I will be staying in Newport Beach for 2 nights in Dec, I have a full day before going to Disney on the second day. Any suggestions to itinerary for a day in Newport beach? Places to see, restaurants, beaches, cafe?

Newport Beach is one of my favorite placs, sayko!

There are dozens of great places to eat. Two of my favorites are:

http://www.villanovarestaurant.com/

http://www.bluewatergrill.com/locati...port_beach.htm

A fun place to visit while in the area is Crystal Cove park. It is a short drive south of Newport Beach. Thee is beautiful beach there with tide pools, cliffs, sea birds, marine life etc.
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/crystal.html

There are 2 piers in Newport Beach to stroll on. Thee is the Balboa Fun Zone:

http://www.thebalboafunzone.com/

Visit Balboa Island and walk around for awhile:

http://www.balboaisland.com/index.cfm

You can take a drive up the coast a few miles to Huntington Beach. Park near the Pier area and browse around. This beach is "surf city USA". You have heard the song before? Well, this is the place!

Enjoy.

A very fun, funky place to eat is at Newport Beach, called The Crab Cooker. It's very reasonably priced, I think they still use paper plates. It has great grilled lobster tails. The lines start at dinner time, so try to avoid the rush times. There's some metered parking behind the restaurant. It's a classic southern Cal place to eat. Eat lotsa fish, they say.
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All good recommendations from IamBooth.

We like to park on Balboa Island and take the vehicle ferry (60 cents) over to the peninsula. Newport Landing is right there at the ferry, upstairs has a nice view of the channel. They have a lot of happy hour specials.

http://www.newport-landing.com/

Thanks!!! Great information!

mlgb, what's there after taking the ferry?

sayko, if you are taking the ferry FROM Balboa Island it will drop you off at Balboa Fun Zone.

If you are taking the ferry FROM the Fun Zone it will drop you off on Balboa Island.

On Balboa Island one thing you can do is make your way to Marine Avenue and walk around by the cute shops.

We take the ferry from Balboa Island to Newport Landing. Look at what got caught that day, watch sunset, and have a meal upstairs. Take the ferry back to BI.

If you have a car, you could drive a little south (maybe 15-20 minutes)to the town of San Juan Capistrano. It's a lively little town. Tour the Mission. It is beautiful.

I like the short drive from Newport Beach to Laguna Beach.

For just one full day, my picks would be Balboa Island and Laguna Beach. Huntington Beach is next door so very close too.

If atractions are your thing (Disney), then you might enjoy the drive to Long Beach Harbor where the Queen Mary is docked.

I had to look up the site, but if you want a true Newport Beach surf stop breakfast, try Cappy's in Newport Beach.


http://www.cappyscafe.com/

We like fresh air, beautiful scenery particulary ocean (Toronto is a flat land without hills and ocean). Last time (the 1st time) we visited many attractions like Hollywood, Sunset Blvd, etc therefore we really look forward to something different this time. Disney is a separate idea

Back to Balboa Island, Newport Landing and the ferry - I couldn't find information on the ferry that lamBooth and mlgb mentioned.
- Any hints?

I also tried to link all these on a map view. lamBooth mentioned the ferry will take me from Balboa Island to/ from Fun Zone. mlgb mentioned the ferry from Balboa Island will bring you to Newport landing.
- Are these three spots really close?

I booked the Hyatt Newport Beach Resort.
- how should I plan the route for the day to see all these spots?
-How long is the drive from Newport Beach to Laguna Beach?

Check with your concierge at the hotel. Don't bother to go to Villa Nova Restauant. Crab Cooker would be fun. What do you like to do?
Laguna is the most interesting in Dec. Go for lunch at Splashes in the Surf&Sand Hotel.

The "Balboa Island Ferry" is a the end of Agate Ave on Balboa Island, you need to take the bridge to the island, park and walk to Bayshore and Agate. Newport Landing is on the peninsula side of the ferry.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...beach,+ca&om=1

Sayko,

One of my favorite things to do around Christmas is to walk around the perimeter of Balboa Island and see all the homes decorated for the holidays. Very pretty - they have a contest.

More towards Christmas (not when you're there)is the famous Boat Parade, crazy crowds, but lots of fun!

mlgb, thanks for the map link.

The hotel we are staying is on Jamboree Rd, I see that's pretty close to Balboa Island!

I really ike the idea of Balboa Island and Newport landing. Thanks again for the suggestion. I will arrive the area by lunch time, I think for the day I will first check out the Newport Beach, then go to Balboa Island and take the ferry to Newport landing, walk around, enjoy the happy hour then go back to Balboa fun zone? Make sense?

If i have time, I might take a drive to Hungtington Beach or down to Laguna Beach ... but doesn't seem like I can fit this into 8 hours!

Dayle, I am there in the last week of Dec, after Christmas.

newport landing and balboa fun zone are the same place.

In my younger days, we used to like to rent roller skates on Balboa Island and skate past the waterfront houses...

On Marine Avenue in Balboa Island, you can try the "chocolate covered banana" that was invented here. They also chocolate dip other things if you don't like bananas.

http://www.ocweekly.com/food/feature...oa-bars/19480/

Laguna Beach is pretty for coastal scenery.