Field Trip - Balboa

Today we visited Balboa Pier and Island and we had a blast!

We parked near Balboa Pier (to find it - you can google maps "Balboa Pier Newport Beach") where they have a rather large hour parking lot.  It is a quarter every 10 minutes ($1.50 an hour) to park there but well worth it. 

First Stop - The Beach!

The beach is right in front of the parking lot and it is a great beach!  It is a long beach filled with crushed shells that wow-ed my girls.  The pier is right there and is a wonderful distraction.  There is a Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier too.  We spent an hour playing with My Little Ponies, searching for sand crabs and of course looking for the prettiest shell on the beach! 

Next Up - The Ferry!

We walked to the other side of the Peninsula and then a little to the left and there is the ferry!  The kids just loved the ferry!  We took it across to Balboa Island and walked around a little but unfortunately had to head back early for another commitment.  If we had more time - we would have brought scooters and toured the island.

Ferry Prices:

• Car and Driver: $2.00;
• Motorcycles and Mopeds: $1.50;
• Adult with Bicycles: $1.25 cents;
• Children with bicycles $.75 cents
• Adults: 1.00 cents, Children 5-11 .50 cents; Children under 5: free.

 

On the Newport side of the ferry - there is the Balboa Fun Zone which has a small ferris wheel and an arcade.  There is also a Nautical Museum called the ExplorOcean (http://explorocean.org/) and from the outside it looked really neat!  If we had more time - this would have been on our list of things to explore!  Next time!