While planning our trip to LA I created a daily itinerary. This way we wouldn’t wander around aimlessly, and would be able to see everything that we wanted to see. It also helped me to get an idea of what attractions were close to each other so we could visit those attractions on the same day. We really wanted to visit both Santa Monica & Venice Beach. So the plan for Day 4 of our trip was to spend the entire day visiting both. We started the day with brunch in Santa Monica at Jinky’s Cafe, and ended with dinner in Venice Beach. Keep reading to see what else we did in between.
The easiest way to get to Santa Monica from Hollywood is via taxi. Uber is much cheaper than taking a local taxi (get your first ride free with my referral code ericam127). If I remember correctly, the ride was approximately $25 and took about 45 minutes to get there. We got to Santa Monica around noon and took the Uber straight to Jinky’s for brunch. Of course Esean got the pancakes which he wasn’t too pleased with as they were a bit bland. I told him to venture out and try something new since the menu was so extensive. But he didn’t listen. Teenagers.
I on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed my Smoked Salmon Benedict. It was sooo good, and a half order was extremely filling. A full order was also available if you wanted two egg benedicts instead.
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After brunch we walked over a few blocks to Santa Monica Pier. Esean was extremely excited as he said the pier looks exactly the same as it does in Grand Theft Auto. Rolls eyes lol. Anyway, we walked along the pier and watched the performers…
Enjoyed the view of the water and the mountains…
And took a walk through Pacific Park Amusement Park. The park was very reminiscent of Coney Island Amusement Park here in NYC.
Next we walked along the 3 mile path from Santa Monica to Venice Beach. We saw a lot of people with scooters and bikes, so this is another option to navigate the strip. The walk wasn’t bad at all though. Anyway, we strolled the boardwalk and took a peek at the shops. Titanic Boutique was pretty cool with life size Transformers replicas and a great soundtrack blaring from the speakers. We continued along the boardwalk and stopped at the Venice Skate Park…
The Venice Art Walls…
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We were even able to see some artwork in progress which was pretty awesome to watch. And you can’t visit Venice Beach without taking a stroll along the actual beach…
The water was so beautiful, but was a little cold. Next we visited the basketball courts…
We sat and watched part of a basketball league tournament game. Then Esean showed off his skills on the general courts. My kid is getting better everyday 🙂
Across the way from the courts we watched some body builders work out at Muscle Beach. They definitely put on a show for onlookers.
Next we headed back to the boardwalk path for a snack, and decided on funnel cake. But it wasn’t very good. They cooked it too long and in what tasted like old grease. I’m surprised as I’ve never had bad funnel cake. Guess there’s a first for everything.
As we came close to the end of the boardwalk we made a detour for the Venice Canals.
The canals are a must see. The area is so serene and beautiful. It’s a great place to just chillax after walking the stretch from Santa Monica to Venice Beach, and it’s also a beautiful spot to take pictures.
I’d love to have a vacation home here.
For our final stop we walked about 15 minutes over to Abbot Kinney Blvd for dinner. Abbot Kinney is a mile long strip of merchants such as Tom’s, Adidas, Hourglass Cosmetics and more, and a cute selection of cafes and restaurants. We decided to have dinner at Casa Linda Mexican Grill which is at the end of the strip.
Esean had the Chicken Nachos with a Fanta…
While I had the Halibut Tacos Platter washed down with a Modelo.
After dinner we took a Uber back to our hotel in Hollywood and relaxed until we fell out. I’d also highly suggest a visit to The Mosaic Tile House. It’s closed on Sundays so we didn’t get to see it. But it’s on my list for whenever I make it back to Venice Beach. See what we did on our 5th and final day here, and make sure you check out Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 for more ideas on things to do in LA.
