Santa Monica answers the question most California trips force you to ask: beach town or city break? This eight-mile stretch of Los Angeles County manages both at once — wide sandy shores and surf culture on one side, a genuinely good restaurant and arts scene on the other. A recent round-up from Condé Nast Traveler sorts through the city's Airbnb options to find stays that put you in the middle of it all.
The picks lean on Superhost and Guest Favorite status, guest ratings, amenities and location, and they suit different kinds of trips. Families get a four-bedroom beachfront home. Solo travellers are pointed towards a loft with a spiral staircase. Food-focused visitors are steered to a breezy blue three-bedroom near the water. Neighbourhood matters too: Wilshire Montana offers palm-lined residential calm, while Ocean Park is where the buzziest restaurants and bars cluster.
Once you're there, the pier is unavoidable — the source is blunt about the crowds — but the Ferris wheel gives you ocean, city and mountain views in one spin, and the boardwalk connects you straight to the beach. From there it's volleyball, surf lessons or just claiming a patch of sand. The area around Ocean Park punches well above its reputation for food, with creative West Coast cooking that rivals anywhere in LA County.
The real advice, though, is to slow down. Santa Monica's famously mild weather makes it a walking city — beach to Main Street, ducking into shops and coffee spots along the way. It's one of the most walkable corners of LA County, and the Airbnbs highlighted here are all positioned with that in mind.
For travellers weighing an LA trip, this matters because Santa Monica solves the base-camp problem: you get beach holiday logistics (walk everywhere, no car needed locally) plus enough restaurants and culture that you won't run out of things to do. If you want to explore further into Los Angeles, you'll need a car or ride-shares — parking downtown is a headache and ride-share fares add up fast — but for a self-contained stay, a bike or electric scooter along the beach path is the fun, practical choice.
Full story via Condé Nast Traveler.
