Pacific Beach and Crystal Pier

Pacific Beach known by the locals as PB is a town that is just south of La Jolla and north of Mission Beach, California. PB has always been known by many as a party town because it was largely populated by a younger crowd including students and surfers. The low rents and proximately to the Pacific Ocean appealed to the young crowd and still does.

However, more and more professionals are moving to the area because of rising costs in rents and property. Still appealing to this youthful crowd, PB is known as one of the best areas for its nightlife because of its variety of bars and restaurants.

With 3 miles of boardwalk and its lively atmosphere, PB is a great place to hang at the beach, eat, drink, or just people watch. Along with the funky beach bars and restaurants, PB also has sophisticated and modern hotels and fine dining establishments.

The main surfing beach is at Tourmaline Surfing Park. Tourmaline Street features a medium sized parking lot, bathrooms, and a small picnic area nearby. While mostly a surfing beach, on any windy day the kite boarders and windsurfers come out to play.

In the summer PB is hopping and as mentioned a popular place to be. There are paid parking lots along the way but I am told parking can be challenging if you don’t get there early enough.

As in most beach cities you can find rental places for bikes, bodyboards, surf boards, surreys, etc. Surfing and swimming is segregated in some areas and North PB is lifeguard protected and a great place for the family.

A big draw for me in PB is the Crystal Pier cottages. Always looking for a place to stay and report as a California staycation, the cottages sit right on top of the pier. Your patio situates you right on the edge of the pier with a a great view of Mission Beach to your south , La Jolla to your north and of course the beautiful Pacific Ocean to the west. Depending on the tides you will be right over the water or right over the beach. Either way, it looks like a fantastic place to stay.

There are one bedroom suites, two bedroom, as well as studios. All Cottages and Suites come with fully equipped kitchenettes, separate bedroom and living room, private decks and room to park one car. Crystal Pier also provides a gated key entry and night security.

A little pricey, the cottages range from $175.00 to $525.00 per night but that is to be expected as it is a unique place to stay and I feel worth the price. The $525 price is for the two bedrooms so cram in a few people to share the cost.

You can walk to the restaurants and nightlife that PB is famous for, you can enjoy the beach below, fish off of the pier, or journey to close by San Diego for all of its attractions.