I am coming down to newport beach, CA in the middle of march or so for a week. For you locals out there, what are some nice nearby attractions? I am guessing this is in the Socal region. I only have been to Cali one other time and Catalina Island was really nice, is that nearby as well? Any input would be helpful...thanks in advance

Z

 

you thinking day time things to do or night scene?

 

Catalina Island is about 26 miles away and 90 minutes on the fast boat. Balboa Island is right near Newport Beach and it's really nice. Huntington Beach is just up PCH and it's a little more youth/party oriented. The H.M.S. Queen Mary is about 25 minutes away in Long Beach. One thing that I enjoy is renting a Duffy electric boat and cruising around Newport Harbor for a little while. Laguna Beach is just down PCH about 20 minutes away and that's a great place, too. Is there anything specific you want to see or experience while there?

 

Not as much night scene, mostly day activities. Maybe nice places to go for lunch or dinner. I am going on a business trip, so out of the week, I will have only about 3 days to look around. LA and Hollywood would be too far a waste of time to drive up to right? I also understand San Francisco is way too far also. Should I just stay south and be around newport and laguna and such?

link13 you mentioned quite a few places on the water, which would be most worthy given my time frame?

 

i would also check out balboa island. it is super close to where your gunna be

 

I forgot to mention Corona Del Mar, which is pretty nice. I would recommend Balboa, Corona Del Mar, and Laguna Beach given your time frame. You can just pick up Pacific Coast Highway and head south. That will give you a good look at the latter two.

 

L.A. without traffic will be about an hour away. Make it two hours during rush hour traffic.

San Francisco is six-seven hours away if you shoot up the 5 freeway.

San Diego is a better choice if you want to drive for an hour. Lots of fun stuff to do over there. Tijuana is two hours away if you want to experience some chaos and debauchery.

Newport has a lot of nice golfing around the area. If you're interested in that, there are lots of places to go to.

You can surf around Huntington Beach if you want. Spring Break means lots of the locals showing off. Also, Main Street has a good line-up of bars and restaurants to hang out at.

Laguna Beach is an "artsy" town, with galleries and wine tasting spots and fine dining. If you want to do something "cultural", Laguna has it's moments.

Lots of shopping in the area. South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island are upscale but approachable.

Disneyland is 20 minutes away. If you want to do the touristy thing, it's readily available.

 

What do you like to do? If you like to shop, I suggest going to Fashion Island (in Newport), South Coast Plaza (20 minutes from Newport), and Irvine Spectrum (also 20 minutes or so from Newport). If you want something fun/ active to do go to K1 Speed and go karting (15 minutes from Newport). There was a South OC Meet held during the week which used to be held by K1. I would look into the South County Meeting 2010 thread to see if its still being held. You could check out some local enthusiasts rides. (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/cl-...ts-2010-a.html)

As far as recommendation for lunch and dinner, that all depends on what you fancy. I definitely recommend going to In-N-Out Burgers, cheap but something Californian. I also recommend Wahoo's Fish Tacos for the same reason as In-N-Out. Other places to go which are nicer would be Miguel's (Mexican Food - there is one in Newport and one at the Irvine Spectrum), Flemmings (Steak - in Newport), or 21 Oceanfront (Seafood - in Newport).

 

If u bringing your ISF then would be a lot of fun lolz, let go check out some coastal drive

 

thanks everyone for your input.....you guys threw a variety of stuff out there, i can pick and choose from.

...and i wish i had the patience to drive down to cali with my IS-F, but that won't be happening.