LA Beach Day Trips: Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu & Long Beach

Choosing a beach day trip from Los Angeles

Los Angeles has no single “beach,” and no single beach day trip either. The coastline stretches from Malibu in the north down through Santa Monica, Venice Beach, the South Bay and on to Long Beach in the south, and each stretch has a different character. Santa Monica is the pier-and-promenade classic; Venice is boardwalk street life and the historic canals; Malibu is cliffside coastline and surf culture along the Pacific Coast Highway; Long Beach and the South Bay are quieter, more residential stretches with their own attractions.

This guide focuses specifically on group-format day trips that combine two or more of these areas — shared bike tours, group surf lessons, day passes and picnics — rather than private drivers or luxury itineraries. If a private or high-end experience is what you are after, Private Tours of the Santa Monica Coastline and Luxury Private Beach Transport: Santa Monica to Malibu and Long Beach cover that format instead.

If your day trip is really about Downtown and Hollywood rather than the coast, see Day Trips in Los Angeles: Downtown, Hollywood and the Hills; for Orange County and Catalina, see Day Trips to Orange County and Catalina Island from Los Angeles.

Santa Monica: the easiest beach base

Santa Monica is the most practical starting point for a car-free or car-light beach day. It is one of the few parts of the wider Los Angeles area served directly by LA Metro’s E Line, which puts the pier, the beach and the Third Street Promenade within walking distance of a train stop — a genuine exception in a region where a rental car is otherwise the default (see Do You Need to Rent a Car in Los Angeles?).

Because of that access, Santa Monica anchors most of the group activities covered here: a group surf lesson right off Santa Monica’s beach is a popular first stop for visitors without their own board or wetsuit, and a day pass at a pool club near the beach is a reasonable alternative on a day when the ocean itself looks cold or choppy. For a simpler option, a organized beach picnic setup on the sand takes the planning out of a low-key afternoon.

Venice Beach and the canals

Venice sits immediately south of Santa Monica along the boardwalk, close enough that walking or cycling between the two is normal rather than exceptional. The boardwalk itself is the main draw — street performers, muscle beach, skate parks and the Venice canals a few blocks inland — and it pairs naturally with Santa Monica on a single group itinerary.

The most common way to link the two areas as a group is on two wheels: a guided bike route connecting Santa Monica and Venice Beach typically covers both boardwalks, the pier and the canal district in a few hours, which is far more efficient than trying to walk the same ground. For visitors who prefer to arrange their own timing, Santa Monica Bike and Scooter Tours: Beaches, Not Downtown rounds up further options in the same category.

Venice and Santa Monica together are the subject of a dedicated comparison if you are still deciding how to split your time between the two: Santa Monica vs Venice Beach: Which One Should You Pick?.

Malibu and the Pacific Coast Highway

Malibu is a different proposition from Santa Monica and Venice. It lies further north along the Pacific Coast Highway, and while the drive is often well under an hour, it can stretch out considerably in beach-weekend or rush-hour traffic — the same route genuinely can take twice as long depending on when you set out. A Malibu stop tends to work best as a half-day add-on to a Santa Monica morning rather than a full separate day trip, given the driving involved and the more limited public transit options once you’re past Santa Monica.

Group tours covering Malibu usually lean toward the coastline itself — scenic drives along the highway, beach stops and surf-adjacent activities — rather than the celebrity-home circuit, which is covered separately under Celebrity Homes Tours in Los Angeles: Beverly Hills and Bel Air and its Santa Monica-based equivalent.

For a way to see the Malibu coastline without driving it yourself, a boat cruise from the Venice/Marina del Rey area with Malibu coastline views covers a stretch of the same shoreline from the water, with live music and drinks included, which works well as an alternative to a PCH drive on a day when traffic looks heavy. It also means you can pair a Venice morning with a Malibu-facing afternoon without ever getting in a car, which is not something the drive itself can offer.

Manhattan Beach, Hermosa and Redondo: the South Bay

South of the airport and well south of Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach form a quieter, more residential stretch of coastline generally known as the South Bay. There is no single boardwalk running through all three the way there is between Santa Monica and Venice, but a paved beach bike path does connect the three towns, and cycling is a common way to see the strand without needing a car for each stop.

A e-bike ride along the strand from Redondo Beach up toward Santa Monica is one of the few group activities that actually links the South Bay to the Santa Monica corridor in a single outing, covering considerably more ground than a standard bike tour thanks to the electric assist. Outside of that, most visitors treat the South Bay as its own separate stop rather than something to combine with Santa Monica and Venice on the same day, given the distance involved and the different character of the towns — quieter, more suburban, and generally less geared toward organized group tours than Santa Monica or Venice.

Long Beach and the South Bay

Long Beach and the South Bay communities (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa, Redondo) sit well south of Santa Monica, on the far side of the LA basin. The driving distance is real enough that combining Long Beach with the northern beaches in one day trip is uncommon; most visitors treat it as its own stop, often anchored around the Queen Mary or the Port of LA/San Pedro waterfront rather than the boardwalk scene further north.

If your itinerary already includes several days on the coast, an itinerary covering three days of LA beaches spreads Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu and the South Bay across separate days rather than trying to compress them, which tends to produce a much less rushed experience.

