It’s only 3pm and I’m already onto my third boat of the day. This time, chugging across the glistening waters of Newport Beach, champagne flute in hand as we ogle the luxury beach house that is the home of Oculus VR headset inventor, Palmer Luckey, from our own electric duffy boat. Our destination? The Cannery, a chic waterside restaurant famous among Orange County locals for its seafood happy hour and its unique ‘dock and dine’ experience that sees most guests pull up to their reservation by boat.
It was only a matter of hours ago that we spent our morning tucking into our first corn dog next to the surfers on Balboa Island and — our trip highlight so far — gasping into our binoculars as we approached a thin black line on the horizon that turned out to be a pod of 500 dolphins, during a whale watching tour with Newport Whales (you can imagine the gasps from our boat when two humpback whales paid us a visit shortly after).
The vibe reminds me of Noosa on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, or perhaps parts of South Africa, with their reputations for sunshine, sealife, good wine and good food. It certainly feels a million miles from LA and its dense urban sprawl, despite being America’s second-most populous city and all its A-list Hollywood magic just a 45 minutes drive away.
But this is exactly the wonder of Newport Beach: you don’t have to choose between starry Californian magic and a laid-back beach holiday. You can have both (providing, like any trip to the States, you’re willing to jump in an Uber). Plan your trip wisely and you can be hiking the Hollywood Hills and exploring the sights of Santa Monica (hire a bike and pedal down to Venice Beach) in the morning, and paddleboarding past topless rowers in Newport’s winding waterways in the afternoon.
Many of California’s most famous spots — Palm Springs, San Diego, Joshua Tree National Park — are close enough for a day trip. Think of it as the West Coast’s answer to The Hamptons (the late Hollywood legend John Wayne lived famously lived here for 14 years).
So where is this magical watery haven exactly? And why hasn’t everyone heard of it, given its proximity to LA and promise of some of the best beaches in the US? Well, you probably have heard of it, or at least seen it, if you’ve watched the US teen TV staple that is The O.C. The drama series was set here and there are still nods to it throughout, from the city’s Corona del Mar High School (the inspiration for the Habor School in the show) to the luxe waterside bungalows dotted around the marina (you might recognise several from recent Netflix series Selling The OC).
You might not spot a Ryan or a Seth, but book a brunch at organic hotspot Malibu Farm or wander the surfery boutiques around the perfectly-manicured Lido Marina Village and you’ll find plenty of looklikes (and top notch housewife gossip). Better still: ask for a water-facing room at Balboa Bay Resort and you’ll wake to the sound and sight of dozens of tanned, honed college rowers gliding past your window each morning.
The city recently invested a whopping $500 million in new openings (VIP hotel The Pendry unveils its Newport Beach outpost this summer) and boasts an impressive 25 miles of water (15 miles of land and 10 miles of coastline), so do book if you’re a water baby who likes your luxury; don’t book, however, if you don’t like superyachts or prefer your holidays on dry land.
You won’t get the same level of cool, hippy twenty-somethings you’ll find over in Venice Beach or Santa Monica and you certainly shouldn’t go expecting the party beach culture of Ibiza, but you will get the odd celeb sighting (actor Nicolas Cage and Heather Rae El Moussa of Selling Sunset fame, are among those to have had holiday homes here and the international Newport Beach Film Festival brings stars to the city each October) and cool beachy types with baseball caps (and plenty of money).
To give a sense of the vibe: the nearest shopping complex, Fashion Island, is an upmarket mix of lululemons, L’Occitanes and Louis Vuittons, while local hotel, The Resort at Pelican Hill, is a five-star, 504-acre coastal haven with Italian inspired architecture that’s popular with A-listers and golfing types. Recently it was voted the number one resort in the US by Condé Nast Traveler.
As with anywhere in the US, you’ll need a car or plenty of Uber credit if you want to make a proper trip of it (popular tourist hotels Balboa Bay Resort and Lido House are just over an hour’s drive from LAX airport). But the beauty of Newport as a city is it’s only 10 square miles so you can actually walk around, whether it’s from your hotel to Sea Señorita, a popular duffy boat charter spot, or taking the auto ferry to stroll Marine Avenue and the local shops of Balboa Island (make sure you order a frozen banana from the aptly-named Frozen Banana store there, which opened in 1945 and feels like a relic from a pre-internet era).
Other must-trys include The Cannery’s lobster pasta, steak at Mexican restaurant Red O., dinner under the patio heaters at JOEY, and lunch at The Beachcomber at Crystal Cove overlooking Catalina Island — ideally after a morning exploring the tidepools along the beach. The best way to get there is to park at the Los Trancos parking lot off of Pacific Coast Highway, take the Beachcomber Cafe shuttle (you’ll need cash) or walk the path under Pacific Coast Highway to the Crystal Cove Historic District.
Thanks to the pretty consistent Mediterranean climate, you can be swimming in the sea from as early as March to as late in the year as November. Autumn sunscape plans, sorted.
