Coast · Neighborhood · Golden hour · Book P.94
Malibu
About
Malibu is a beach city strung along about 21 miles of Pacific Coast Highway, with the Santa Monica Mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. There's no real downtown: the sights are the beaches, piers and clifftops along the road: Malibu Pier, El Matador, Point Dume, Zuma. It's 30–45 minutes from Santa Monica; pick one or two beaches and save sunset for one of them.
Jasmine says
A lot of people turn Malibu into a checklist.
I actually think it's meant for 'wasting time.'
A stretch of PCH, a coffee, a beach,
then the whole last evening, saved for the ocean.
All these years later,
this is still the place that feels closest to the word 'California' for me.
Don’t rush Malibu. It doesn’t rush you.
Save your last evening for the ocean. Don't cram Malibu into a checklist.
Jasmine’s notes
- First-timers often skip it, but it feels less like a sight and more like California; after sunset the sea breeze gets cold, so bring a jacket.
- Address
- Malibu, CA
- Best time
- Golden hour
Where I wrote about it
- First Time in LA
- The Los Angeles Guide I Wish I Had
- LA Local Guide 001–010
- Everything I wish someone had told me before my first trip to LA
- One suitcase, one week of LA outfits
- 10 Reasons I Still Love LA
- Every LA Itinerary
- The LA fashion slang translator
- The LA dress code translator
- The LA Tesla model guide 2026
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