The best little hike to unwind. Love this little park with all its sculptures. You park at the…read morecivic center and hike for five minutes to this little area. It's perfect for Easter. Happy Yelping!

Do you love rabbits? There's only one acceptable answer here…read more.. This public sculpture is so cute! It's like, "What are they doing? Are they swapping tales of how they con the humans out of extra snaccos by using their cuteness?" But in all seriousness, you should stop by Civic Center Park if you're ever in the area. There's plenty of free parking (both structure and outdoors). It's a nice and easy path, great for an evening stroll. And if you're lucky enough, you may even catch a glimpse of hares around the Bunnyhenge! Picture Tip: If you like a nice aerial view of Bunnyhenge (or other parts of the park) be sure to utilize the elevated walking path at the intersection. You can walk up (or use the elevator) and it will take you to a lookout platform that will give you an amazing shot.

Really enjoyed looking at all the art sculptures walking an approximate of 1.5 mile loop. The trail…read moreconsisted of cement and gravel paths. The flowers around the path were also in full bloom. There is also a cool sky bridge to take in the beautiful scenery. I could see the ocean! Parking is free and trail head starts at the beginning of the parking lot. There were also two small dog parks within the loop.

Wow, this is a great park!…read more There's a bunch of fun sculptures throughout this nice park. Bunnyhenge is probably the biggest one. There's also a dog park here for small and large dogs. I like how there's an accessible elevator for the bridge to connect the two parks so you don't have to cross the street. Parking is also easy since it's at the civic center. Do yourself a favor and check out the Newport library too!

Being a one-star giver is not easy. People read it and think bad thoughts. I feel like a hater…read more The business feels discouraged. But... you have to give me something to work with here Ghost Ship! I don't know how much the tickets were, $60? However much they were, they were not worth it. First Fail: We couldn't find it. We drove and drove, nervous about missing the take-off time, and drove right past it at least 3 times. And we are not dumb (of course not!). And we had a GPS (in case we were dumb). And they did not have ANY signs, not even when we drove almost right up to the ship. Also, b/c the ship will take off and we had tickets for one specific time, it was not a come whenever type of situation like other haunted places, which sucked and I had to rush out of a fun barbecue to make it to the ship. Second Fail: The line to get on the ship was huge. Like free preview of a movie at a ghetto theater HUGE. And what's more? The exhaust fumes from the ships was all I could breath. That's how we get cancer people. Please don't make me stand in line for 30 hour breathing in ship exhaust fumes. I don't want to go through chemo any earlier than I have to. Third Fail: Once we got on the ship, the whole thing just sucked. Fourth Fail: There were 3 floors on this ship. One floor had a random chick in a cage, not doing anything. A fortune teller, working for tips, a "show" of a girl in a box that has saw blades put into it. And another cage with a woman who gets pierced by feathers. She bled a little. It was gross. Not scary and not interesting. There was also a bar where you can purchase refreshments. Fifth Fail: Another floor was a show. That was so cheesy and retarded. Just a complete waste of time. Sixth Fail: There was NO BENEFIT to being on a boat. There was limited space, trapped with a ton of people, the long lines, and having to get there early to not miss sail. We were just in rooms the whole time. And b/c it was night time, didn't even get a cool view of the water. And no breeze or anything since all the stuff was indoors and it was freezing outside anyway. Seventh Fail: $10 for parking and then they direct you to park in a BANK ACROSS THE STREET. I could have done that for free. Yes I could have. But I wasn't driving, or paying, so whatever. But still. WTF????? Eight Fail: Decoration was sub-par. Actors were over-cheesy. Just a waste of time and money. The ship (not big) looked like any other guy's modern white ship. They just hung up a sign on the ship that said "Ghost Ship". It looked nothing like the website picture. Ninth Fail: The cruise was only for an hour. And we were so happy to get off. But count in driving there, and all the waiting before, and while on the ship, it comes to a good 3 hours of just wasted time. What was the one semi-acceptable part? The maze was okay and parts of it was even scary. Though part of it was gross, had to squeeze through these blown out tarp things. Gross. Who knows how many other dirty bodies have squeezed through it. EWWWW. Just don't go.

