Is Santa Monica Worth Visiting? (And Is It Part of LA?)

The first time our Uber dropped us off on Ocean Avenue, I was shocked! I stepped out of the car and the beach was right there in front of me and the pier and the Ferris wheel were down below the palms.

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In this guide 9 sections

It was stunning.

That was February 2024, on a day out from our hotel in Little Tokyo. Walking Palisades Park and out onto the pier felt magical. I remember thinking, "I wish we stayed here for our first visit!"

Is Santa Monica worth visiting? Yes! Cream and I came back the next February for a whole month, and it lived up to that first day.

Is Santa Monica Worth Visiting? My Quick Answer

Yes, absolutely. I give Santa Monica a 10/10. It's a fun beach town you can walk from end to end and it gives you the perfect LA vibe. Best of all, so much of it is free! You can see it all in one day, but I'd stay three or four days to really enjoy the beach.

Staying here is a different question. I think it depends on your goal.

What I Loved About Santa Monica

The Mornings Pull You Outside

We started our mornings with a walk. I loved the beach air and the sun on our faces, and everyone else was out doing the same thing. It's such an addictive energy! It made me want to be active and healthy and just stay outside.

Most days that walk was Palisades Park up on the cliffs, and I wrote up the whole routine in our Palisades Park morning walk with the coffee thermos and all.

You Can Enjoy It Without Spending Anything

I liked this part a lot. The pier is a little touristy but it's not pushy, and you don't have to spend any money there if you don't want to. You can eat there or go on the rides, or you can just lean on the railing and look at the ocean. It's as expensive or as free as you want.

A lot of famous places are hard to enjoy without paying for something, but this one isn't because the beach and Palisades Park cost nothing and neither does the pier. I'd read what to know about the Santa Monica Pier before you go, from the best time of day to parking.

Santa Monica Has a Sunset Culture

I think Santa Monica is a sunset culture. You can feel it in that laid-back vibe!

Most evenings of our month we walked the beach for the sunset, and it was never full. One evening we even saw a sea lion on the sand. So beautiful. That's still one of my biggest memories of the whole month.

You Can Walk Everywhere

From the first time we got dropped off, it was so simple to just walk around. The beach and the pier are right next to each other and Palisades Park and the Third Street Promenade are just up the hill from them. We didn't have a car for the month. We didn't need one!

What I Didn't Like About Santa Monica

It's Pricey (but So Is the Rest of LA)

I'll be honest. Santa Monica is a little pricey, and hotels are the big cost. On Kayak in October 2026, most hotels in town ran about $250 to $600 a night. Beachfront costs more. Then the 15% hotel tax goes on top.

Downtown LA is pricey too, though. Wherever you stay in LA, I'd expect the room to be the biggest line in your budget.

The Pier Gets Packed at Night

The pier gets really busy at night. I'd go during the day when it's calm. Still, I'd go back one night! You should see it lit up at least once. Mornings were for the people fishing and the birds, and the evenings had all the fun energy and the street performers.

You'll See Homelessness

We saw some homeless people in Santa Monica like you do across LA, but it wasn't a huge issue for us. We walked everywhere, morning to night. Just be city smart.

The Rest of LA Is a Long Ride Away

It's the one real downside for us. If you want to see the rest of LA, be ready for some long rides. Santa Monica is on the coast on the west side of LA, and the big sights are a long way from here.

To	Miles	Kilometers
Hollywood	14	23
Downtown LA	16	26
Griffith Observatory	20	32
Disneyland	41	66

Traffic makes them all longer. For Downtown, the Metro E Line helps. It runs from Downtown Santa Monica station to Little Tokyo in about 50 minutes. Everything else takes at least one transfer without a car. Most visitors who want the big sights rent a car for those days, and if that's your trip I'd compare rental cars at LAX before you land.

How Many Days Do You Need in Santa Monica?

• A day trip: enough to see it all. We've done it, and you can fit in the pier, Palisades Park, the Promenade, and a sunset. Our best things to do in Santa Monica has my one-day plan.
• Three or four days: the right amount if you want to enjoy the beach, not just see it.
• A week: could be too much, unless a beach vacation is exactly what you're after. Then it's not too long at all.
• A month: that's what we did, from mid-February to late March 2025.

Should You Stay in Santa Monica or Just Visit?

It depends on what you want from the trip.

