Our family will be in Las Vegas this summer and we'd love to take the kids to see the Pacific Ocean.

Any recommendations on which California city to visit (one night stay) when the intention is simply to take in the ocean and not make the drive from Vegas much longer than it has to be?

Thank you in advance for sharing your expertise!

I think in terms of both distance and time, shortest and easiest will be the coast of Orange County; places like Newport Beach.

I-15 to CA91 to CA55.

And so we're clear on this subject, that is a distance of some 270 miles. On empty freeways, four hours and change. With typical traffic, five to six hours. Some of the drive is nice, some is quite boring.

An hour's flight gets you there much more easily. But it's just a thought.

Living in Minnesota, we don't get to an ocean on a regular basis so we don't have a problem with the drive. We'd rather hop in a car and "see the country" than hang out at another airport (but thanks for the thought).

I'll check out Orange County -- any other suggestions? Thanks!