Choosing Venice Beach or Santa Monica comes down to the kind of waterfront day you want: Venice has Ocean Front Walk, recreation areas and nearby canals, while Santa Monica pairs a long beach with its pier and paths. Both are coastal trip options from the LAX area, where Skyways Hotel, a hotel in Los Angeles, is located.
- Venice Beach has almost 3 miles of coastline and 238 acres.
- Santa Monica State Beach stretches for two miles.
- The Venice Canals can be visited year-round without a ticket or reservation.
- Santa Monica Pier is at Ocean and Colorado in Santa Monica.
What visitors mean by Venice Beach
Venice Beach means more than sand: its shoreline sits alongside Ocean Front Walk, courts, a bike trail and Muscle Beach.
Los Angeles County describes Venice Beach as almost 3 miles of coastline across 238 acres. Activities include swimming, surfing, fishing, volleyball and biking, and beach lifeguards are present during daylight hours. Ocean Front Walk and Muscle Beach are among the recognizable stops, alongside tennis courts, a Skate Dancing plaza and volleyball courts.
For a quieter change of scene, the Venice Canals are a separate residential-area stroll. The canals are free to visit year-round, with no ticket or reservation required. Their history reaches back to Venice of America, founded as a beach resort town by Abbot Kinney in 1905; its grand opening featured 16 miles of canals.
You can use a rowboat, canoe, kayak or another human-propelled boat on the canals, but motorized boats are not allowed. Boats can launch at the public ramp at 501 North Venice Boulevard. Commercial boat rentals are not allowed in this residential area.
Venice Beach has three parking lots with more than 1,200 spaces. Bus 1 stops at Washington Boulevard and Dell Avenue, and the LA County Free Beach Shuttle stops at Washington Boulevard and Pacific Avenue. For a broader view of local transport, the guide to getting around Los Angeles without a car is relevant to planning your outing.
What Santa Monica offers
Santa Monica combines a two-mile beach with the Santa Monica Pier, picnic areas, courts, shops and paths for walking and biking.
Santa Monica State Beach spreads activities along the coast: you can find volleyball and basketball courts as well as biking and walking paths. The pier provides a distinct waterfront landmark at the intersection of Ocean and Colorado. The pier is open daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
The pier’s historic merry-go-round has a more limited schedule: it is open Monday and Thursday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. If you want to make the pier a central stop, its hours offer a concrete timing cue; the beach itself has picnic areas and room for a longer walk or ride along the coast.
Santa Monica Beach and Pier are managed by the City of Santa Monica. The beach and pier are open seven days a week. You can find more practical day-trip context in this guide to a Santa Monica day trip from the LAX area.
How do Venice and Santa Monica differ along the waterfront?
Venice puts a recreation-filled beachfront and residential canals side by side, while Santa Monica links its beach activities with a prominent pier.
At Venice, Ocean Front Walk, the beach and recreation spaces give the waterfront several activity hubs. The canals add a distinct residential setting nearby, with a history tied to the town’s early resort development. The combination can make sense if you want to include both beach time and a canals visit in one outing.
Santa Monica’s waterfront is organized around a two-mile beach and the pier. Picnic areas, shops, courts and walking and biking paths add options along the shore. If a pier is central to your plans, Santa Monica offers that landmark directly on the beach; for canals, Venice is the choice.
In short, the shared ground is beach recreation and paths, but the defining features differ: Venice has Ocean Front Walk and the canals, while Santa Monica has its pier and a two-mile beach with picnic areas and shops.
How do you get to either beach from the LAX area?
Both beaches are LAX-area outing options, but access details are more specific for Venice than for Santa Monica.
For Venice Beach, Bus 1 stops at Washington Boulevard and Dell Avenue, and the LA County Free Beach Shuttle stops at Washington Boulevard and Pacific Avenue. Parking lots and street parking are open from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
For Santa Monica, parking options include the Pier parking deck, the beach lot at 1550 Appian Way (Lot 1 North), Downtown Public Parking Structures and Beach Lot 4-South. The Pier deck is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM–8:00 PM; Lot 1 North is open daily, 6:00 AM to 2:00 AM, and has accessible parking.
Before you go, check the official site for the relevant operator: Los Angeles County for Venice Beach details, and the City of Santa Monica or Santa Monica Pier for Santa Monica access and hours.
Choosing based on time and interests
Choose Venice for Ocean Front Walk, recreation spaces and the canals; choose Santa Monica for a beach day built around the pier, picnic areas and coastal paths.
If you want several distinct stops, Venice offers a straightforward pairing of beachfront recreation and a year-round canals visit. Keep in mind that the canals are residential and do not allow commercial boat rentals.
Santa Monica suits plans centered on the pier and beach amenities, with the pier’s daily hours and the merry-go-round’s more limited schedule worth factoring into your timing.
For a more active beach outing, both destinations offer options such as biking or volleyball; Venice also has swimming, surfing and fishing, while Santa Monica has basketball courts. For a slower itinerary, Santa Monica’s picnic areas and walking paths or the Venice Canals offer different ways to spend time away from the main beachfront.
FAQs
Are the Venice Canals free to visit?
Yes. The Venice Canals can be visited year-round without a ticket or reservation.
Can you rent a boat on the Venice Canals?
Commercial boat rentals are not allowed in the residential canal area. Human-propelled boats are permitted, and motorized boats are not.
How long is Santa Monica State Beach?
Santa Monica State Beach is two miles long and includes picnic areas, courts, shops, and walking and biking paths.
What are the Santa Monica Pier’s hours?
The Pier is open daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. The historic merry-go-round has separate hours and is not open every day.