The Perfect California Itinerary That Includes Santa Monica Beach: From Surfboards to Star Tours

Your Day-By-Day California Itinerary That Includes Santa Monica Beach

The perfect California itinerary that includes Santa Monica Beach requires strategic planning – a delicate balance between ambitious exploration and necessary relaxation. LAX may welcome you with its signature blend of palm trees and exhaust fumes, but just 8 miles west, Santa Monica awaits with its refreshing ocean breeze and substantially better food options.

Days 1-3: Santa Monica Beach Immersion

After landing at LAX, transportation options to Santa Monica reflect their inverse relationship to comfort: $30-40 for ride-shares that arrive mysteriously “2 minutes away” for 15 minutes straight, or the $10 FlyAway bus for those willing to trade money for time. Most visitors don’t realize that the journey from LAX to Santa Monica can take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes depending on traffic patterns that seem to follow rules understood only by longtime locals and traffic helicopter pilots.

Accommodations in Santa Monica operate on a simple mathematical formula: for every 100 feet closer to the ocean, add another $100 to the nightly rate. Shutters on the Beach offers luxury oceanfront rooms ($450-700/night) where you’ll be treated to the soothing sounds of waves and tourists asking each other if celebrities really live nearby (they do). Mid-range options like Hotel Carmel ($200-300/night) sacrifice direct ocean views for proximity to Third Street Promenade, while budget travelers can secure ocean-adjacent lodging at HI Santa Monica Hostel ($50-90/night) where international travelers gather to discuss how American portion sizes could feed their entire extended families.

Day 1: Santa Monica Essentials

Begin your first morning with a beach walk between 6-9am when the shoreline belongs mostly to locals power-walking in coordinated athleisure, professional dog-walkers managing improbable numbers of leashes, and early-bird tourists who haven’t yet adjusted to Pacific time. The morning marine layer – affectionately termed “June Gloom” even when it’s September – typically burns off by noon, revealing the California sunshine that features prominently in every tourism brochure.

The Santa Monica Pier deserves at least two hours of exploration (open 10am-10pm daily). At $10 per ride, the Ferris wheel offers views that extend from Malibu to Palos Verdes on clear days, while the historic carousel charges a mere $2 for the same horses that have been spinning since 1922. Pacific Park, the pier’s compact amusement area, resembles a carnival that somehow secured oceanfront real estate in one of America’s most expensive zip codes.

For lunch, venture to Cha Cha Chicken, where $15-20 buys Caribbean-inspired beach food that will make you question why anyone would eat anything else near sand. Spend the afternoon browsing Third Street Promenade, where street performers appear with the reliability of parking tickets being issued nearby. As evening approaches, stake out a westward-facing spot for a sunset that locals pretend not to notice while secretly taking phone photos like everyone else.

Day 2: Explore Neighboring Beach Towns

Venice Beach sits just south of Santa Monica, offering a grittier, more bohemian counterpoint. The beach itself is essentially identical, proving sand’s remarkable consistency, but the atmosphere shifts dramatically. The Venice Boardwalk operates as an open-air theater where performers, vendors, and medical marijuana prescription services compete for attention. Muscle Beach’s outdoor gym allows bodybuilders to lift weights while developing skin cancer, a multitasking approach to personal goals.

For a cultural palate-cleanser, the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades (free admission, $20 parking, reservation required) houses ancient Greek and Roman art in a setting so Mediterranean you’ll check your phone to confirm you’re still in California. The Getty’s manicured gardens make visitors reconsider their own yard maintenance practices, usually with a sense of deep inadequacy.

Abbott Kinney Boulevard presents Venice’s sophisticated side, where $8 coffees and $200 t-shirts somehow make sense in the moment. Shops selling items you never knew existed – artisanal beard oils, hand-crafted kombucha brewing kits, locally sourced beach pebble jewelry – line a street where parking karma determines your shopping duration.

Day 3: Hollywood and Beverly Hills Excursion

Depart Santa Monica by 8am to minimize traffic-induced regrets. The 30-45 minute drive to Hollywood transforms into 90+ minutes after 9am, when Los Angeles collectively decides to test the limits of internal combustion engines idling in place. The Hollywood Walk of Fame awaits with its peculiar blend of historical significance and present-day seediness. The famous stars embedded in the sidewalk exist in a state suspended between monument and outdoor floor mat, often obscured by costumed characters offering photos for “donations.”

