Ocean Beach
About
This beach in San Diego is a popular spot for its sun, sand, and surf. Other than its lively surfing scene, you can bring your furry friends to the dog-friendly beach, or take a stroll along the pier to watch the waves and try your hand at fishing—it's one of the only places in San Diego where you can fish without a license. During low tide, head down to the tide pools and see what creatures you can spot, or check out the cool shops along Newport Avenue and Voltaire Street. Explore Ocean Beach and other spots on a beach tour in San Diego, hop on a whale-watching tour, or drive through the neighborhood on a go-car adventure. – Tripadvisor
Duration: More than 3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
See what travellers are saying
  • Travels With Martin
    Boston, Massachusetts37 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Enjoying Ocean Beach
    I love staying here any time I come to San Diego. It's nice to watch the surfers as the sun sets over the pier. Lot's of good shops and restaurants. There are plenty of folks living on the street down there, but they are mostly good people and mind their own.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 6 October 2023
  • Randy L
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    It's not for everyone but I love it
    This may not be a family beach but it's a great place. There are homeless there, yes. There are homeless people all over San Diego, it's just a fact of life. The homeless people might ask for money but they don't bother anyone. Ocean Beach is a party area. Yes, it smells like weed. Weed is part of the California experience. If you are bothered by weed then go to LaJolla Beach or Coronado Beach. Those are the pricier areas to be in. Ocean Beach really has a lot of partying and weed use but Mission Beach and Pacific Beach have weed use too. Ocean Beach has some cliffs and a pier and a dog beach. If you are on the pier around sunset you can usually see dolphins swimming at the surface of the water off in the distant area. Ocean beach is also good for watching surfers. There is a Italian sandwich shop called Poma's about 0.3 to 0.5 mile away from the beach and they have some great food. There are other great restaurants there too but Poma's was my favorite spot to hit. About a mile south of there is Sunset Cliffs which is a romantic spot to watch the sunset. It's not a place for uptight people but for open minded people who want to have a good time it is a great place to go.
    Visited June 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 2 January 2024
  • Kevin P
    Dublin, Ireland6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great vibe.
    The beach itself is not the most beautiful but the connected town Newport is brilliant. It has great vibes, cafes, restuarants, bars and shops. I read some reviews about homeless. I was not aproached or bothered by anyone the whole day i spent there .
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 5 March 2024
  • Wendy J
    Salt Lake City, Utah91 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Different in the Best Way
    I love Ocean Beach. It's definitely not for everyone, there are unhoused people but not as many as I've seen in other parts of San Diego. I was there alone walking around and I never felt unsafe nor did anyone bother me for money or anything like that. Everyone was just chilling and minding their own business. The shops are eclectic, there are lots of great places to eat, and it is honestly very clean. I stop by OB anytime I'm in the area, I love the vibe there.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 29 March 2024
  • msc008
    Ottawa, Canada47 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great sand beach
    Great beach with wide sand sections. Good swimming/boogie boarding spot by tower 2. Get a firepit early if you want to have a sunset fire. Dog-friendly dog beach section. Lots of birds and wildlife along the river side. Saw a falcon fly by with a fish in it's talons. Good idea to shuffle your feet wading out to avoid stingray stings. I got a painful reminder of that this trip. My girls wanted to go in the surf every day instead of going to theme parks. The colorful characters in OB are part of what makes it what it is. They are friendlier than some demanding tourists. The pier has fallen into disrepair and is no longer usable. Will be interesting to see if it is rebuilt in coming years.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 21 April 2024
  • Eric H
    San Diego, California38 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Love OB
    OB is too good. Got here in January, haven’t left. Not gonna leave either. OB literally has everything a person needs. As I’ve read a few reviews, OB is not full of homeless, addicts, etc. OB DOES NOT smell like pee and poop, stop it. What you’ll find is really cool neighborhoods, gardens, murals, amazing foods, kind people, friendly happy dogs, great shops and barrels on a bitchin beach.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 28 April 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles866 reviews
Excellent
402
Very good
259
Average
107
Poor
55
Terrible
43

Andrew K
Chicago, IL9 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020 • Friends
Do you like boundary less homeless people? Dirtbags? Crappy dive bars filled with aggressively drunk dirt bags? Zero parking? Then ocean beach is the community for you! You too can pretend you are part of a "seaside hippy community" with "character." You can witness the nightly brawls on Newport Avenue as you dodge meth heads on your way back from the dirtiest beach in San Diego.

