Southern California vacation planning guides and itineraries. Best beaches in Orange County and Los Angeles, best things to do, and photos by Tom Bricker.
Looking for a relaxing seaside vacation in Southern California? Laguna Beach is the perfect destination, and this planning guide will offer tips for visiting, things to do, hotel & restaurant recommendations, and what to know before your trip to Orange County. (Updated January 9, 2022.) Most relevant in the near-term is that California has extended […]
Have one day in Los Angeles and want to see the city’s highlights? This step-by-step guide is a jam-packed plan that includes the top 5 things to do in L.A., including free museums, beaches, and dining. It’s an ambitious Los Angeles 1-day itinerary, optimized to avoid driving & time stuck in Southern California traffic. (Updated […]
Griffith Observatory is a planetarium & astronomy museum, and great free thing to do in Los Angeles, California. It’s also great for hikes with excellent panoramic views of the Hollywood Sign, Downtown L.A., and Pacific Ocean on clear days. This offers a review, photos, and tips for visiting Griffith Park, which is one of the […]
Our 2021 Los Angeles, California planning guide offers visit tips, including top things to do, best places to eat in L.A., hotel advice, and how to transportation hacks for SoCal’s notorious traffic. LA is one of our favorite cities in the world, and we’ll help you experience the touristy highlights and hidden gems. (Updated March […]
Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee is a small-batch, made from scratch daily donut shop with locations in California’s Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange Counties. In this review, we’ll cover why they’re the world’s best doughnuts, share food photos, and offer recommendations of what to order (and skip). The story of Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee starts […]
The Getty Villa is an art museum in Malibu, California with antiquities from ancient Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans. Located a few miles from the Getty Center in Los Angeles, it’s a perfect counterpart to the main museum. This post reviews the Getty Villa, and offers my tips for visiting. (Updated April 23, 2021.) After being […]
Our Los Angeles itineraries offer step-by-step 1-day plans for every area of the city, and we also have some itineraries for areas of Southern California outside L.A. These touring plans offer tips and strategy for the best things to do (and skip!), museums to visit, where to eat, and more. (Updated April 15, 2021.) Note […]
There’s good news for Southern California! Thanks to plummeting cases and positivity rates coupled with soaring vaccination numbers, both Los Angeles and Orange Counties have re-entered the red tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy on March 15, 2021. California’s system for reopening is a four-tier, color coded classification that was introduced last […]
Laguna Beach has the best beaches, oceanfront, and public parks in Southern California. In fact, its miles of coast along Pacific Coast Highway might be some of the best in the world. This list ranks the top 10 beaches–plus whether they’re currently open or closed. (Updated March 15, 2021.) While this quiet little beach town […]
The Getty Center is a free museum in Los Angeles, and one of the top attractions in California, offering beautiful art, architecture, and gardens–plus stunning skyline views. This post offers our review, photos, and tips for making the most of your visit. (Updated March 15, 2021.) After being closed since last year, the Getty Center […]