Bachelorette Trip To Southern California - April 8-11, 2022
I want to start off by saying that as a bridesmaid on this bachelorette trip, I had no part in planning or booking any of the experiences so I can’t give information on that aspect of it, but I hope this helps give you ideas or direction if you decide to visit the Newport and Huntington Beach areas anytime soon!
Accommodations:
Our party of 14 girls decided upon an Airbnb house in the Newport Beach / Corona Del Mar area. I will link the specific one here: Spanish Villa
It turned out to be two separate houses that were connected, sort of like a condo. I would say that it was a decent home, but if I’m being honest it did lack cohesiveness and was in need of some serious design updates. (Also, if your car is any larger than a shoebox you might have trouble fitting in the garage! My Jeep Grand Cherokee barely fit with literal inches on each side of it.)
It would probably be really ideal though for two families who prefer their private space.
The pictures online were pretty deceiving, but it did the job and it never felt crowded.
Day 1:
After about a 6 hour drive South from Central California, we arrived at the AirBnB at around 7pm.
The first night we ate in and had pizza at the house before going out to the bars. Since it was a Friday night everything was pretty busy, so the first bar, the Wild Goose Tavern, had a line halfway around the building to get in and we were later told that it’s basically the most popular bar in that general area. We skipped waiting in line and walked down the street to another spot, The Country Club.
This really unique bar/club had a really fun and unique vibe to it. It was very dimly lit with chandeliers and vintage-looking Edison bulbs, and on one side the walls were lined by deep-cushioned booths where each party could gather around a table. In the entry, there was a faux bookcase wall that was actually a secret door to another part of the building. Outside, there was a gated patio with tables and bench seating where you could enjoy the mild weather.
Out of all the bars we visited on this weekend trip, I personally enjoyed this one the most. I highly recommend checking this one out! The DJ was fairly decent and there was also a dance floor area where we made sure to make a fool of ourselves for a little while.
Day 2:
We started out our day by hopping on the Catalina Flyer ferry boat that took us from Newport Beach Harbor to the city of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. We boarded around 8:30 am, the ferry departed at 9:00, and we finally arrived to Catalina at around 10:30.
To be transparent, this trip was much longer than I had anticipated. Be prepared for an approximate 1.5-hour trip there and about 1.25 hours back.
Since I had never been on a boat, I opted to take some motion sickness medicine beforehand just to be on the safe side, and boy am I thankful I did…
None of us had any idea the boat ride there was going to be as rough as it was. As this was the only time I have sailed on that boat, I cannot attest to how the ride usually is, but this particular trip was pretty rough. I would like to chalk it up to the fact that there was a storm blowing in, but I can’t say for certain. In my estimation though, it wouldn’t be a popular experience if it was always that rough.
(Edit: I have recently spoken to several people who have traveled to Catalina by ferry more frequently, and they say that it's usually a very pleasant and smooth ride!)
Thanks to some foresight to take the motion sickness meds and the sheer luck that we chose to sit on the top deck which is open-air, I thankfully didn’t get sea sick, but I heard there was a good fair number of people below deck who weren’t so lucky, including the poor Bride of our group.
Once we arrived to Catalina though and experienced the sheer beauty of the island and all it has to offer, we quickly forgot about the rough ride there.
As a side note, they also have an airport as well as helicopter rides that can get you to and from the island in case you want to skip the ferry boat altogether.
Once there, you almost feel as though you’re in another world. As you walk through the little harbor town of Avalon, the colorful buildings, eclectic architecture, and the picturesque setting feel as though you’ve left the California Coast and entered a foreign Mediterranean region such as Greece or Italy.
It’s about a 15-minute walk from the harbor to the Descanso Beach Club where we had reserved two cabanas and a handful of chaise lounges.
This luxury experience is definitely a must-do in my opinion! We checked in at 11am, had food and cocktails delivered to us all day while we lounged around and soaked up the sun, and by 3:30 pm we packed up our things and began heading back towards the harbor where we would board the ferry at 4:00.
Side note: If you plan to snorkel, swim, or even just walk down to the water, BRING WATER SHOES. The beach is very rocky and in order to really enjoy it, you'll need a pair of shoes that'll stay on your feet in the water.
We took time to window shop and grab a couple of souvenirs and some of the girls grabbed an ice cream before we boarded the Catalina Flyer to sail back to Newport Beach.
