Tick two of the most iconic Los Angeles experiences – Santa Monica and Venice Beach – off your Californian bucket-list, and discover the sandy, strange, and sublime side of this sprawling urban metropolis.
When you tire of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the thrills and spills of Universal Studios, take a trip out to the heart of LA beach life and visit Santa Monica and Venice Beach in a single day.
And do it all on your own with this ultra-handy guide!
Getting to Santa Monica
Source: http://metro25.squarespace.com
First things first, you’re going to need a re-usable TAP card and load up some credit to use the LA Metro.
Purchase a TAP card ($1) and buy a day pass for $7 at a Metro ticketing machine. This pass is valid on all LA Metro train and bus lines for the day, including the blue Metro Expo Line (806) from Hollywood or Downtown LA to Santa Monica, and buses in between Santa Monica and Venice Beach.
Note: the train journey to Downtown Santa Monica is over an hour-long, so make sure you pack some snacks to eat along the way!
Downtown Santa Monica station is only a short five-minute walk from the world-famous Santa Monica pier where we’ll begin our exploration.
What to do in Santa Monica
Source: www.santamonica.com
Make a beeline straight for Starbucks (of course!) on Third Street Promenade – an open air shopping mall lined with boutiques and chain stores – before heading over towards the coast, spying surf rats, skaters and the beautiful people along the way.
Once at the coast, walk to the 100-year-old pier (it marks the terminus of the old Route 66) and prepare to take some photos of the colourful chaos all around! We’re talking carnival games, a vintage carousel, a Ferris wheel and even an aquarium – definitely popular with the kiddies!
Don’t leave the pier without sitting down for a classic American hamburger at one of the many restaurants and bars propped up on the pier, offering commanding views over the sparkling Pacific Ocean.
Then, after a stroll along the beach and perhaps a dip in the ocean, it’s time to make your way to that other quintessential LA neighbourhood: Venice Beach, the hub of LA’s counter-culture and skate freaks.
Santa Monica to Venice Beach
Source: http://shootshootride.blogspot.com
Depending on how much time you have or how you’re feeling, you can either walk along the beach from Santa Monica Pier to Venice Beach in just over 30 minutes (past Perry’s Cafe Bike & Skate and Ocean View Park) or take a bus instead (no. 733, 15 mins).
A happy compromise (and definitely a must-do Californian experience) is hiring a beach cruiser and cycling along the promenade as memories of Baywatch spring to mind.
As a last resort, call an Uber (you must have an American sim card to do this) for about $6 (5 mins).
What to do in Venice Beach
Source: www.discoverlosangeles.com
Santa Monica may have its pier, but Venice Beach has its boardwalk. This is where the community’s street performers (musicians, magicians, artists in all forms) come to ply their trade to the unrelenting stream of tourists and eccentric locals who have chosen an alternative style of living (FYI: Jim Morrison used to live here).
Venice Beach is also home to dozens of quirky shops (including marijuana dispensaries) and offbeat bars and cafes, as well as the gnarly Venice Skate Park – a mecca for LA’s skating elite.
Then of course there is Muscle Beach Gym, a LA institution, which is considered the birthplace of the physical fitness boom in the USA in the 20th century. You can simply visit and watch the muscled masses do their thing here, or work out yourself (a day pass will set you back $10).
To wrap up an epic day in LA, grab a smoothie or juice from one of the many juice bars along the Venice Beach boardwalk, and plonk yourself on the beach for a picture perfect Californian sunset.
Buses no. 733 and 780 will take you back into Hollywood or Downtown LA in about 90 minutes.