I want to start off my review by saying that they are removing negative comments on their facebook…read morepage. If they dont like what you are saying, they remove your comments, and eventually block you from writing any new ones. I had started a facebook page to allow people to post whatever they want, but I have pulled it down since they are threatening lawsuits to anyone who defames them. So without further ado, this is my personal review of ghostship. Its just my opinion and nothing more. I welcome you to take a ride on the ghostship and come to your own conclusion as to how good or bad the experience was. The title of my review is "Ghostshit - Terror sets Fail!" In my opinion, Ghostship was the worst haunted house experience I have ever been on. It was also the most expensive Haunted House Attraction I have ever been to. Three levels of Fail! Level one - A crummy maze that lasts a grand total of 5 minutes. It is not scary in any way. Its also not very easy to navigate. At one point I was lead in to a room that seemed to have no exit. So I sat there for a while waiting for something to happen. Finally an actor pointed at what was suppose to be the exit door. I went to open it, and it wouldnt budge. After a minute or two, an actor came in, and had to body slam the door to get it to open. At the very end of the maze your forced to squeeze through these blow up billows, that is similar to what a baby experiences when they exit the birth canal. Level two - A huge room where they expect you to spend more money on drinks. Its not really well put together, and there is only a handful of creepers inside. I didnt order a drink, so I wont comment on the quality of the libations they were serving. At the front of level two is the bow, which is were the majority of the guests accumulate after being dissapointed by the ghostship experience and wait till you get back to port. Level 3 - The most epic fail of it all. The execution scene. You can search for Ghostship on Youtube. I posted a video I took of the entire execution. You can hear everyone in the background laughing during the video. They're laughing because its the opposite of scary. Its downright hilarious at how awful it is. So what are my thoughts on this event? I beleive Thirty One Productions owes the people who paid for this event one of two things. 1) A full refund, or 2) Completley redo the event to make it as advertised, and then invite everyone back for a complimentary ride. The idea of a haunted house that sets sail is actually amazing, and what drew me to this event. The idea has the potential of being the premier haunted house event in Southern California. Unfortunatley it didnt live up to the hype in any way. My opinion is to save your money until they can redo the entire event to make it worth your money. See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n4wPmXUA9k

This is the nice little street that we would all love to live on. With no cars and very little…read morefoot traffic and fabulous water views, this fabulous little bit of paradise is so peaceful to walk along 24 hours a day. Buena Vista was planned as a regular street. However, the city decided to never pave it, and instead it just built a nice sidewalk/path through it. The "excess" waterfront land was divided into parcels the width of the lots behind them, and somehow the owners of those homes/lots became the owner of the waterfront parcels in front of them.

What a cute and quaint little island! I really loved visiting. There's plenty of free parking if…read moreyou drive down the residential streets, and you can see plenty of cute little homes. This would be a lovely place to own a vacation home. I absolutely love driving over the bridge with American flags flying on both sides; it's something you don't see often in SoCal. There are several cute shops on both sides of the main street, and there's really something for everyone. The island is known for two things: chocolate-covered frozen bananas and Balboa bars. I apparently missed the memo on the Balboa bars, but we got to visit both Dad's Donuts and Sugar 'n Spice for some frozen chocolate bananas, and they were lovely! I recommend coming in the morning to beat the rush. We brought lunch and went to the beach for a picnic on the park benches. It was a lovely day with family! I look forward to coming back to Balboa Island in the future!