For panoramic city views that restore faith in Los Angeles’s beauty, Griffith Observatory (free admission, $10 parking) sits above the city smog line, offering perspective both astronomical and geographical. The planetarium shows ($7) provide welcome relief from the sun while reminding visitors how insignificant their sunburns are in the cosmic scale.

Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive permits ordinary humans to window-shop where credit limits go to die. The street’s pristine three blocks showcase retail mathematics where removing material from clothing mysteriously increases its price. Return to Santa Monica for sunset dinner at either The Lobster for a splurge ($75+/person) or Big Dean’s Ocean Front Cafe for casual beachfront dining ($20/person).

Days 4-5: Choose Your Adventure — Malibu or Orange County

Any California itinerary that includes Santa Monica Beach should venture beyond the immediate area. Malibu beckons from the north, while Orange County gleams to the south – both easily incorporated into day trips that showcase California’s coastal diversity.

For Malibu exploration, rent a car ($50-90/day) and drive north on Pacific Coast Highway, where million-dollar views come free with occasional traffic standstills. Arrive at Malibu Farm Cafe by 9am to beat the crowds to its organic, locally-sourced breakfast ($20/person). The restaurant’s pier location makes it the rare establishment where diners can see their breakfast ingredients growing in the distance.

Malibu’s beaches range from easily accessible (Zuma, Surfrider) to those requiring light mountain goat skills to reach (El Matador). Celebrity homes line much of the coastline, their security measures and hedges growing proportionally with their owners’ IMDB ratings. Wine enthusiasts can sample local vintages at Malibu Wines ($25 tasting flights), where the scenic outdoor setting compensates for wines that occasionally prompt the question, “Is California really drinking its own bath water?”

Days 6-7: Desert Dreams at Joshua Tree

A quintessential California itinerary that includes Santa Monica Beach should contrast coastal pleasures with inland wonders. Joshua Tree National Park requires commitment – a 2.5-hour drive each way – but rewards visitors with landscapes so otherworldly they’ve inspired everything from U2 album covers to questionable tattoo decisions.

Depart Santa Monica by 7am to maximize park time. The $30 vehicle entrance fee grants access to an ecosystem where Dr. Seuss-like trees punctuate boulder formations that appear arranged by giant children. The Hidden Valley 1-mile loop trail offers an accessible introduction to the park’s diversity, while Barker Dam (1.3 miles) reveals how water – when it rarely appears – transforms the desert.

Before returning to Santa Monica, visit Pioneertown, a former movie set that’s evolved into a desert outpost where time moves differently, and Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace serves barbecue and live music that make the journey worthwhile. The return drive showcases Southern California’s remarkable topographical range – from barren desert to suburban sprawl to coastal splendor in under three hours.

Days 8-10: Optional Northern Extension to San Francisco

For ambitious travelers, adding San Francisco extends your California itinerary that includes Santa Monica Beach to encompass the state’s second most iconic city. The choice between flying (1 hour, $100-200) or driving (6-7 hours via coastal Highway 1) depends on whether journey or destination holds greater appeal. The drive showcases Big Sur’s dramatic coastline but demands a full day, while flying offers a brief aerial tour of the state’s diverse landscape.

Two days in San Francisco allows for highlights including Golden Gate Park (larger and less crowded than Central Park), Alcatraz tours ($41, requiring advance booking), and Fisherman’s Wharf, where sea lions demonstrate superior relaxation techniques. The city’s beaches offer a stark contrast to Santa Monica’s – windswept, fog-shrouded shores where swimmers emerge with blue lips and questioned life choices. The temperature difference between the two cities typically hovers around 15-20°F, explaining why San Francisco gift shops sell more sweatshirts than sunscreen.

Transportation Logistics and Seasonal Considerations

The eternal California question – to rent or not to rent a car – depends on your itinerary ambitions and tolerance for parking fees that rival some states’ minimum wages. Rental cars ($50-90/day) offer freedom but come with parking costs ($25-45/day at hotels) and the psychological toll of navigating Los Angeles traffic. Santa Monica itself ranks 83/100 for walkability, and the Big Blue Bus ($1.25/ride) connects major attractions efficiently.

Weather considerations bear mentioning. Summer (June-August) brings crowds, 75-85°F temperatures, and peak hotel rates. The phenomenon known as “June Gloom” brings morning marine layers that typically burn off by noon. Winter (January-March) offers the insider’s advantage: 60-70°F days, minimal crowds, and accommodations at their most affordable. Special events worth planning around include Thursday night concerts on Santa Monica Pier (June-September, free) and December’s festive decorations that create the surreal experience of holiday lights reflecting off both ocean and sunglasses.