Santa Monica Travel Guide

Tourist Guide
Santa Monica showing a city, general coastal views and street scenes
An up-market city home to surfers, students, and celebrities, this is where to enjoy one of the famous beaches, a historic pier and great nightlife of the Los Angeles area.

Santa Monica has been one of LA’s most fashionable beach cities for decades. It’s easy to see why with its famous beaches, historic pier, balmy year-round weather and a trendy crowd that frequents the many cafés, boutiques and bars.

Grab a towel and head to the well-maintained beach, which stretches for 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometres). The sand is raked daily and is shared by volleyball players, swimmers and sunbathers throughout the year. 

For a bit of fun, check out the historic Santa Monica Pier where all the family will enjoy the Pacific Park amusement centre. There’s also a small aquarium, shops and arcade. 

Wander between the cafés, bookstores, and cinemas of the Third Street Promenade. Check out Main Street for more shops, or go celebrity watching on Montana Avenue. Admire quality top-notch art, visit the Bergamot Station Arts Centre. You’ll find the Santa Monica Museum of Art as well as several other smaller galleries. In the evening, drop by the Santa Monica Playhouse for a show, then head out to choose from dozens of bars and restaurants. 

From Third St Promenade head to Palisades Park. It stretches for 25 acres (10 hectares), and its treelined paths give a great view of the ocean. There are plenty of spots to picnic, read and watch the world go by. 

If you feel like picking up the pace, rent a bike and go for a ride along the 22-mile (35-kilometre) Marvin Braude Bike Trail. This trail passes beneath the Santa Monica Pier and runs mostly along the Pacific Ocean.   

Santa Monica is home to a sophisticated and fun crowd. You can hit the beach, party, go celebrity watching, or check out the well-developed art scene and eclectic shops. 

Where to stay in Santa Monica

Santa Monica showing tropical scenes and general coastal views

Downtown Santa Monica

4.5/5(45 area reviews)

While you're in Downtown Santa Monica, take in top sights like Santa Monica Beach and jump on the metro at Downtown Santa Monica Station to see more of the city.

Downtown Santa Monica
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Ocean Park

4/5(23 area reviews)

Ocean Park is known for its stunning beaches, and you can see some sights area like Venice Beach and Santa Monica Beach.

Ocean Park
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Pico

While you're in Pico, take in top sights like Santa Monica Place or Third Street Promenade, and hop on the metro to see more of the city at 17th Street/SMC Station or 26th Street/Bergamot Station.

Pico
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North of Wilshire

4/5(7 area reviews)

While visiting North of Wilshire, you might make a stop by sights like Santa Monica Beach and Third Street Promenade.

North of Wilshire
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North of Montana

If you're spending some time in North of Montana, Santa Monica Beach and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area are top sights worth seeing.

North of Montana
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Wilshire Montana

If you're spending some time in Wilshire Montana, Santa Monica Beach and Third Street Promenade are top sights worth seeing.

Wilshire Montana
The Huntley Hotel
The Huntley Hotel
4.5 out of 5
1111 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA
The price is ₹20,925 per night from 27 May to 28 May
₹20,925
per night
27 May - 28 May
Stay at this family-friendly hotel in Santa Monica. Enjoy breakfast (surcharge), a free local area shuttle and room service. Our guests praise the restaurant ...
9/10 Wonderful! (1,207 reviews)
"Very nice hotel and close to everything. Would definitely stay here again."

Reviewed on 15 May 2024

The Huntley Hotel
The Pierside Santa Monica
The Pierside Santa Monica
4 out of 5
120 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA
The price is ₹21,583 per night from 27 May to 28 May
₹21,583
per night
27 May - 28 May
Stay at this beach hotel in Santa Monica. Enjoy free Wi-Fi, breakfast (surcharge) and a 24-hour fitness centre. Our guests praise the helpful staff and the clean ...
8.4/10 Very Good! (619 reviews)
"Overall stay was good. Wifi intermittent. Last night was noisy, sounded like a heavy duty fan."

