Holidays in Long Beach

Long Beach is a port city in southern California and one of the foremost maritime centres in the USA. It offers extensive waterfront with possibilities for swimming, other water sports and taking boat cruises. Off the water, Long Beach is home to many museums, gardens and shopping malls.

Long Beach Holidays: Travel Essentials

The closest airport for Long Beach holidays is Long Beach Airport, though travellers can also land at Los Angeles International Airport. Visitors also sail in at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal. The Metro Blue Line (a light urban rail line) links Long Beach to Union Station in Los Angeles. Long Beach time is GMT-8. The Long Beach climate has sunshine for much of the year, and long dry summers with very little rainfall. As there are frequent low clouds and fog during the summer, spring or fall might be better seasons to visit Long Beach if travellers like clear skies with their waterfront.

The Long Beach Waterfront and Beyond

The waterfront has some great destinations to visit during Long Beach holidays, whether for swimming, outdoor sports, dining, animal viewing or just relaxing! The Pike at Rainbow Harbor is a vibrant destination along the waterfront which provides great views of the harbour. The Queen Mary hotel and museum ship is permanently moored in Long Beach. Here visitors can tour the former Cunard-White Star ocean liner from bow to the stern. For more boats, check out the Long Beach Marina which has more than 3,800 ships. Among them are Harbor Breeze cruise ships which offer whale watching tours.

Beyond the waterfront visit the Long Beach Museum of Art which includes a small collection of contemporary art. To get into the outdoors, visit the Japanese Garden, a 1.3 acre eastern themed garden with a tea house and koi ponds. For gardens of another sort, visit Rancho Los Alamitos Museum and walk its lush gardens and restored ranch barnyard.