Newport Beach Vacation Guide

This Newport Beach vacation guide includes information about where to stay and what to do while visiting the area, including Balboa Island, Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar.

Newport Beach is in Orange County between Huntington Beach and Laguna. While Huntington Beach has great surfing, and Laguna famous for its beautiful coves and art galleries, Newport is a boater's haven with it's picturesque harbor. It has lovely ocean beaches too, along the peninsula where there are many cottages and vacation rentals.

The Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach extends for about 6 miles, consisting mostly of wide sandy beaches and two large piers. A boardwalk stretches along the length of it, great for biking, skating, jogging or strolling. You can rent bicycles and surreys near either of the piers.

At the end of the peninsula is an infamous body surfing spot, the Wedge Newport Beach.

A very fun, casual restaurant with lots of character is the Crab Cooker, on Newport Blvd., near the Newport Pier.

Both the Newport Pier and Balboa Pier are areas with several places to eat and shop. Ruby's Diner at the end of Balboa Pier has great views with both inside and outside dining available.

Inland from the Balboa Pier is a small car ferry, which takes cars, pedestrians and bikers on a short but scenic journey to Balboa Island. Once there, you can stroll around the island on the boardwalk, viewing the bayfront homes, vacation cottages and variety of docked yachts. Several small public piers marked with blue trim allow fishing and boating access.

The small sandy public beaches are great for families with small children, though the water quality may be dubious at times. Sunbathers can also enjoy the peaceful atmosphere here. There are no bathrooms along these beaches, but there is a public one on the island side of the ferry landing and another one behind the fire station in the village.

Balboa has a small main street filled with adorable shops, a few restaurants, and a couple of stands with the famous Balboa Bar and frozen bananas for sale. The ice cream bars and frozen bananas on a stick are dipped in chocolate and rolled in the topping of your choice.

Newport Beach Harbor has one of the largest amounts of yachts docked in the entire country. You can kayak, sail, motor or take a harbor cruise around the bay. You may even want to dine while out on the water with a Newport Beach dinner cruise.

If you enjoy driving your own vessel out in the harbor amongst the pleasure boats, look for a Newport Beach boat rental.

Corona del Mar is just south of Newport Beach. It is a relatively small beach, (actually two), below a bluff and is a favorite place to swim and body board.

Further south is Crystal Cove Newport Beach, a state park that has miles of undeveloped beach, except for the historical district, which has cottages you can rent on the beach.

The Newport Beach Back Bay has recreational activities from birdwatching to sailing lessons. Also see Newport Dunes, also in the back bay, for more information on what is offered there.

There are a lot of hotels and resorts to choose fromo for a Newport Beach vacation. Many of the larger ones are inland towards the airport. Smaller ones can be found closer to the water.

Click here to read about Newport Beach California hotels.

Or if you are really splurging, find a Newport Beach resort.

Click here if you want to find a Newport Beach hotel right on or close to the beach.

In the summer, beach house vacation rentals all along the peninsula and on Balboa Island are abundant. Click here for more on finding Newport Beach vacation rentals, or here for a list of local Newport Beach vacation rental services.

There are very few camping options in the area, but you can learn about what is available by reading about Newport Beach campgrounds.

A Newport Beach vacation is ideal for the whole family, as there is a multitude of recreational activities available, such as boating, swimming, surfing, biking, skating and just plain hanging out at the beach.

Getting to Newport Beach CA by freeway.

Other Newport Beach travel options.