Group tours vs private and luxury formats

The activities highlighted on this page — bike tours, group surf lessons, day passes and picnics — are deliberately shared-group formats: you join a scheduled session with other travelers rather than booking a dedicated guide or vehicle. That keeps the price per person lower and the booking process simpler, but it also means fixed start times and shared pacing.

Format	Typical group size	Flexibility	Best for
Group surf lesson / bike tour	Several travelers, shared instructor or guide	Fixed schedule, set duration	Budget-conscious visitors, solo travelers, families
Beach day pass / picnic setup	Individual or small group booking, shared venue	Flexible arrival within opening hours	Visitors who want structure without a group activity
Private tour (Private Tours of the Santa Monica Coastline)	Just your own party	High — custom route and pace	Small groups wanting a tailored day
Luxury/VIP (Luxury Private Beach Transport: Santa Monica to Malibu and Long Beach)	Just your own party, premium vehicle/venue	High, with added comfort	Special occasions, higher budgets

If a scheduled group activity does not fit your plans, the private and luxury pages above cover the same coastline with more control over timing.

Getting between the beaches

Traffic is the single biggest variable in planning a multi-beach day. The distances on a map look short, but drive times between Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu and Long Beach can range from roughly 20 minutes in light traffic to well over an hour during peak periods — there is no fixed number that applies regardless of when you travel, and it is worth building slack into any plan that touches more than two of these areas in one day. Rental Car or Rideshare in Los Angeles? How I Actually Decide walks through the tradeoffs if you’re deciding how to get around once you’re off the Metro E Line.

The E Line itself only reaches as far as Santa Monica; once your day trip extends to Venice by bike or on foot that’s fine, but Malibu and Long Beach are effectively car- or tour-bus territory, since neither is realistically covered by rail or a short rideshare hop from the Santa Monica corridor.

What to bring for a multi-beach day

Because the coastline runs cooler and windier than inland Los Angeles, especially in the morning, a light layer is worth packing even in summer — the temperature difference between the beach and Downtown or Hollywood on the same afternoon can be noticeable. Sunscreen matters more than it looks like it should on an overcast May Gray morning, since the marine layer does not block UV the way it blocks the sun visually.

For anyone planning a bike-based day linking Santa Monica and Venice, comfortable closed-toe shoes make more difference than anything else, since the boardwalk gets crowded with pedestrians, skaters and other cyclists and a quick stop-and-start pace is normal rather than exceptional. A reusable water bottle is worth bringing too — beachfront concessions exist but are not always close to where a group tour actually starts or ends.

Booking tips and seasonal timing

Late spring and early summer bring a coastal pattern locally known as May Gray and June Gloom: a low marine layer that keeps mornings overcast along the beaches even when areas further inland are sunny. It usually clears by early or mid-afternoon, so it is rarely a reason to cancel a beach day outright, but it is a good reason to schedule water-based activities like a full surfing day trip that includes lunch for the afternoon rather than the morning, and to pack a layer for the first few hours.

Do not expect guaranteed sunshine at 9am on the coast in May or June — May Gray and June Gloom: What LA’s Coastal Overcast Really Means for Your Trip covers the pattern in more detail.

In the peak summer season, group activities such as surf lessons and bike tours can sell out on short notice, particularly on weekends, so booking a few days ahead is a sensible precaution rather than a strict requirement outside the busiest weeks. Outside summer, availability is generally easier to find with only a day or two of lead time.

Whatever combination of beaches you choose, treat drive times as estimates that depend on the time of day, not fixed numbers, and it is worth checking things to do in Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Malibu and Long Beach individually if you want the fuller activity list for each stop beyond the group day-trip formats covered here.

Frequently asked questions about LA beach day trips

Can I do Santa Monica, Venice and Malibu all in one day?

It is possible, but ambitious. A realistic group itinerary usually pairs Santa Monica with Venice, or Santa Monica with Malibu, rather than all three, because driving time along the coast varies widely with traffic.

Is Santa Monica walkable from Venice Beach?

Yes, the boardwalk connection between Santa Monica and Venice is a comfortable walk or a short bike ride, which is why many group tours combine the two on a single bike route.

Do I need a car to visit Santa Monica?

Not necessarily. Santa Monica is one of the few parts of Los Angeles reachable by the Metro E Line, which makes it a practical no-car base for a beach-focused day, unlike Malibu or Long Beach.

How far is Malibu from Santa Monica?

Malibu sits along the Pacific Coast Highway north of Santa Monica, and the drive is usually well under an hour in light traffic, but it can stretch out considerably during peak periods or beach-weekend congestion.

What is May Gray and June Gloom, and will it ruin my beach day?

It is a coastal marine layer that keeps mornings overcast in late spring and early summer even when inland Los Angeles is sunny. It typically clears by early or mid-afternoon, so a beach day is rarely a write-off, but it is worth planning water activities for later in the day during this period.

Are these tours private or group tours?

The tours described on this page are group-format experiences such as bike tours, surf lessons and picnics, aimed at travelers who want a shared, budget-friendlier format rather than a private driver or luxury vehicle.

Should I book beach activities in advance?

In the summer high season, popular group activities such as surf lessons and bike tours can fill up, so booking a few days ahead is a reasonable precaution rather than a strict requirement.

Is Long Beach part of the same day trip as Santa Monica?

Long Beach lies well south of Santa Monica and is usually treated as its own half-day or day stop rather than combined with the northern beaches in a single itinerary, given the driving distance between them.