What to do in Long Beach, CA

So the fiance and I will be taking our first trip to Cali in late July. We are flying out, so sadly the Taco will not be joining. We will be renting a car and hope to do some exploring. We will be staying in Long Beach.

Any insider tips or recommendations? Thanks in advance.

 

Best thing to do is turn back.

 

Believe me, I already tried....we're actually flying out for a wedding at Lake Tahoe and just decided to stay a few extra days after while we were on the west coast.

 

Good thing the Taco is staying home, you would be lucky to still have it by the time the trip was over.

 

http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/mob/ile

 

Yeah, I seen the Long Beach area can be not-so-safe. But we are actually staying in Belmont Shores which sounds like is one of the safer areas.

@bigbarlo The aquarium seems like it has a lot of exhibits!

 

Yes that is at the top of the scrotumpole. All joking aside the beach cities to the south can be a nice place to cool off on a hot summer day. Have a nice trip!

 

Yeah the aquarium is pretty cool. I would stay away from there during the weekend though.

 

It a bit of a drive but the Peterson Museum I really enjoyed if your into cars and cars in popular movies. I took the vault tour and they had some really Interesting stuff downstairs

 

Make a road trip to Coronado Island in San Diego, not really a fan of the beaches at Long Beach, or maybe even Laguna or Huntington Beach

 

San pedro is a hop skip and jump across the Vincent Thomas bridge. There are a few museums, and sites to see.

 

Thanks for all the info guys!

Are the beachess in Long Beach just crowded or?

 

I literally have never heard of anybody going to Long Beach on purpose. If you are flying into LA, start driving north as fast as you can. Long Beach is headaches and traffic. Drive North on the 405 to 101 and stop places like Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo. If you want scenic coastal for 5 hrs, take HWY 1 up the coast, that is the most famous scenic coast drive in CA. If you just want to get north, take 101 to 80 and just get to Tahoe as fast as you can.

Edit if you want big LA beaches, Huntington/Newport are nice or San Diego/Coronado (really nice) 2.5 hrs south are good.

 

If you want nice beaches, come to Laguna. Ask me how I know.

 

Yeah, I was just sent an Airbnb and told to book it. And coming all the way from NC I'm sure anywhere in Cali's traffic will be a headache as apposed to what I'm accustomed to.

 

Since you are staying Belmont Shores, I would recommend going to Ballast Point its a brewery on the bay with some great food as well. Also "The Attic" is a really great restaurant with great food and adult beverages as well. Lastly Lord Windsor Coffee has really great coffee and breakfast burritos on the weekends

 

Cool I just drove from CLT to Winston-Salem a couple months ago. Have a good trip.

 

Definitely gonna have to check out the brewery!