We went on a cloudy weekday in late March. We parked in the parking lot on Palm street and took the…read moreferry there. At around 10:30 in the morning, there was plenty of parking available. We paid about $11 for 4 hours which comparing with Santa Monica is reasonable. On our way we also saw free street side parking , but those spots are not close to the ferries. There is a 5 minute walk from the parking lot to where the ferries are. You will have to cross a couple of streets. The ferries are pretty basic but they have capacity for 3 cars as well. Adults pay $2 each to get to the other side. They ONLY accept cash. There and back, the wait time was under a couple of minutes. The island itself is clean and serene. Other than a minimart, a fishing gear shop and a grocery store, there weren't any shops on the oceanfront walkway and no signage as to where you can find any stores. We walked for a bit and then returned to the mainland and Balboa village. Overall, we loved how clean and family friendly the beach and the pier and the island were. If we lived closer, we would visit more often for sure!

It's so beautiful, and it has so many interesting parks of all shapes and sizes (possible Yelp…read morecollection forthcoming). It's also expensive and exclusionary, and it panders to the worst instincts of upper-middle- and upper-class snobbery and materialism. Thankfully, the gated communities are less ubiquitous than you might think, and even near them, there are plenty of neighborhoods of $6.2 million homes whose driveways you can buzz and at the end of whose culs-de-sac you can make annoying lost-tourist U-turns. It has more nature than you think, and not only at the beach beach. The Balboa Peninsula retains much of the authentic beach-bum shabbiness that I remember and love from my childhood years, but even its tiny bungalows and poorly built alley houses are changing ever so slowly into McMansions. You definitely should come here. I still do. Over and over. For nostalgic reasons, obviously, but also because I've discovered so much new in the past ten years.

These stars are for the beaches. Clean, endless, easy free access, and easy free parking. What more…read morecan you ask for? There are lifeguard stations sprinkled throughout so I suppose there are lifeguards. I have not seen them though. If you park near the pier, there is metered parking. If you park further from there, it's free. There is a large public restroom at the start of the pier.

We had the most amazing wine tasting experience with Carson and the owner, JJ! We learned so much…read morefrom him, heard a great story, and had the best wine EVER. Thank you both for a great time - we'll be back soon with our family and friends!

We had the best time here! Carson was awesome! Super inviting and knowledgeable about the wine…read more 10/10 will come back. We live in San Diego and we Bought two tastings and bottles of wine. Ask for Carson if you come in!

Omgggg!! This place is amazing. Great humongous cookies. I love that their cookies are baked to…read moreperfection just the way a cookie should be-- crunchy in the outside and gooey chocolate in the inside. They give just enough chocolate chips and dough ratio. Their ensaymada with cheese is so nice and fluffy. This is my go to place if you're craving for a nice comfort cookie day.

I already knew I loved Paderia for their banana pudding (very similar to Magnolia Bakery's famous…read morebanana pudding), so I was so excited to be apart of this event. I tried the pistachio latte and the walnut chocolate chip cookie. The pistachio latte was good! It was pretty sweet and the pistachio flavor is very strong, giving it somewhat of a salted taste. But let me tell you, I am OBSESSED with the walnut chocolate chip cookie. It is very, very similar to the cookies at Levain Bakery. I'm not actually sure I can taste a difference. But since there aren't any Levains near me (that I know of), it's nice to know I can get my cookie fix at Paderia. The interior is also so beautiful/modern and the staff is really friendly. I could see this being a great place to grab some sweets and socialize. Thank you Yelp & Paderia for the experience.

