When was the last time you woke up to the sound of the ocean? It’s probably been too long—so make haste to Laguna Beach, where an affluent, attractive and super-sporty population lives in a natural paradise not rivaled since those early scenes in The Lorax. We’ve figured out where to eat, shop and nap…because who wants to Google where to go during their weekend getaway?
3 Perfect Days in Laguna Beach All Planned Out
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Published May 12, 2017
Friday
7:30 p.m. Want to avoid the traffic snarl that is Friday afternoon’s escape-from-L.A. traffic? Leave Thursday late afternoon and call in sick on Friday. When you get to Laguna Beach, relax into the cozy outdoor upholstery next to the firepits at 15FiftyFive Lounge. Just make sure your boss doesn’t follow you on Instagram.
Saturday
9:30 a.m. Wake up to your oceanfront room view at the Surf and Sand Resort, where you’ll realize that after 20 minutes of watching seagulls and the marine layer burn off, you have no interest in checking your phone.
Mr. Gray/Flickr
11 a.m. Take a walk along the Main Beach boardwalk, and be sure you get the obligatory photo of the lifeguard tower, a structure that dates back to the 1920s.
Ruby’s
12:30 p.m. Local color alert: Ruby's Shake Shack has been serving burgers, skinny fries and bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches going on eight decades. There’s a small deck overlooking the water that’s worth the parking struggle.
Fetneh Blake/Facebook
4 p.m. Get out of the heat by ducking into Fetneh, the clothing boutique whose edit of edgy international designers disproves everything you thought you knew about beach town fashion.
Montage Hotels
6 p.m. You’re ready for some serious relaxation with a therapeutic mineral bath at the Spa Montage, where you’ll float in lavender, vetiver and sweet orange-laced waters—all while getting a scalp and neck massage.
Ranch at Laguna Beach
8:30 p.m. Time for a change of scenery. You’re headed inland to Aliso Canyon to have dinner next to the Ranch at Laguna Beach, where a golf course and organic farm happily coexist. Harvest restaurant is devoted to all things local and delicious—including craft cocktails made from the yield of 30 exotic fruit trees on the property.
Flannery626/Flickr
Sunday
10 a.m. Stroll amid the starfish and anemones that pop up in the shallows in the tide pools at Main Beach. Make sure you’re there at low tide by checking the Visit Laguna Beach app, then use the app to find out when a free trolley is on its way.
12 p.m. On your way out of town, browse the housewares at Tuvalu Home Environment. Take a picture frame made of recycled boat wood or a decorative barnacle specimen home with you. You know, in case you need a reminder to come back to Laguna Beach.
