You can’t help but smile when you look at this picture. Isn’t that what it’s all about — building memories as a family? Newport Coast Villas is a “BEST” place for building family memories. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — this resort is wonderful because there is something to do for any age.
COVID has definitely affected what activities can be done at the resort. But there are still a lot of good options. As of TODAY (Oct 29, 2020) the following activities are available:
- Swimming pools at 50% capacity
- Tennis courts, basketball court, volleyball, putting green are all available if you bring your own balls
- Sandbox if you bring own sand toys
- Trolley car to and from Crystal Cove beach. 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
- Bike rentals available onsite from a 3rd party vendor.
- Ping pong tables
Activities currently closed because of COVID:
- Children’s activity center
- Movie Theatre
Since the Children’s activity center is closed (it’s AMAZING when it’s open for the kids), we came up with our own activities for the children. We had kids crafts and things for them to make, but the biggest HIT for them all week was Face painting. We did it on the deck so there were no messy accidents. Just a thought — Easy smeazy and a winner!
Some TIPS and TRICKS for activities.
The pools are a must. And while you’re at the main pool, make sure you get one of their peach smoothies — OH MY GOODNESS! The splash pad is a must if you have small children. When we were there in July, the splash pad didn’t open until 11:00 am, and when it did, there were loud squeals of joy from all the kids as they ran to the slides.
Crystal Cove Beach is nice and convenient. You can walk to it, or ride the trolley (our grandchildren loved it because they thought they were on the trolley from Daniel Tiger TV show — HA HA!!) What we usually do is we drive down to the beach, going through the State Park ranger station. Just tell them you are just dropping off the others and they will let you through, no charge. Drop them off right where the trolley and restaurant shuttle drops off/picks up and drive back to the resort. It’s close for everyone to walk to the beach while the driver returns to the resort and catches the shuttle/trolley back. Looking for crabs in the rocks is a favorite.
In the past, we would go to the beach for one day and spend the other days at the resort pools and activities. However, we purchased a canopy that easily sets up and provides shade this year.
Then we would pull out our camping chairs and sit under the canopy in the shade. IT WAS A GAME CHANGER!!!! We loved watching the kids build sand castles and jump the waves. The older kids would body surf and swim.
And to make the situation even better, we got a sand blanket. NO SAND ON OUR STUFF!!!! BAM!!! Just simply brush the sand and it magically disappears — it really does!
They didn’t track sand onto our towels and we stayed cool. Not only did these items make it so much more enjoyable for us, but it was wonderful for the others as well. A baby even napped in the shade! We ended up staying a whole extra day at the beach, and next time we might spend even more time there. Call us “novice beach goers” — that’s OK. We learn as we go, don’t we?
Since I’m on the subject of the beach, I need to mention Newport Beach. It is just under 7 miles away, but is SUCH A NICE BEACH!!! It is on Balboa Island – follow your navigator to get there. Go early to find parking – it costs money. We usually park across the street from Charlie’s Chili (a very good, reasonably priced place to eat). The pier is right there, and we head off to the left of the pier. Pristine sand, wonderful waves to play in, and the boardwalk along the beach to rent bikes, eat treats, and take a stroll to the other end of the island. It’s a fun outing for everyone. And the beach is better than Crystal Cove – though way more crowded and harder to travel to.
OK, this next tip really rips at my heart. Not something we can do now with COVID, but hopefully in the future. I mention it because we went to Newport for many years before we realized how close we were to Disneyland!! It’s 20 miles away, and traffic is unexpectedly light going and coming. Enough of this subject before I get very sad . . . . .