Located in Orange County, California, Laguna Beach is a beautiful coastal city known for its beaches, art scene, and rich culture. The city has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, including Main Beach and Crystal Cove State Park.
I spent a total of 2 days in the city after I enjoyed Palm Springs. Laguna is about a 2 hour trip depending on traffic and about an hour and a half from San Diego.
Where to stay:
When it comes to accommodations in Laguna Beach, there are plenty of options to choose from. Some of the well known hotels in the city include: Montage Laguna Beach, The Ranch at Laguna Beach, and Surf & Sand Resort. If looking for a more budget friendly option, there are also vacation rentals and Airbnb properties available.
When looking for hotels most of them are on the smaller side and more boutique-like hotels. If you only want to stay in Laguna for one day, it may be more difficult as all the hotels we looked at required a two night stay. So keep that in mind.
We stayed at SCP Seven4One. It was a very cute boutique hotel. The rooms were on the smaller side, but it was one street back from the beach and walking distance from the downtown area.
Cost: $640 for 2 nights.
What to do:
- Day 1: When first arriving to Laguna, we explored our hotel and then walked down to the beach (gorgeous). It sits below the cliffs. It is a great beach for surfing; everywhere you looked there was someone trying to catch a wave.
- The water is very cold, so pretty much everyone is wearing wet suits.
- Since our hotel was so close to downtown we explored the different shops and restaurants that it had to offer. For dinner we decided to eat at Wild Taco and then had gelato at Gelato Paradiso after.
- Day 2: We woke up and decided to take a morning hike. We hiked up to the Top of the World which is a hike located on Canyon Acres Drive.
- After the hike, lunch was needed! We went to Husky Boy Burgers, then headed over to Crystal Cove.
- Crystal Cove State Park has one the the pretties beaches I have been too. There is so much to see within the park and is a must do.
- Dinner was at Mozambique and I highly recommended eating there for a night.
- There are plenty of activities to partake in, in Laguna such as taking a stroll along the boardwalk, looking through the art galleries and boutiques in the downtown area, or visit the Laguna Beach Art Museum.
Hiking:
- Top of the World: this is a really cool hike that you can take multiple different trail heads to reach the top. The one we used was Canyon Acres Trail. It was about a 2.4 mile hike, out and back. The hike itself is pretty much all up hill and will gain 862ft of elevation. There was plenty of other people on the trail, which made it feel safe. There were plenty of wild flowers everywhere you looked. The view at the top can’t be beat.
- Crystal Cove State Park: this park is amazing. We did over a 5 mile walk along the shore line. If you start at the main entrance (off of east coast highway)and walk all the way down to the cave and back, it is about 5 miles. When we walked down the beach it was during low tide (which I recommend). There are multiple different tide pools that you are able to see.
- Within the tide pools you will find different snails, anemones, urchins, star fish, crustaceans, small fish, and ect.
- This is a fairly easy hike despite the distance. If you hike on the trails in the park there are plenty of wild flower everywhere.
- I always recommend using All Trails app when hiking to stay on the trail and not get lost!
Where to Eat:
- Wild Taco: located in both Laguna beach and Newport Beach. It is a cheaper restaurant compared to many of the other places in Laguna.
- Husky Boy Burgers: a burger joint that was very easy and fast. We wanted a place on the way to Crystal Cove State Park.
- Mozambique: This is a South African inspired restaurant. The food was great and I highly recommend checking it out. There is a roof top section to dine in as well.
- Gelato Paradiso: This is a gelato shop tucked back in a little alley way. The gelato was amazing and is made fresh daily. We waited in the line for about 45 minutes but it was worth it!
Things to Know:
- Check the weather before heading the Laguna. I was there in mid May and it was in the high 60s the whole time with an overcast. The locals said it was unusual for the time of year (assuming colder and cloudier than usual).
Up to the Sky 
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