World Cup Meets Beach Life

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There's very few places that let you combine international soccer with fun beach life. So that Huntington Beach has the combo of both, and there's a lot to do when it comes to the World Cup. And we're back with another episode of Unlocking Huntington Beach. What's going on? My name is Lane Stone, and we have another good one for you today.

Why Stay in Huntington Beach

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But listen, we are only days away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is going to be taking place in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, specifically here in Los Angeles. But why are we doing a video about LA? Well, the reason why is because it's going to attract millions of people. I think they're expecting a million people here in Southern California. And it's going to be a huge bump for places even outside of LA, like Orange County and Huntington Beach, because it starts at June 11th and goes until July, I believe, 14th. That is going to be peak summertime, and people already come to Huntington Beach to enjoy the summer. So maybe people are going to double up and they're going to do a summer vacation as well as a World Cup watch. But there's also a lot of World Cup activities that are happening in Orange County, like in Mission Viejo and Irvine. I believe they have practice facilities where people can go watch their teams practice. But there's a lot going on related to Huntington Beach and the World Cup. So we're going to be talking about where to stay, how to watch the game, how to get to the game games if you want to go to watch these games live. And let's just jump in and let's just start with why Huntington Beach. Well, as I alluded to earlier, uh Huntington Beach is going to be a center for areas to get to one, the practice facilities, two, the actual games over there in Los Angeles. And it's really not that far of a drive. You're talking about 35 to 40 miles. So you're talking about maybe an hour without traffic. Now let's just expect that there's going to be traffic. And let's just say, worst case scenario, you're sitting in traffic and it's 90 minutes, but they're going to be doing a whole bunch of different things, like different transportation ways to get there. So you're going to have uh public transportation opportunities. I even saw sky taxis. Uh, there's going to be Ubers and Lyfts that are going to be able to get you there as well to enjoy it. But an hour and a half, especially when you're on vacation, to get to a place uh that you want to enjoy is not that big of a deal, especially if you'd prefer to stay in Orange County, which I recommend. There's a lot of folks that come to Southern California for the first time and they were like, oh, they always want to go to Hollywood or they want to go to LA. And I always ask why. I mean, go to Orange County and see the difference. Go to Laguna Beach, go to Newport Beach, stay in Huntington Beach, stay, go travel around Orange County, and you're going to see why Orange County is a lot of times rated so much better to place to visit when compared to LA. So just expect there's going to be a million people coming to Southern California. Huntington Beach is going to get a bump of activity. And a lot of people that are already coming here for the summer are going to double up on their vacation and going to say, okay, I'm going to be here for the summer and I'm going to drive one day, an hour, an hour and a half to go watch a game in Inglewood, Los Angeles, California. So just expect that there's going to be a little bit more traffic, but an hour and a half, again, not that big of a deal. Higher hotel prices in the LA area. And you might see a little surcharge here as well just because of the summertime. But then there's going to be a little bit more congestion as well. So just, you know, if you're going to go to the game, leave early and leave earlier than you think. But take advantage of some transportation items that are going to be available specifically for the World Cup and when you're staying here in Huntington. But, you know, being in Huntington Beach, we have 10 miles of coastline. We have beach sunsets. We have great places to eat, stay. And if you don't go to the game and you want to watch the game, we're going to talk about how to watch the game. But it's such a walkable downtown and a more relaxed atmosphere than a lot of areas of LA. And a huge reason why I think a lot of people are going to choose Huntington Beach and Orange County as their destination, even when they're planning on going to the games over in uh Los Angeles.

Getting to SoFi and LA

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Okay, so number two, how far is Huntington Beach from the games? I think we already talked about this a little bit, but you're talking about 45 to 60 minutes during off-peak and closer to 90 minutes during heavier game day. You're what you're going to do is you're going to take the 405 north from Huntington Beach and then head to the 105 west towards SoFi Stadium there in Inglewood. And I would just imagine you're going to be here during peak summer season and World Cup. And the beautiful part, this is not a negative. The beautiful part about Huntington Beach is you're away from it all. You're away from the track. Like you're away from the freeways. So it, but the negatives of that is it does take a little bit of time to get to the 405. So if you're staying in the downtown Huntington Beach area, just figure it could potentially take you up to 20 minutes just to get to the 405. So plan accordingly, but there's a reason why there's uh it's such a beautiful place and a beautiful place to be and a highly, highly recommended area, even if it takes you a little bit longer to get to the games, because you're just gonna have a comfortable, relaxed environment here and you're really gonna enjoy summer in a clean way, where I, you know, you're gonna see uh Inglewood and Sof I Stand, very nice stadium, but some of the surrounding areas aren't gonna have the same appeal that they would in Orange County.