I also managed to grab some Sea-Bands in the drug store just in case the trip back was a little rough like the ride there.
Thankfully, as we had been told, the trip back was a much better experience. We were informed that it’s because you’re moving with the tide on the way back. It was smooth sailing the whole way and we made it back in just a little over an hour.
My takeaway from this whole experience:
Know the weather prior to going. If it looks like there might be storms coming in, be prepared for a little bit of a rougher ride to the island.
If you’re worried or have never been on a boat over the ocean, buy some Sea-Bands, take the motion sickness meds, and maybe even some anti-nausea if you have some.
TAKE A JACKET. Even if it’s in the middle of the summer, when you’re out on the ocean it gets chilly. I learned this one the hard way and nearly froze the whole way there.
Sit on the top deck in the open air facing forward. (Hence why you’ll need a jacket.)
It’s very likely you won’t need it, but just to be safe and save yourself any unnecessary grievances, when you get on the boat, grab a barf bag. They should have them by each door. DO NOT go throw up in the bathrooms which have no fresh air or windows. Trust me on this one.
Have fun! Don't let your fears such as boats or the ocean keep you from experiencing this amazing adventure!
Once we got back to the house, everyone got cleaned up and ready for our themed night out. The theme was Disco Cowgirls and we all dressed up in our flashiest, most cheesy cowgirl attire.
Almost all of my items were from Amazon because I didn’t want to spend an exorbitant amount of money on items I likely wouldn’t get to wear very often.
My sparkly fishnet stockings (which are hard to see in these photos) and the white boots were the only two items not from Amazon and I loved them both!
The boots were the only investment piece of the outfit and I’m beyond happy I purchased them! They’re 100% leather and not a bright white, but more of an eggshell which makes them a little more timeless and flexible enough to work with more outfits.
For dinner we picked up a catered pasta order that the girls had scheduled prior to the trip from Mama D's Italian Kitchen and the food was amazing. 10/10 recommend giving them a try if you love Italian food! (At the time of posting this, they also have over 1,500 reviews on Google and 4.7 stars, so they are clearly well liked in the area!)
It was pretty late by the time we made it out to the bars, but the group chose to go to The Stag and we got in as soon as the UFC fight was over and those who had been watching it left.
This was probably my least favorite bar of the trip. It might just be the fact that I'm in my late 20's, or maybe it was just the crowd that night, but the atmosphere of this bar wasn’t really all that electric.
The crowd seemed like a very young early college-age and most everyone was already pretty hammered. We stayed for just a couple of drinks and then the bride decided to call it a night (which we were all pretty thankful for since we were fairly worn out from the day) and we headed back to the house.
Day 3:
Palm Sunday morning, I got up, grabbed a coffee at the coffee house on the corner called Reborn, and got ready to go to Mass at a little church called St. John Vianney Chapel on Balboa Island, just six minutes from the house we were staying at. It was a beautiful little church and I enjoyed it greatly.
We had lunch plans at a restaurant about 20 minutes away in the Huntington Beach area called Mama’s on 39 which is well known for the diverse menu and delicious food.
I ordered an Ahi Salad and their famous Bloody Mary, both of which were perfection.
From there we took a 20-30 minute walk down to Hwy 1 and the Main St. area of Huntington.
We popped into the rooftop bar of Tanner’s with some great ocean views and had a drink before perusing Main St. and grabbing another cocktail at a Tiki Bar.
Many shots of tequila later, we got dressed up again and went to a Playa Mesa which is a Mexican restaurant.
This was my least favorite food of the trip and I at least don’t recommend getting their fajitas. The staff was very friendly and accommodating though and you may have a better experience if you order something else.
We finished off the night at The Wild Goose right next door, the bar we had tried to get into on Friday night. It was pretty dead since this was now Sunday night, but we had a good time talking to some of the people there and even tried swing dancing to some of the music while playing darts with a local.
All in all, the trip was a success in my eyes. We were able to celebrate the Bride, bond with other friends and bridesmaids, and create memories while experiencing new things.
Newport Beach is the “it place” for beach bars as we were informed by some of the locals and I am looking forward to going back again sometime in the near future!
I hope this was helpful to you if you’re planning to visit Newport, Huntington, or Catalina Island anytime soon!
If it was, please share it with others or leave a comment down below! As always, let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo, Nickie
P.S. To watch my packing video, click here & consider giving me a follow on my socials if you haven't already! <3
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