chriskd

Traveling with my husband and two daughters, 17 and 20. Travel in first week of August. We will rent a car. We are planning on breaking the trip into two areas, Hunt Beach,Newport- Dana Point , then LA( Santa Monica, Hollywood etc).
We thought about 2 separate hotel stays. We are trying to decide on which areas are best, we want safe areas and we are trying to consider traffic and traveling.
Any advice on the best way to navigate this trip so that we are not sitting in traffic a lot.

Info about us; huge music fans,we love seeing concerts(alternative,rock,indie), we love movies too. Love being active. Love being outdoors. Beach, biking,sailing,sup,kayaking. Not into shopping or too many museums. Not trying to see stars or any of that stuff. We want see interesting things or do things you can really only do in California.
Here are some of the things we thought we could would do while there. Any advice on this would be great as well.
Vans surf festival in Huntington Beach. Whale watching from Dana Point. Newport Beach, Laguna Beach.
Maybe Knott's Berry Farm.
Any ideas in this area would be great. Is this OC Fair in Costa Mesa worth a visit?
Then LA area- Griffith Observatory/Greek Theatre, Grammy Museum, Concert at Hollywood Bowl(Spoon).
Warner Bros Tour. Is Pasadena a stop?
Santa Monica Pier & 3rd Street Promenade
Possibly Catalina Island
We want to rent bikes, where is the nicest place for that? The strand?
Any must see in the area we are not thinking of?
Hotel advice, and must try outdoor restaurants(vegan and gluten free)-yes I know, difficult.
Thanks for any helpful advice.

logandog

I'm not sure about whales at that time of year but there will be dolphins.
Highly recommend Catalina. The boat trip is a great chance to get out on the Pacific.
Terrific snorkeling out there with great visibility but cold water, even in August.
The Fair is a typical county fair but we enjoy going every year.
Knott's has many interesting features such as the ghost town and is great for roller coaster fans.

Jean

A week isn't very long considering summer traffic and beach crowds, and I think you've mentioned more things than you could see/do.

You could spend the entire week in the Manhattan/Hermosa Beach area and see events of the International Surf Festival (Aug. 3-6). The bike path runs between Redondo Beach and the other end of Santa Monica. There are bike rentals, and some hotels have loaners for guests.

http://www.surffestival.org/

I agree about Catalina, but I'd go further and recommend a trip to the Channel Islands. You'd see a lot more wildlife than just (possibly) whales. To make the most of your time, you might want to spend a night near the boat or plane departure points.

https://www.nps.gov/chis/index.htm

I've been to the OC Fair. I guess if you're into county fairs you'd enjoy it, but it's not my 'thing.' I'm also not a fan of the Santa Monica Pier and 3rd St. Promenade, but I recognize I'm in the minority. Way too crowded for me and not what I'd call unique. 3rd St. is just an open air shopping mall.

Knott's Berry Farm but not Disneyland? Oh well, they'll both be wall-to-wall crowded.

Definitely get tickets for the Hollywood Bowl and/or the Greek Theater. You can picnic at the Bowl (bring or buy there), and there are restaurants near the Greek that offer dine and ride service.

http://www.dineandride.com/venues.php?venueID=7

In order to make helpful hotel recommendations, we need to know your budget.

dezzywilliam1

"State law prevents law enforcement from releasing the names of juveniles who have been arrested for crimes," Radus added. "That said, a 17-year-old female juvenile has also been detained in connection with the murders and is in the custody of the Orange County juvenile hall."

sf7307

I personally think you'll have plenty to fill a week without making the trip to Catalina (pleasant but not a must-do for me. I'd stay in OC and visit Balboa Island instead).

jamie99

Your teens would probably enjoy both Huntington Beach and Manhattan Beach, both have a lot of surf and beach volleyball going on all summer. Santa Monica is very nice but hotels are pretty expensive there especially in the summer. I'd probably pass on Venice (although there are nice restaurants) since it has such a prevalent marijuana culture there, lots of MJ doctors and paraphernalia shops.
Hollywood Bowl is very nice, beautiful venue.

DebbieDoesDulles

You want to stay in Santa Monica three weeks from now and you don't have a reservation yet?

Well good luck with that.

Doubletree Suites has a king with a sofabed @ $450 per night.

Bedar

Yeah, Venice is a freak show. BTW, marijuana is not legal for recreational use (yet) no matter what you might see.

Jean

Recreational use of marijuana IS legal in California although you can't yet walk into a dispensary and buy it without a medical card. (Check back in early 2018.) If someone gives you a marijuana cigarette and you smoke it, no law has been broken. You wouldn't likely see anyone smoking pot in public, which is illegal. Then again, many cities don't allow the smoking of tobacco in any form in public. If you're a tobacco smoker (cigarette, pipe, cigar, vape pen), make sure you know the local ordinance before you light up.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/cal...113420578.html

maitaitom

If you go to Laguna Beach, my restaurant recommendation is Nick's (reservations a must for lunch or dinner). Here is a review of their lunch and dinner menu. Although the dinner we had was at Nick's in Long Beach, the menu is the same as Laguna. We had lunch at Nick's in Laguna Beach. Both meals were excellent as was the service.

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/nicks-long-beach-laguna-beach-ca/

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Jean

There's a Nick's in Manhattan Beach, too.

janisj

If you do go to Laguna -- you'll definitely want to pre-book meals since the Pageant of the Masters and art festival will be running