I'm not a big Santa Monica fan. Del Mar is also a WONDERFUL beach, if you don't mind the drive to Disney.

 

[Tink33]

I felt perfectly safe at the Santa Monica Pier during the day. We did not swim, but my kids had fun walking the pier, seeing the artisans and riding on some of the rides. I did swim at nearby Venice Beach.

 

[LucyKate]

Overseas visitor here - we thoroughly disliked Snata Monica - the pier was old, tacky, dirty, the beach not very attractive.

I'd definitely stay somewhere else.

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

DH and I went to Newport Beach for one day when we visited DL. It was maybe a 45 minute drive and a MUCH prettier beach than Santa Monica. There were a lot more people swimming there as well.

 

[teribell]

I have to agree with the others. We were there about 2 years, and I would not say it was unsafe, but really not a very nice place to vacation. We stayed at the Oceana Hotel, just across the street from the beach. The hotel itself was very nice, but the city of Santa Monica... well, I would not stay there again.

 

[Buckimion]

I wasn't planning on building our entire vacation around SM. We're planning merely a 1 hour or so stop...long enough to take a couple of pictures, ride the carosel & coaster and hit the road again. The Bulk of the vacation is at DL with side trips to Catalina island, Knotts, Hollywood and others. People I work with claim more planning goes into my vacations than the D-Day invasion.

Daughter decided it would be too much hassle to change into her suit for such a short time in the water. (this from the kid who nagged me to stop at every motel with an indoor pool from Atlanta to Lexington, KY last weekend because she wanted to swim. )

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I went there w/Lollipop's Mom back in January on a nice sunny day, and we wished we could have spent more time at the pier than the couple of hours we were there. I found it to be an interesting place w/ambience. Neither she nor I felt like we had to be on guard. There were a lot of people swimming, too, and there was some exhibit that someone had made - lots of crosses in the sand. I took pics (of course), and can post them.

I would like to go back there and spend some more time there.