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The Best Beach Getaways In SoCal

Around this time of year, massive amounts of people venture to southern California for a spring break getaway. Lucky for you, many great vacation spots are right in your back yard. So stick around this year and have yourself a stay-cation. 

Malibu Beach
(credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

Malibu 
Malibu Beach Inn
2878 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265-5041
(310) 456-6444
www.malibubeachinn.com

Price: Click here for packages

Malibu's Paradise Cove Beach isn't only for Hollywood stars and film sets, it's also great spot for a stay-cation. This sunny spot situates itself picturesquely along the edge of the Pacific, serving as a popular hub for bodysurfing and tide pooling. As for a place to stay at night, choose the Malibu Beach Inn located just above Billionaire's Beach. Keep that radar on high alert. You may likely encounter a few celebrity sightings as they know the best places to vacation.

Laguna Beach
(Credit: Ocean Institute)

Laguna Beach
The Retreat in Laguna
729 Gaviota Dr.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 376-7170
www.theretreatinlaguna.com

Price: Click here for packages

The seven miles of beach known as Laguna, make up a tried-and-true artist's colony in Orange County. Boasting everything a pleasure-loving spring breaker can imagine, Laguna Beach has got it all including water sports, happening bars, bead shops and funky or fine art galleries. Now that you're sold on making the trip to Laguna, look no further for accommodations. The Retreat in Laguna is the best you'll find. A new haunt in these rarified parts that offers not only a temporary home with definite bragging rights for its custom decor, but also complete gourmet kitchens and outdoor barbecues, so you can cook up a storm. The Retreat in Laguna is made up of four distinctive villas. Ask for one with an ocean view and you're all set for fun in the Southern California sun.

Related: Spring Break Guide – Los Angeles

Woman standing outside beach restroom in Santa Monica
(credit: Frick Byers/Getty Images)

Santa Monica Beach
The Shore Hotel
1515 Ocean Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 458-1515
www.shorehotel.com

Price: Click here for packages

Nobody leaves Santa Monica Beach without having titillating tales to tell, especially when school is out and the party starts in and around this coveted beach haven. The Santa Monica Pier gives any carnival a run for its money all year round with bumper cars, silly arcade games and the century-old Looff Hippodrome Carousel (where Marilyn Monroe used to go at night to think and dream). Wind down after the fun with the Pier's environmentally friendly Ferris wheel, the only one in the world that's solar powered. As for a place to stay, pick the LEED-certified Shore Hotel for updated retro accommodations and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the blue Pacific.

Related: LA's Hottest Swimwear

Pacific Beach
W San Diego
421 West B St.
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 398-3100
www.thewsandiegohotel.com

Price: Click here for packages

About two hours south of Los Angeles is one of the most happening Pacific coastal spots in the West. Pacific Beach covers the gamut of beach bum fare, from picturesque biking paths to hip dive bars to the inviting sea at the edge of a retreat ready for spring breakers to break out in just about any way possible. Nearby (within a mile), the celebrations continue at W Hotel, a hot spot of evening activity, especially at the hipster property's open air venue called Beach, appropriately dubbed since its expansive floor is full of sand. Also, west San Diego is completely pet friendly.

Manhattan Beach
(credit: CBS)

Manhattan Beach
Sea View Inn at the Beach
3400 Highland Ave.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 421-8344
www.theseaviewinn.com

Price: Click here for reservations

Hang where the Beach Boys hung out before these famous musicians became household names. The sandy retreat known simply as MB -- and where beach volleyball was first introduced -- gives casual new meaning since being lazy is just as viable as being active. This California hot spot, ready with amusing activities at The Strand (called party central), gives the Pacific a run for its bounty with plenty of scintillating scuba spots and the right kind of waves for which both experts and beginners can hang ten on a daily basis. A cool yet quirky place to stay in Manhattan Beach is Sea View Inn at the Beach, ready with a manager who couldn't be more accommodating and a location in the midst of the action right next to a fabulous bakery for sweetening the deal.

Los Angeles freelance travel writer Jane Lasky, contributes to publications such as Travel + Leisure, Vogue and Esquire. Her weekly sojourning column ran in 40 newspapers for 20 years. Jane is anything but an accidental tourist. Check out her articles on Examiner.com.


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