Seal Beach vs Redondo Beach

[BlueHonu]

I'm looking for some local advice. We are flying in early Thursday to SNA for a cruise on Saturday. I have a van rented and will  return it Saturday am at Enterprise on Ocean Blvd. I like a hotel at Seal Beach and the area sounds laid back. However, we are thinking about driving to Santa Monica on Friday am to see the sights. Possibly get a bus tour from there. I realize that traffic is terrible. Should I ditch the idea of trying to cover so much area? Would there be enough to keep us busy around Seal Beach? Should we stay somewhere between Long beach and LAX?

 

TIA

[skrufy]

20 minutes ago, BlueHonu said:

I'm looking for some local advice. We are flying in early Thursday to SNA for a cruise on Saturday. I have a van rented and will  return it Saturday am at Enterprise on Ocean Blvd. I like a hotel at Seal Beach and the area sounds laid back. However, we are thinking about driving to Santa Monica on Friday am to see the sights. Possibly get a bus tour from there. I realize that traffic is terrible. Should I ditch the idea of trying to cover so much area? Would there be enough to keep us busy around Seal Beach? Should we stay somewhere between Long beach and LAX?

 

Before you  decide on the Santa Monica, Redondo Beach or any other coast beach towns check the homeless situation. Last I saw it was out of hand. We stayed at the Pacific Inn, Seal Beach, enjoyed the stay. Seal Beach is a typical SoCal beach town. Was quiet but not much to do. We walked down Main Street shops and restaurants all around. The walk is about a mile to the pier at the end of Main St. We spent  time sitting on a bench at  the beach talking to wonderful locals for at least an hour. Looking  at the coast beach towns also for next April, hope things get better by then.

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

9 hours ago, BlueHonu said:

I'm looking for some local advice. We are flying in early Thursday to SNA for a cruise on Saturday. I have a van rented and will  return it Saturday am at Enterprise on Ocean Blvd. I like a hotel at Seal Beach and the area sounds laid back. However, we are thinking about driving to Santa Monica on Friday am to see the sights. Possibly get a bus tour from there. I realize that traffic is terrible. Should I ditch the idea of trying to cover so much area? Would there be enough to keep us busy around Seal Beach? Should we stay somewhere between Long beach and LAX?

 

You cannot begin to imagine how bad the traffic is Friday afternoon Southbound from Santa Monica. Take the worst you can imagine and double that.

 

I'd stay in Seal Beach and go south, not north. There is plenty to see in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.

 

I have no idea what the previous poster means when they say "check the homeless situation" in "coast beach towns", it is "out of hand". It certainly is not in HB, NB or LB, nor ever has been.

[gvgseg]

Agree with Scott - if you are set on staying in Seal Beach, then you're better off looking to do things to the south in Orange County. If you just head down Pacific Coast Highway, you'll hit Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, and Laguna Beach. Santa Monica itself is no better than the OC beaches other than the Santa Monica Pier and 3rd Street Promenade. It's not worth making the brutal drive that would be on a Friday. 

[BlueHonu]

Thanks for the advice. I was actually considering the Pacific Inn. One of our group warned about going north and getting into chaos. I thought Seal Beach sounded quaint. We could rent bikes or just walk around. We haven't been in the LA area in 30 years. DW and I really have no desire to see Hollywood again. I know our friends would think it would be cool to see the Hollywood sign. I think that I will look to the south for things to do. There is a couple we met 10 years ago that live in Laguna beach. Maybe we will catch up with them.

Thanks all!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Seal Beach is quaint. It is charming little town.

 

I would not venture into LA on a Friday just to see the Hollywood sign.

 

If your husband is a beer guy, Ballast Point Brewing has a brew pub within walking distance of the Pacific Inn. Not sure if they have made it to Michigan yet, but Ballast Point is a well known San Diego brewery that has opened a few brew pubs.

 

Interestingly enough, if you walked from the Pacific Inn to Ballast Point, you'd walk from Orange County into Los Angeles County. There is a lot of great dining nearby, including Michael's on Naples that has some of the best Italian food in So Cal.

