Zuma Beach in Malibu is great if you want to stay close to LA but have the lovely OC-style beaches. In Orange County, Huntington Beach is great! Many surfers right off PCH; specifically, right next to the Hyatt Huntington Beach.

Trestles, just south of San Clemente.

Manhattan Beach is good for surfing and great for People watching. Hidden gem is Lunada Bay in Palos Verdes.

Wherever the surf is breaking - from Malibu down to Trestles, and hey - don't forget - we have some good surfing down here in SD also. For body surfing - unless it's really up - and then you better be super hot - the Wedge at Newport.

Huntington Beach and Malibu

The key is listen to the surf report in the morning - at least a few stations will have it (Google it for the local stations). The good surfers listen to find out where the swell is from, then go to a beach that faces that swell (most of the better surfing beaches face more south than west) - which is where the waves will be best.

Sing along with the Beach Boys "Surfin' USA", then eliminate all the Hawaiian beaches.

At any of the better beaches you will need to arrive early to get parking.

Ackislander, good advice!

"If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californ-I-A

You'd catch 'em surfin at Del Mar
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Tressels,
All over Manhattan,
And down Doheny way
At Haggerty's and Swami's
Pacific Palisades
San Onofre and Sunset
Redondo Beach, L.A.
All over La Jolla..."

Of course Del Mar and La Jolla are in San Diego. (I think San Onofre, Swami's and Tressels are too).

San Onofre and Trestles are in San Diego County, but just barely. They are just south of San Clemente and about an hour from San Diego.

Of course, Santa Cruz and Sunset aren't in LA either! But, it's a great song. I've never heard of Haggerty's.

Windansea in San Diego is great for watching, but locals only for the surfing!

For conditions, check surfline.com

They have a series of cams

Here is Windansea

http://www.surfline.com/surf-report/windansea-southern-california_4248/

Skill level, board length & swell direction will determine which beach you should go to

You cant trust the Beach Boys song, as Doheney is no longer a good break. It went from one of the best breaks in So CA, to a sewer runoff spot after the breakwaters were laid for Dana Point Harbor

Dang, you can't trust nothin' if you can't trust a 50 year old rock song! The country is going to the dogs.

I know Ackislander!

That's a great site mlgb. Thanks for posting it.

Dana Point used to be a great place to surf before they built the marina. If the rest of the coast was blah, you could always count on Dana Point. My girlfriend and I thought nothing of driving down there from LA County. She had a little car called a Simca and it got 40mpg, so for a few bucks (this was obvi awhile ago) you could do a lot of driving.

Personally I liked the pier at Manhattan Beach.

Where ever you go, you need to look out for "localism".
Just a few examples: http://www.lasurfspots.com/2010/09/04/top-5-places-in-la-to-get-punched-out-in-the-surf/
I think the Breakwater that they're referring to is the one in Venice, but the Breakwater in Redondo is just as bad, if not worse.

Hey guys! Thanks for the insights and sorry for the late replies! Am sooo looking forward to surfing! I booked my flight through Flight Centre HK and they say it is best to fly into LA (as I was going to originally fly into San Francisco, since there are more flights). This is my first time in LA, but I think Malibu is close to LA? What's the best way of getting to Malibu from LA? Thanks!