Balboa Island Is the Best Afternoon You Haven't Had Yet

Newport Beach has its glamour — the yachts, the golf courses, the restaurants that require planning. All of it is real and much of it is worth your time. But the best afternoon in Newport Beach costs almost nothing, fits in a few hours, and begins at the end of a very short ferry ride.

Balboa Island has been around for over a century — a charming man-made island filled with cozy homes and mouth-watering eateries where you can enjoy a scenic walk along the waterfront. The ferry from the Balboa Peninsula runs from 6:30 a.m. to midnight, is cash only, and takes approximately four minutes. It is one of the more civilized ways to cross a body of water in Southern California.

Once on the island, the instruction is simple: walk. Marine Avenue is the main street, lined with shops and cafes and the kind of low-key charm that Newport Beach saves for the people who actually live there. The Balboa Bar — a block of vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate and rolled in whatever toppings you prefer — has been a rite of passage here for decades. It remains non-negotiable.

For the morning crowd, coffee from Huskins with the walkway circling the island is the correct way to start any Newport Beach day. For the afternoon crowd, the waterfront path offers unobstructed views of the harbor — sailboats, paddleboarders, and the occasional absurdly large yacht moving through water that catches the Southern California light in a way that makes everything look slightly better than it is.

And if you're there in the evening, stay for it. The harbor at sunset, watched from a bench on the island's edge with something cold in hand, is Newport Beach at its most honest — generous, unhurried, completely at peace with being exactly what it is.

Getting There: Balboa Ferry · From Balboa Blvd. & Palm St., Newport Beach Peninsula · Cash only · Runs 6:30 a.m.–midnight · balboapeninsulaferry.com