Yes, it’s as gorgeous as you can imagine. Turquoise surf, light tan sand, sun even when clouds are promised, great seafood restaurants, quirky seaside shops, and miles and miles of hiking. Okay, did I get all of that into one sentence? Malibu is a weekend vacationer’s dream, and it’s laid back, hippy chic quietude can lull you into a sense of not wanting to do a damn thing, and isn’t that what some vacation’s should be all about?
A lot of people ask me about quick getaways that they can take, so, I decided to share this weekend with y’all. My boyfriend and I decided we’d head out to the coastal city for his football bye week last season, and relaxing isn’t the word. We rented a dope AirB&B spot that happened to be right off of the Pacific Coast Highway, and located on Point Dume National Park. Our backyard boasted a gorgeous, unobstructed view of the beach below, and just to the left in our view was Point Dume, a promontory that sticks out into the Pacific Ocean, and is also the namesake of the state park.
Looking to spend a long weekend away from it all? Then allow me to recommend Malibu. It’s located only 30 miles from downtown LA, and only took us about an hour to get there with a bit of traffic from LAX. While I usually write a long story about our time there, if you’re looking for the nitty gritty of our stay so that you can book your own, than this post is for you. But before I get into that, if you’re looking for a place to stay, I definitely recommend AirB&B, you can get an entire house to yourself, buy groceries at Pavilions or Vintage Grocers, get an oceanside view (if you can snag one of the homes I’m listing below), and grill outside fresh seafood from Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market! Or, if you’re looking for a more, pampered experience, the Malibu Beach Inn. It’s right on the Pacific, has newly updated guest suites and is located a hop skip and a jump from all the great restaurants.
Where to Stay:
Hotels
– Calamigos Guest Ranch and Beach Club, from $380 per night
– Malibu Beach Inn, from $489 per night
– Nobu Ryokan Malibu Hotel, from $3,500 per night (when you look this spot up, you’ll see why)
AirB&B
– 3 Bedroom Ocean View Malibu Hideaway – from $260 per night
– 2 Bedroom Designer Beach House – from $950 per night (we stayed at this one, gorgeous)
– 3 Bedroom Beach Condo – from $1750 per night
Itinerary:
Day 1
We flew into LAX on an early flight from our home state, got our bags and headed to get a rental car. After the we got our rental, it took us an hour to get to Malibu. Best part of the drive? The Pacific Coast Highway of course. Gorgeous views of the Pacific and Malibu’s iconic cliffs. As soon as we arrived at our AirB&B, we threw our bags down, unpacked our picnic basket (yeah, we’re corny like that lol) and hopped back in the car to head to Vintage Grocers. There, we picked up some prepared food, drinks, paid, packed our basket 
and headed down to Point Dume State Beach. Which I might add, is gorgeous, has the iconic California promontory that juts out into the ocean, all the Iron Man films, Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother and Entourage are among the many productions that were filmed here. Anyway! We ate, relaxed, enjoyed the beach and went for a hike a long the beach, and back up to the property we rented for the weekend. By that time, the day was pretty much over, and we were eager to relax in the house. For dinner, we headed on over for sushi at Nobu Malibu. As I’m sure you’ve heard, Nobu is definitely a see-and-be-seen hotspot, but the seafood and views of the Pacific are worth the hype alone.
Day 2
We got up early because we knew today was our last full day in The Bu, and went for another hike down to Point Dume. After, we threw on our clothes, dropped the top on our rental, and went to Malibu Seafood. Locals and travelers alike rave about the fish ‘n chips here, and being from Baltimore, Maryland, I’m super picky about seafood. The food definitely didn’t disappoint. We ate and enjoyed the views of the ocean across the street, then headed down the coast to Oxnard, Malibu. We rented a yacht to ourselves for the day through a company called Bella Luna Yacht Charters. We’d wanted to visit the Channel Islands, an archipelago of eight uninhabited islands off the coast of Malibu, but we didn’t want to ride in ferry over there, we wanted more of a personal experience. We met our captain and crew at the marina in Oxnard, CA, it was only about a 30 minute drive from Malibu, and 
embarked. We sailed out to the Anacapa Island, one of the channel islands, where we anchored and ate lunch. The Channel Islands are only accessible by boat, so if you’replanning a trip there, keep that in mind.
If you don’t mind the crowd, and the fact that the boat leaves you on these bucolic and uninhabited islands that have no running water, which could actually be an adventure, we just weren’t prepared for that lol, the Island Packers ferry is a much more thrifty option. Check out the scheduling and ticket options here: http://islandpackers.com/
When we got back to our spot, we were pretty tired, but napped, and since it was our last night in Malibu, we rallied and went to dinner at Moonshadow. Great seafood, and an even better view of the coast right from your seat on the balcony. I definitely recommend this spot.
Day 3
If you decide to take a weekend in Malibu, you have to get up to witness the iconic sunrise like we did. I was kind of bummed we had to go but work and real life called! We packed up, took one last drive down the PCH, and had breakfast at Duke’s Malibu. Named after surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku, the restaurants Hawaiian/Americana fusion breakfast buffet was delicious and well worth it the brief wait. When we arrived, even before the restaurant was open, there was a line to get in. I made reservations, so getting a table was pretty much painless.
Malibu really is just a gorgeous place to live and visit. The beach town vibes and bucolic ocean views will lull you into a desire to stay forever. I definitely recommend a weekend visit here. Let me know if you go!
Xx,
