Things to do in Orange County

Orange County is a separate coastal county south of Los Angeles, covering Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Dana Point, Irvine and Santa Ana, plus the ferry departure point for Catalina Island. It sits in the same county as Anaheim and Disneyland but is a distinct area, best explored as its own trip rather than bolted onto a Disneyland day.

From central Los Angeles, driving times run roughly 45 minutes to over an hour depending on traffic and which town you are heading to, and there is no comprehensive Metro coverage of the area, so a rental car is the practical way in; John Wayne Airport (SNA) is the closer alternative to LAX for this stretch of coast. Late spring and early summer mornings are often grey along the shoreline (the local May Gray/June Gloom pattern) even when it is sunny a few miles inland.

Given the distances between towns, pick one or two of these places per day rather than trying to string several together.