Stay in Santa Monica if you want a beachy trip. I'd also base yourself here if you've done the big LA sights before and just want a vacation. It still works if you're fine driving a little more on your LA days. When we lived here, I never really left the area. It was just so perfect!

Visit for a day if your trip is built around Hollywood and Griffith or Downtown LA and Disneyland. You'd be driving a lot from the coast. I'd stay closer to those and come out to the beach for a day.

If you stay, I'd sleep within walking distance of the beach and the Promenade, like all three of our picks.

• Shutters on the Beach: the splurge, a hotel right on the sand, about a 9-minute walk from the pier
• The Pierside Santa Monica: at the pier entrance, with ocean views from many rooms
• Hampton Inn & Suites Santa Monica: next to the Downtown Santa Monica Metro station, a block from the Promenade, with free breakfast

We compared every area on where to stay in Santa Monica, from Downtown to the beachfront and Main Street. To check your dates, compare hotel prices near the beach and the pier.

What We'd Do on a First Visit

We'd start with these five. All free! You can walk from one to the next.

1. Palisades Park // The Clifftop Walk in the Morning

I'd go early while it's cool and the runners are out. Palisades Park runs along the top of the cliff on Ocean Avenue and the whole beach is below you while palm trees and benches line the path.

2. The Santa Monica Pier // Walk It by Day and by Night

We'd walk it once during the day and once at night for the lights.

It's free!

One thing has changed since our month. On October 20, 2026, the old neon entrance sign came off the pier for restoration. It should return in late 2027. In the meantime, a half-size copy stands on the pier.⁴

3. Sunset on the Beach // How Our Evenings Ended

This is how we'd end the day, on the sand. The pier gets busy at sunset, but the beach is so wide that you'll still find a quiet spot. It goes on for miles. You can walk as much or as little as you want.

4. Third Street Promenade // Shops and Food on Foot

I'd grab a meal here between the beach and Palisades Park. It's three car-free blocks just inland from the pier and it's lined with shops and restaurants, and street performers play right in the middle of it.

5. The Beach Path Toward Venice // A Different Vibe Next Door

We walked the paved path along the sand south from the pier into Venice. Venice has a totally different vibe. I'd do the walk, but I just love Santa Monica more. That's where I'd stay.

Is Santa Monica Part of LA?

Not officially. Santa Monica is its own city. It has its own city council and police, and even its own buses. But it's inside Los Angeles County, and the City of Los Angeles wraps around it on every side except the ocean. Is Santa Monica in Los Angeles, then? Sort of. Almost everyone just calls it LA, us included.

Santa Monica became a city on November 30, 1886.¹

What	About
Area	8.3 square miles (21.5 km²)
Residents	93,000
Visitors a year	8 million+
People in town during the day	250,000

Being its own city changes a few things for a visitor.

• The hotel tax is Santa Monica's own. It's 15% on top of your room rate, plus a small nightly tourism fee.²
• Short rentals have their own rules. You can only rent a whole home for 30 days or longer. For anything shorter, the host has to live there with you.³ A month-long rental like ours is fine.
• The buses are Santa Monica's. The city has run its own bus line since 1928. Today it's the Big Blue Bus. LA's Metro E Line also ends here, at Downtown Santa Monica station.
• Cross the border and you're in Los Angeles. Venice, just south along the beach, is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. You can walk from one city into the other on the beach path.

Santa Monica vs LA: How It Feels Different

I still felt like I was in LA, though. When you think of chill LA vibes, that's Santa Monica. Downtown LA is still a city and gives off city vibes. Santa Monica feels like a beach town.

You really notice it when you come back from the rest of LA. You get the ocean air and it's a few degrees cooler and everything is slower and cleaner and so much easier to walk. You see LA people doing LA things right next to all the touristy fun of the pier.

Why We'd Go Back

We'd still give it a perfect score. Santa Monica is unlike anything else. It's beautiful and fun, and after a whole month there it still felt as magical as that first walk along Palisades Park. I can still picture stepping out of that Uber on Ocean Avenue and seeing the Ferris wheel for the first time.

Next Steps for Your Santa Monica Trip

• Before you walk the pier: the best time of day, the rides, and parking.
• Things to do in Santa Monica: the free stuff, my one-day plan, and our date night.
• Santa Monica hotels by area: Downtown, the beachfront, Main Street, and more.
• Our Palisades Park walk: palms, benches, and coffee above the sand.
• LA in February: why spring clothes weren't enough.