Highly recommend taking a tour with Sidecar tours!!…read more My husband had been looking at this activity for a long time. He had found it through Groupon. Riding a sidecar in the middle of Temecula while being dropped off at several wineries without having to drive sounded like a unique and fun activity. By the time he was able to purchase it, only the cocktail tour was available. While we usually prefer cocktails, we found out after the fact that those start at 4:00pm and only Mon-Thurs. It didn't sound too fun to drive an hour away on a weekday in traffic to begin and come home late, but we wanted to check it out. A few days before our event was going to take place, the business called me to inform me that they are no longer doing cocktail tours at this time and were trying to get it off Groupon until the businesses working with them were more cooperative with pricing. While I was not thrilled about the last minute change, I was relieved because a big storm was coming the next day (never fails) and it would have been canceled anyway. I also didn't know until after that you mainly ride through Old Town and would not get nearly the amount of sidecar riding. However, they offered to change it to the wine tour and were able to squeeze us in three days later on the weekend so it worked out perfectly. Weather was on our side this time. It was bright and sunny. Bryan, our tour guide and driver texted me the morning of and gave us instructions on where to meet, and the waiver to sign, and that he would also be our professional photographer this day. It turns out Bryan was juggling three parties that day and was constantly on the go moving each party to the next stop. He introduced himself and explained what we would be doing and which wineries we would be visiting. He took a few pictures in the beginning and his phone may as well have been a professional camera! We first started with a fun ride throughout parts of Temecula and through a vineyard (literally!) as well. We got on one main road and went very fast! He gave us a lot of facts about Temecula and the vineyards as we rode. Our first stop was at Chapin winery where we were provided with six tastings of our choosing. I loved every selection! The pizza they made there smelled amazing, but we were full from breakfast (another time for sure!) Bryan explained that if we did want to eat pizza, please order it right away so it had time to cook and be eaten before he came back. He left us to be to relax and enjoy our wine while he took the previous group he had dropped off to the second winery. He texted me when he was on his way back to us and so we could get ready and whatnot. Once he arrived, we hopped back into the sidecar and got an even longer tour of the city and areas and had a longer time to enjoy the next sidecar ride. We stopped by some of the nearby animals such as llamas and he told us facts about the trees in their yard and about them, followed by some facts of the mountains and nearby homes and stopped for those views. Next we were brought to Bella Vista winery and were provided a full bottle of wine! We sat and relaxed and had some more wine while enjoying the views. The party before us was brought back to the starting point. Bryan took some more pictures and we brought the remaining wine back with us. It ended up being a perfect, sunny, great weather day and the business was great the whole time. Bryan was an amazing tour guide and photographer and we highly recommend him. A number of our friends are already considering trying this tour out after hearing about it and seeing the pictures.

This is a must! It was fun, informative, and a unique experience. The wine tasting at 1 winery and…read morea bottle at another is all included, as well as professional looking photos from the driver which are shared to you before the tour even ends. The driver dropped us off at another winery once the tour concluded so they can be flexible. Will do it again!

This tour is amazing! I went into it not expecting to be completely full from eating since it is a…read more"tasting" of different restaurants. I think some of the reviews seem to miss that and they believe you should walk away full. My group of friends and I decided to actually have lunch at one of the places we were able to taste! They even gave us a discount because we came back after the tour! Yes it is a bit of a walk, but Christa (our guide) had sent out an email the night prior to let us know the best places to park, how much walking we were doing, etc. Overall and amazing tour and am so happy to have something like this nearby! I can not wait to take the tour again and bring a new group of friends!

My family and I got together for the first time in a very long time, and we could not have picked a…read morebetter family activity. The lovely ladies that run Flavors of Newport Beach could not be more more helpful. First, we booked last minute. Second, my sister is heavily pregnant and our guide Christa went out of her way to make sure she offered substitutions for anything my sister could not eat/drink. Our needs were graciously accommodated and that was very much appreciated. Compared to other "food tours", this tour offers less to the gourmand but much more to those that want an insider's guide to Newport Beach. The tour lasted about 4 hours and included stops for food for oatmeal, salt water taffy, ahi tuna nachos, olive oil and vinegar, calamari, and ice cream. In between, leisurely strolling to observe noteworthy Balboa Island homes and historic landmarks. I have lived in the area for 15 years and learned a lot of interesting things about Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula. Christa is a friendly and knowledgeable guide. My out-of-town family raved about Christa and what a wonderful time they had on this tour. Points to me for picking to spend our day with Flavors of Newport Beach!!