[PatriciaF]

I live next door in Long Beach.  Pacific Inn is a great place to stay in Seal Beach with easy access south to Newport, Corona Del Mar, and Laguna and the near by areas of Naples and Belmont Shore in Long Beach.  I would recommend Patty’s Place and Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach.  For family Italian, Domenico’s in Belmont Shore.  The homeless situation is a bit worse in Long Beach than Seal Beach.  
 

Unless you have a must see to the north, the traffic is awful.  On occasion I had to go to Century City for work…one Friday evening it was 2 and half hours to get home!

 

to me the only must see that is worth the traffic is the Getty Museum.

[Bruin Steve]

A little counterpoint here...

You are getting your advice thus far on this thread by posters who all live to the south--Orange County et al.

 

I live to the "north"...but I have lived and worked all my life all over the area--South Bay, Inland Empire, West Side, Orange County, Santa Barbara, SE LA County...

 

I like Seal Beach...I have a cousin who used to live there.  It is laid back...and can also be a bit boring.  It is not really a great tourist town.  Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach are also nice, have some great restaurants, but also a bit laid back (We used to say "It's 11 pm in NYC, it's 8 pm in Los Angeles...and, in Manhattan Beach, it's 1957"...Yeah, it's that kind of place).  I would recommend staying in any of those towns if you just want to kick back and relax.  None are great for tourists wishing to sightsee.  Go out for Fish and Chips or Pizza then go have some drinks?  Sure, great...

 

For me, none come close to the experience of staying IN Santa Monica or, as an alternative, Venice/Marina Del Rey--even IF you don't want to take a "tour" or visit Hollywood--though those places make it far more convenient.  But, yes, if you stay there, you don't want to find yourself needing to get home from Hollywood during rush hour on a Friday.  Of course, you might not want to drive ANYWHERE in the area on going home rush hour Friday...So, you plan your day to be closer to your hotel by mid-afternoon.

 

But, leaving Hollywood out of the picture, no place in the area compares to Venice Boardwalk/Santa Monica Pier/Third Street Promenade/Palisades Park...It is exactly the experience one envisions if you've seen scenes of SoCal on TV or in the movies...

 

Homeless?  They're EVERYWHERE...Not just LA but all over America.  It is a BIG problem nowadays.  You probably have some wherever YOU live.  Maybe you don't notice them because, at home, they are just in parts of town you don't live in or drive through.  Poverty, hunger, homelessness, mental illness, lack of budgets to provide services to these people...It is a growing problem in America.  And if you really think it's not an issue where YOU live, you are probably not paying attention.

Edited May 10, 2022 by Bruin Steve

[KeepCalmBearOn]

The OP is flying into John Wayne. If they were flying into  LAX I might agree.

[BlueHonu]

We decided to stay at Seal Beach. We can walk to dining if we want or drive if we want to go further. 

We are all in our 50's, so we don't need nightlife. We have another couple arriving on Friday and staying in Long Beach, so it will be easy to met them for dinner.

We live near Toledo Oh so the time change will have us to bed early.

Ballast Point Brewery looks great. We will probably hit Laguna Brewing and a couple others too. We will drive to Crystal Cove park and probably do a dolphin cruise from Newport Beach. That should leave some time to check out the pier and maybe a bike rental. And our 2 days will fly by and it will be cruise time...

I agree with the homeless people being spread across America and Canada too when we visit there.

We are very fortunate to be able to travel.

Thanks again!

 

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

48 minutes ago, BlueHonu said:

We will probably hit Laguna Brewing and a couple others too.

 

Laguna Beach Beer Company in Huntington Beach is nice, so is Left Coast Brewing Distillery Smokehouse in Irvine.

 

The Belmont Brewing Co in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach is great as well. It is about 4 miles from the Pacific Inn. https://goo.gl/maps/YtvXBgA8h4catfEv9

[Bruin Steve]

I'll throw in my recommendation in that area for these guys:

Rib Company - Barbecue Restaurant in CA

 

(The family used to have the seats behind me for Bruin games at the Rose Bowl...but they also make great BBQ)