Reviewed on 15 May 2024

The Pierside Santa Monica
Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites
Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites
4 out of 5
1707 4th St, Santa Monica, CA
The price is ₹21,575 per night from 2 Jun to 3 Jun
₹21,575
per night
2 Jun - 3 Jun
Stay at this beach hotel in Santa Monica. Enjoy breakfast (surcharge), a free beach shuttle and room service. Our guests praise the helpful staff and the clean ...
8.2/10 Very Good! (1,002 reviews)
"Awesome!"

Reviewed on 13 May 2024

Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites
Lowest nightly price found within the past 24 hours based on a 1 night stay for 2 adults. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.
The Haas, Trademark Collection by Wyndham
The Haas, Trademark Collection by Wyndham
3 out of 5
219 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA
Enjoy free Wi-Fi, a 24-hour front desk and daily housekeeping. Our guests praise the helpful staff and the clean rooms in their reviews.
8.6/10 Excellent! (321 reviews)
"Property was great. LA area not so much"

Reviewed on 7 May 2024

The Haas, Trademark Collection by Wyndham
Venice Breeze Suites
Venice Breeze Suites
3.5 out of 5
2 Breeze Avenue, Venice, CA
Stay at this 3.5-star beach aparthotel in Venice. Enjoy free Wi-Fi, a rooftop terrace and a 24-hour front desk. Our guests praise the helpful staff and the clean ...
8.2/10 Very Good! (1,502 reviews)
"This hotel is the ultimate place to stay, when you want to be moments from the beach and all the crazy fun things on the boardwalk!!! Danielle at reception is fabulous and makes the stay so enjoyable!"

Reviewed on 12 May 2024

Venice Breeze Suites
The Crescent powered by Sonder
The Crescent powered by Sonder
4 out of 5
403 N Crescent Dr, Beverly Hills, CA
Enjoy valet parking (surcharge), a 24-hour front desk and daily housekeeping.
7.8/10 Good! (999 reviews)
"Replace head boards and foot boards. Remotes didn’t work for the Fan. I had to go downstairs to get batteries for the Roku remote. Nice size spiders came out in the bathroom. Shampoo and body wash pumps did not work. But I would stay again. Little fixes."

Reviewed on 5 May 2024

The Crescent powered by Sonder
Lowest nightly price found within the past 24 hours based on a 1 night stay for 2 adults. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.

Popular places to visit

Reviews of Santa Monica

4.4
Top destination
5 - Excellent
45
" "5 - Excellent 50%
4 - Good
35
" "4 - Good 38.888888888888886%
3 - Okay
10
" "3 - Okay 11.11111111111111%
2 - Disappointing
0
" "2 - Disappointing 0%
1 - Terrible
0
" "1 - Terrible 0%

5/5 - Excellent

Verified traveller
4 Jan 2020

Pier and beach are excellent, city seemed very clean, didn’t not feel unsafe at all, people friendly, decent transport links. Quite a few homeless but that’s basically the same throughout LA from what we could tell.

5/5 - Excellent

Gill
19 Dec 2019

A great location to stay for a visit to LA. We visited downtown LA and other attractions in the daytime and returned to Santa Monica to chill in the evening. The area is very safe to walk around with many excellent restaurants and good shopping

5/5 - Excellent

Verified traveller
5 Nov 2019

Great atmosphere with plenty to see and do. Good beaches and great shopping. Always felt safe and everyone was friendly.

5/5 - Excellent

Verified traveller
31 Oct 2019

Excellent place to visit. Loved it will be back x

5/5 - Excellent

Verified traveller
23 Oct 2019

Len & Jan are lovely hosts.

4/5 - Good

Verified traveller
23 Oct 2019

Apart from the large amount of homeless people in the area found Santa Monica to be a safe and friendly place, quite clean and would definitely stay there again.

Cities near Santa Monica