Laguna Beach, California

I traveled here with my sister for by birthday and would absolutely go back. Laguna is a small, high income artsy town. Its not the most diverse area, but it a big tourist town.

I stayed at Casa Laguna hotel/resort. The staff there was so nice. We drove into town and got there a couple of hours before check in hours. The staff offered gave us our room early since it was ready and offered us complimentary drinks.

I spent a lot of time at the beach. They have some of the most beautiful beaches on the west coast. Its not a very drivable city (lots of traffic and only 1 road in and out of town). Often you have to walk through neighborhoods to get to the coast. I felt safe walking around town in daytime and evening hours.

There are a bunch of restaurants through out town. I checked out “The rooftop lounge” which is an ocean side bar & restaurant and “Saigon Beach” Vietnamese restaurant. Both places were very laid back and had friendly staff. It is expensive. At the rooftop restaurant you’ll be paying $20 or more for appetizer sized plates. The Vietnamese restaurant is equally as expensive with much bigger portions.

I don’t have a good feel for the nightlife here. We went to one bar (a reggae band was playing) and felt a little out of place. The bar was a dive bar that seemed to have a lot of regulars and it was obvious we weren’t local to the area. There were no issues, the bartenders were cool. But besides the band, there was on 1 other black person in the bar on the day that we went.