Newport Beach or Balboa Island?

Question

We love the area but are torn on whether to stay on Balboa Island (or the Peninsula) or near the NB Pier.

Any reasons one is better than the other?

Answer 1

I'm a little confused by your question because the NB Pier is on the Balboa Peninsula..... but I think what you're asking is - how far down the Peninsula should you stay (Balboa Pier or NB Pier) or should you stay on the island or should you even look for a place on the mainland in the West part of town .... I'd say it depends on the where you want to spend your time.

So ask yourself: How much time do we want to spend doing things at the beach (between the Piers) versus how much time do we you want to spend in the harbour or elsewhere (e.g. over in the city side or even outside of Newport, like in Laguna, or Disney etc).

The issues are cost, the pain of hacking your beach gear back and forth, and time spent dealing with traffic. Getting your car to and from the beach is a painful experience - so you just don't want to do it, if you can avoid it!

Given this, if you want to spend 90% of your time at the beach, by all means stay on the Peninsula! I'd find a place between the Piers and as close to the oceanside as you can find/afford!

As I said, getting to the beach between the piers from NB proper means traffic, traffic, traffic in the summertime. (Those of us who live here in the main city frankly just avoid the peninsula entirely in the summer, if we can).

The Island is closer, and quieter, and CAN be a nice compromise, but keep in mind that you will have to hack your stuff back and forth - plus the cost of the ferry has gone up - if you walk (or bike) to the ferry and then ferry over - the ferry's now $1.25 each way for an adult and a bike (the bike's $.25). So if you have a group, even without bikes, you're at $2.00 per person per day... and you're hauling all your gear back and forth all the time.

But - if you want to do harbor stuff or split your time more evenly between beach and other things, the island is a definite winner. You're close enough to walk, ferry etc.( as noted above) but far enough away that if you want to drive somewhere, you don't have 90% of the traffic to deal with - in fact you can avoid the remaining bit of it almost entirely by not driving down Park or Balboa - stay in the edge alleys until you get to Marine, then you only have a few blocks of traffic to deal with to get to PCH. (but please do this carefully between noon and 1 or between 4-5 - all those cute kids in your way dressed in the red shorts and white t-shirts are our children and your future lifeguards).

Finally, if the beach is a minor deal for you - and you're really coming down to make runs to Dizzyland, SeaWorld, south Coast Plaza or Fashion Island, Laguna etc. - frankly, I'd look for a place in NB West (on the mainland). Ok, so the only downside to this is that it is heavily infused with partying college kids on long weekends - but it's easy in/easy out, and you can still get to the beach from there.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I would stay near the peir ane wald over and look at the shops on Balboa Island.

Answer 3

Both areas are pretty comparable. One advantage of Balboa Island is that it is quieter except over spring break time