Best Watch Parties

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All right, segment three is going to be the best World Cup watch parties here in Huntington Beach. So if you're looking for a great place to watch the World Cup, I have a couple of recommendations and some uh local restaurants and spots that are already advertising fun things to come. And we'll start with Bruno's Bar and Grill. Uh, they're going all in this year for the World Cup, and they have daily watch parties from June 11th to July 19th. So there's always going to be some sort of a watch party no matter what country that you are going to be rooting for. There's going to be a watch party there at Bruno's. They're going to have 14 TVs, a giant drop-down main screen, live DJs, giveaways, line dancing lessons, shuffle dance instructions, and surprise events throughout the entire tournament. So no matter what day during the FIFA World Cup, um, if you want to go have a fun experience, check out Bruno's in Huntington Beach. It's going to be one of the craziest and loudest spots during the USA matches here in Huntington Beach. So uh looking forward to seeing what Bruno's has in store. Go check them out. Now, the beer garden at Old World, always a fun spot. Old World, if you haven't been, German Village, they have really authentic, you cool, unique European vibes. And what does that attract? That attracts a lot of people that are supporting certain countries, especially European countries, especially Germany. And Germany's always a powerhouse when it comes to soccer, but they are also doing daily watch parties from June 11th through uh July 19th. Uh, so you're gonna have uh jumbo screens, German beer, European food, and fans from all over the world watching together. Because when you have a million people coming to Southern California, they're not just coming from Northern California or other parts of the country. They are literally coming from all over the world for these events. Soccer's the number one sport in the entire world, and people get very passionate about supporting their countries. And every four years, it even the even the Americans that aren't the biggest soccer fans still tune in because it's just a fun experience. So, beer, um, beer, the beer garden at Old World is going to attract a lot of fun, diverse people and and and uh fans supporting their local countries. So it's gonna be that kind of place where I think strangers are gonna become friends uh in about 90 minutes of

Where to Stay

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gameplay. So uh moving on to the next segment, segment number four. Where are the best hotels to stay in Huntington Beach? And I'm gonna try to break it down into a couple different options for you. Because you have luxury stays, uh, I also want to talk about some budget-friendly options. And even the budget-friendly options during this time, peak summer in Huntington Beach, World Cup, additional uh people coming through. The prices are probably going to be expected to be higher than what you're normally going to see. But let's start with the luxury beachfront stays. You're gonna have the Pasea Hotel and Spa. That's one of the newer resorts here for Huntington Beach. They have they have great restaurants like the L'Rea, which is downstairs, and the Treehouse upstairs, serving up really good cocktails. So you really don't even have to leave the resort to get a good experience and good views and good food. But it's also right next to Pacific City, which houses some of the really best restaurants of Huntington Beach with views as well. So you have like Ola and you have the Brand, and then just down uh PCH, you can even go to Jolie and BLK as you get closer to Main Street. So there's a really good option when you're staying at the Paseya Hotel and Spa, not too far away from the uh Pasea Hotel and Spa is the Hyatt Regency and Huntington Beach. Again, really fun environment. They have like kind of like a tiki bar. They have the waterfront, the waterfront table, which is like a nice like luxury uh restaurant there as well. They have a bridge that goes directly over PCH into the beach. So it's gonna be a really fun environment for anybody that's staying at the Hyatt. It's a big hot, big hotel and resort, and they have a lot of uh rooms that are available and it's a good location as well. Then you have the waterfront beach resort and the Kimpton Shore break. The Kimpton Shore Break is gonna get you even closer to the downtown area. So if you want to walk to downtown like Main Street area, consider the Kimpton Shore Break. Again, they have really good restaurants there. And you'll notice on Main Street, if you if you've been here before and uh you'll see some new restaurants there, it's really elevated. And I think there's still even more to come, but I think you're gonna have an even different experience than what you remember in a good way on Main Street. Uh and if you're looking to stay closer to that area, consider the Kimpton Shore Break. So these luxury hotels, they all give you easy beach access, easy downtown access, ocean views, pools, walkable restaurants, and so much more. And so if you're looking for more of a luxury beachfront stay, consider those particular resorts. Now, some budget-friendly options. But again, when I say budget-friendly, it's all relative. And you're coming here during peak summer season, you're coming here during a time that uh the World Cup is happening. So you're probably gonna have elevated prices, but still most likely less expensive than the resorts that I just mentioned. But you're gonna have the Huntington Surf Inn, the Ocean Surf Inn in Suites, Best Western Surf City, and Extended State America. So make sure you do your homework on those places to see which ones are best suited for you. Uh, but they all have good locations here in Huntington Beach at more at more of a budget-friendly price. Now, you still can find vacation rentals through Airbnb and VRBO. Uh, a lot of Huntington Beach, uh, they they have rules when it comes to short-term rentals. Uh, for most cases, you're supposed to have 30 days or more when you're staying here. And there might be some of those available, especially if you're coming the entire time during World Cup. Let's say you're coming June 11th and staying until July 19th. You might even have more options for your 30 days or more short-term rentals. Now, there are some uh people that have permits and that are allowed to do short-term rentals less than 30 days. Uh, so you will see some of those available as well. But if you don't see that many available, just know that Huntington Beach cracks down on short-term rentals that are less than 30 days if you don't have the proper permitting and proper um okay from the city to do so because there are some hefty fines for homeowners that try to get away with it and do get caught and get caught. So uh you do have the luxury stays, you do have the budget-friendly stays, and you will still still see some short-term rental options on Airbnb and VRBO, but you might you might not see as many because of the regulations that we have here in the city of Huntington