I hate when I have to go to this part of town because my other friends refuse to grow out of their 24 year old dive bar phase. Avoid OB if you have kids or standards.
Written 1 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sharonfpower
Fairhaven, MA2,421 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Couples
One of the worst beach experiences in San Diego. This beach is filthy. The streets are littered with trash and homeless population everywhere. They crap on the sidewalk and you can smell urine. The public bathrooms were disgusting. People sleeping on the beach. The businesses that are near the beach are decent but too bad you feel unsafe walking around the beach there.
Written 9 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Candice
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021 • Family
As a Southern California native we have been all over San Diego, but had yet to visit OB... WELL it’s pretty awful!!! I would never go back again, not a beach if you have children. It is reminesent of Venice beach; very dirty and so so so many homeless. Which is sad because it’s not their fault that they fell upon hard times lol but the asking for alcohol or asking if we wanted to buy weed was a bit much. Please visit a nicer beach such as ocean side, solana, Del Mar, Encinitas, or even La Jolla! Because if you have a family and visiting, lol you will be very surprised when you get here!
Written 17 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steve A
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Couples
The condo I rented was very good and the pier was nice but the area needs to be cleaned up. Everywhere I went, I'm stepping over homeless people. Wife didn't feel safe walking by the beach because you would have groups of kids blocking the path. The beach itself was fine but I wouldn't go back.
Written 16 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wendy J
Salt Lake City, UT91 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Solo
I love Ocean Beach. It's definitely not for everyone, there are unhoused people but not as many as I've seen in other parts of San Diego. I was there alone walking around and I never felt unsafe nor did anyone bother me for money or anything like that. Everyone was just chilling and minding their own business. The shops are eclectic, there are lots of great places to eat, and it is honestly very clean. I stop by OB anytime I'm in the area, I love the vibe there.
Written 29 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

msc008
Ottawa, Canada47 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
Great beach with wide sand sections. Good swimming/boogie boarding spot by tower 2. Get a firepit early if you want to have a sunset fire. Dog-friendly dog beach section. Lots of birds and wildlife along the river side. Saw a falcon fly by with a fish in it's talons. Good idea to shuffle your feet wading out to avoid stingray stings. I got a painful reminder of that this trip. My girls wanted to go in the surf every day instead of going to theme parks. The colorful characters in OB are part of what makes it what it is. They are friendlier than some demanding tourists. The pier has fallen into disrepair and is no longer usable. Will be interesting to see if it is rebuilt in coming years.
Written 21 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wendy B
12 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022 • Couples
My husband and I rented a house on Ocean Beach with another couple who have a young child. There were "campers" all around our property and all along the beach. Strange activity during the day but especially after dark. Yelling, loud music, burning trash to name a few. Down stairs we were afraid to open our doors or even the curtains. The smell of Marijuana day and night. It's just a rough area period. We spent Beach time at Coronado Beach to relax and not be stressed by all of the crazy things going on by our Beach house. Keep your children close to you and don't go out after dark. I have stayed on both Mission Beach and Mission Bay and felt safe. Avoid Ocean Beach!!!
Written 19 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

HealthProfessor
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Couples
We stayed in a lovely cottage near the beach. Not a swimming beach. Didn't feel safe due to all the mentally ill, homeless folks going through trash cans outside our Airbnb and all around the area and town. Lots of substance use. Reeked like marijuana and urine as we walked to the coffee shop in the OB town. The town is a party town. Not my cup of tea!
Written 18 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dennis b
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022 • Family
the homeless have taken over this area. Any time of day you would have to step over people sleeping on the sidewalks-public urination (male and female) was common even though public restrooms were a few feet away. Was probably a nice area some time ago.
Written 30 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kim M
Sammamish, WA100 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022 • Couples
I took my dogs down to Ocean Beach around 1pm recently. I found a parking spot and was getting my dogs out of the car and in front of me there were 2 obviously homeless men going through the garbage. As I continued to the boardwalk I passed many many homeless people. Some obviously living out of their cars in the main strip as well as some camped out in a park close to the lifeguard station. I walked by the public bathroom by the beach and the stench was awful. Very very dirty area. Disappointed to say the least. I was on the look out for a place for my husband and I to have dinner that night but after my quick walk there I was not coming back. I feel bad for the few restaurants there and the shops and really hope the city can get their act together and clean it up. We will not be back to this area sadly.
Written 25 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 720
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

OCEAN BEACH (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

All San Diego HotelsSan Diego Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in San Diego
All things to do in San Diego
RestaurantsFlightsHoliday RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesCar Hire