This year, with a weekend to fill, I nominated Laguna Beach as the destination for my annual reunion with my college roommates! Laguna is an idyllic Southern California beach community, overflowing with art galleries, boutique shops, and street-side cafes.

There is always a steady stream of people cruising through town on the Pacific Coast Highway (the PCH or Highway 101), but things are usually at max capacity during summer with the annual art festival. It is a great time to visit, just plan ahead. You can easily navigate Laguna on foot, but for those that can’t or don’t want to walk, park your car and get around by hopping on the local trolley. The trolley really comes in handy during peak busy seasons, when parking is at a premium and overflow lots open on the outskirts of town.

If you only have time for one stop, make sure not to miss Main Beach Park. It will make beach-haters wish they knew how to surf. If you have a little more time, pop into a gallery, any gallery. It could inspire even non-creative types to pick up a paint brush. And if you are in town during the summer, and possess even a small interest in art, get yourself to one of the art festivals. It might move you to return year-after-year.

If you still need a reason to go to Laguna, go for the abundantly friendly people. Everyone we encountered during our weekend stay, from store employees to locals out for a walk, were polite and chatty. Complete strangers would strike up a conversation anywhere and everywhere, and they were genuinely friendly and curious. These were my favorite stops.

Memorable Meals

  • Splashes – a hotel restaurant with an unbeatable view, right on the beach. The food is good (we shared calamari and a bottle of wine in the lively and less-stuffy bar), but the view (what you are really paying for!) is great.
  • Zinc Cafe & Market – my kind of place!! A quaint outdoor patio, with lots of clean eating options. I had the Traditional Zinc Burger – a vegetarian patty made with brown rice, walnuts and mushrooms.
  • The Grove on Forest – a perfectly simple coffee shop focusing on what they know and do best. Lucky for me (a non-coffee drinker!) they have a legend that helps translate the menu and makes ordering easy.*
  • Wine Gallery Laguna Beach – a casual, comfortable, and hopping spot with fantastic service. Fish tacos may not be what you think of when you think of wine – but no joke, they were amazing.
  • Heidelberg Cafe – busy breakfast spot that keeps customers moving with fast and excellent service. I tried the squeezed OJ, the California omelet, and the Swiss oatmeal. All good, all fresh.

Glorious Goods

  • Lala, A Kerry Cassill Store – Kerry Cassill designs and creates stunning textiles for home goods and clothing, and I have a serious soft spot for fabrics. Stop by to delight your eyes with patterns and to pleasure your fingertips with textures.
  • Laguna Exchange – I grew up in Tucson, AZ, where the well-known Buffalo Exchange got started, so Laguna Exchange felt like going home. It’s a store committed to selling, trading, and giving back to those in need. If you can, use your dollars and support this community.
  • Laguna Beach Books – if they don’t have a book, they’ll get if for you. If you need a recommendation, they’ve got one. If you’ve read a great book, they want to know about it!
  • Twig of Laguna – this was one of my favorite stores! They have something for everyone – stylish clothing, silly gifts, lovely mementos. You’ll likely find something(s) that you just cannot live without.
  • Laguna Buy Hand – the name says it all. They stock locally sourced and handmade goods, from jewelry to art, household items and kids toys. The jewelry got and kept my attention.*
  • Steve Adam Gallery – Laguna offers endless creative inspiration, and Steve Adam captures the beach spirit with his abstract representation of Southern California vistas, palm trees, and sunsets.

Splendid Stay

The Capri Laguna – A slightly awkward B&B, this hotel is the perfect hybrid of kitschy and comfort. Whatever it lacks in luxury, it makes up tenfold in location, room size, and service. Our room was bright, airy, expansive, and comfortable with two King size beds, an optional pull out sofa, sitting area with fireplace, a kitchenette, walk-in closet and private bathroom (as compared to newer hotels with bathrooms that offer little-to-no privacy). The street noise from the busy PCH, and from the oddly modest-looking yet thumping club across the street, were easily drowned out by the very effective in-room A/C unit! We had a (slightly obstructed) view of the ocean, but take a few steps and you can enjoy one of the many unobstructed views from the patios, or you can relax in the beach chairs and under an umbrella in the sand!

We had such a great time, I might just nominate Laguna Beach year after year!

*2021 update – some spots have closed (either permanently or temporarily).