Things to Do Between Games

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Beach. Moving on to the next segment, what to do between the matches? Okay, so now you've got places in Huntington Beach to watch. You've got here we've been talking about, you know, how to get to the matches if you want to watch them live. We talk about where to stay, but now we're gonna talk about what to do in between. So between games, Huntington Beach is known for their local surf. The weather's gonna be nice, the water will be a little bit warmer, but still encourage you if you're gonna be out there for a while, to at least have a spring suit. But you there's great surf here. Uh, you can bike the beach path, you can walk the pier, hit Pacific City, as I was mentioning to you earlier. So if you're staying at the Pasea or anywhere, even the Hyatt or the Hilton, uh, you can get to Pacific City really easy. You can grab coffee downtown. There's some really great spots. And uh if you want to know like some of the local spots here that I would recommend, how about we do this? I'll tell my team to put the Huntington Beach guide that I created in the show notes. And what we can do is talk about in the in the guide, I talk about best restaurants with a view. I talk about best coffee shops, best breakfast spots, best brunch spots. So you don't even have to guess on where to go. Just use my guide. It'll be it, the link will be in the show notes. So when we're talking about grabbing coffee downtown, you'll know exactly where to go. But watch sunset on the sand, do a beach bonfire at night. They've even added more beach bonfire pits here in Huntington Beach. Now, during the summertime, you're going to want to get to the beach a little bit earlier if you want a bonfire pit, because those do get taken relatively quickly. So make sure you plan accordingly, especially if you want to have a little bit of a bonfire. Uh, but there's very few places that let you combine international soccer with fun beach life. So that Huntington Beach has the combo of both, and there's a lot to do when it comes to the World

Local Tips and Wrap Up

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Cup. Moving on to segment six, we're gonna be talking about local tips for World Cup visitors. So if you're visiting Huntington Beach for the World Cup, here's what locals will tell you. Uh, downtown parking gets difficult and fast during major events. So we have two things happening. As I keep mentioning, we have the peak summer season, which is already gonna be a little bit busier here. Plus, we have people that are most likely going to be traveling here for the World Cup. So bring all tip number two, you might want to consider bringing some layers as well. And you're gonna be here during the summer. It's gonna be beautiful. It's going to be warm when the sun goes down. But let's say you're there, you're at the beach at nighttime, you're doing a bonfire. We do have a natural ocean breeze, which can be cooler. And sometimes people want to bring a light jacket or something, even in June and July. We have a little bit, especially early, early June, a little June gloom still here. And in the earlier mornings, you might have a little bit of a cooler weather when you're closer to the ocean because we have that natural ocean breeze. But then number three, do not underestimate Southern California traffic during the tournament. As I mentioned, if you just be like not yes, be safe, but be smart and leave early. And if you think you're not leaving early enough, leave even earlier than what you think. Uh, but people are trying to bounce around between uh downtown during major matches and going to Inglewood for the live matches. But then there's going to be a lot of people here that aren't even that are traveling here, that aren't even here for the World Cup. They just happen to be traveling here because it's summer. So you're gonna have that traffic there as well and a little bit of extra congestion, but be prepared for that. So there you have it. Uh, hopefully this video provided you everything you needed to know when it comes to where to stay, what to do, whether you're going live to the games in Inglewood, whether you're watching the games here at Bruno's or the Beer Garden Old World Village. I hope this guide, uh this video guide helps you and you're gonna have an amazing experience here in Huntington Beach during the World Cup time between June and July. And don't forget to check out the Huntington Beach guide that we have in the show notes if you want to know what to do, where to go, and how to have fun here in Huntington Beach. Thank you so much for watching. I love bringing these videos to you each and every week. Love Surf City, and I want to keep everybody watching uh in the know on all things happening in Huntington Beach. I leave this with you each and every week. Do good. Huntington Beach deserves it, and I'll see you on the next one.