Last Updated on December 5, 2024 by Lauren Belzer
I had the pleasure of planning my twin sister’s bachelorette weekend. We opted for early June so that it would be close to the wedding, but not too close.
My sister, Maddy, is not a party girl but still wanted a fun weekend away with her friends. When we were considering different locations, she kept coming back to the beach. Her happy place is my family’s Oregon Coast beach house, so she knew she wanted something beach-related.
All of her friends and bridesmaids were living on the West Coast, with only one being in Texas, so a West Coast bachelorette trip made the most sense to her. Ultimately, she decided on Orange County so that she could get some nicer weather than where she lives in the Pacific Northwest and could be close to the beach, but could have a mix of both fun outings and chill hangouts with her girls. The other two solidifiers were 1. the John Wayne Airport (SNA) is within a 15-20 minute Uber from where we ideally wanted to be and 2. it was nice for her to know that I live in the area so I could pitch her ideas and plan somewhere that I’m familiar with.
Before we jump into the weekend itinerary, let’s talk about the Airbnb we chose!
Where We Stayed
The Airbnb was the deciding factor for where in Orange County the bachelorette trip would primarily be. June is when things start to get a bit more “touristy” in Orange County, so our options were already limited, but we stumbled on a stunning beach house in Newport Beach, just a short walk away from the sand.
Our host was wonderful and made sure that we had all the information we needed for a great stay!
The house is technically two separate units: an upper unit with 3 bedrooms (1 king, 1 queen, 1 bunk bed), and a lower unit with 2 bedrooms (1 king, 1 bunk bed). Both units have their separate entrances on either side, with individual lock codes – so I’m pretty sure you can rent just the top or just the bottom unit if you have a smaller group, too.
Ahead of the trip, I went full Type-A on everyone and sent a complete Canva slideshow itinerary with themed outfits so everyone would know how to pack. Overboard? Maybe. But helpful? Absolutely. Feel free to click through below:
Thursday
The first day was the arrival day and check-in at the Airbnb. Since everyone was arriving at different times, we planned a very simple evening at the beach and a night in at the house. My little sister and I were the first to check in, so we blew up balloons, set up goodie bags, and planned out who would stay in what room.
While everyone was getting settled in, we ordered pizza for delivery and I had my younger sister, Perri, keep an eye on our Doordash order while I made my way down the beach to set up a picnic space. Before the weekend, I ordered two wooden picnic tables from Etsy, some placemats on Amazon, some melamine plates from Target, and a runner. I also picked up last-minute baby’s breath and tea light candles to simply decorate the table.
We had our pizza on the beach, which was so wholesome and wonderful, and then headed back to the house for an evening of wine & cocktails, and a lingerie shower! A few weeks ahead of the trip, I had everyone buy lingerie for the bride. They were told to bring it wrapped up or in a gift bag without a card or gift tag so that we could turn it into a game and have her guess who bought her what.
Friday
On the morning of the first full day, we had 10:30 am brunch reservations at Zinqué Newport Beach before we spent a few hours on a duffy boat that we rented from Electric Boat Rentals.
Our Airbnb was perfectly located not too far from a walk from Lido Marina Village, where brunch and the boat rental office were located, so we walked with my roller cooler full of mimosa fixings and charcuterie and had it at the table next to us until it was time to head down to the dock.
We rented the duffy for a few hours and enjoyed the sites of this fun section of Newport Beach before heading back to the house for drinks and Cards Against Humanity before we got ready for dinner and a night out.
For dinner, we had reservations at a tasty Mexican spot right on the marina, SOL Mexican Cocina. We ended up finishing earlier than we thought we would and didn’t have our rooftop bar reservation at Topside at the Lido House Hotel until later, so we popped next door to SOL at Tavern House Kitchen + Bar for a drink.
It was super cold and windy at Topside, so we all got one drink each and hung out as long as we could bear, and then popped down to Malarky’s Irish Pub for some warmer, indoor drinking, dancing, and singing along to college bangers!
As mentioned, my sister is not a party-hard kind of girl, so after those two spots, we finished the night with games, stories, and drinks back at the Airbnb before turning in for the night!
Saturday
On Saturday morning, we left room in the itinerary for people to sleep in, with no set breakfast plans. Before the weekend, I did a Costco run to stock up the Airbnb with food & drinks. That morning, we had eggs, bacon, muffins, yogurt, fruit, and all the goodies for the girls to make their breakfast whenever they woke up.
On the itinerary for the morning, but completely optional, was a walk down the beach and a stop for coffee at Crew Coffee & Cremerie. Only four of the nine of us went for the coffee walk!
Maddy wanted the last day together to be chill, so all we had planned was to hang out on the beach. We laid out, played some games, went back and forth to the house for snacks and sandwiches, and spent most of the day having fun in the sun! After we’d had enough, we all went back to freshen up for a casual dinner & drinks at Helmsman Ale House.
That final night, we walked down to Handel’s Ice Cream for a treat, and then we went back to the Airbnb, got in our sweats and pajamas with some wine, and played some fun games with lots of smiles and lots of laughs!
Sunday
Checkout on the final morning was at 10:00 am, so we woke up at a decent time to pack up and clean up the Airbnb before everyone had to catch their flights home.
It was a really fun weekend meeting and spending time with my sister’s friends, new and old – and even better to only have to drive 15 minutes back home when the festivities were over! 😉
If you couldn’t tell from our Lido-based weekend, we were trying to keep costs as reasonable as possible for everyone with limited need to jump in Ubers. Aside from airport Ubers and the ride to and from SOL on Friday night, we walked everywhere. Lido is one of my favorite areas in Newport Beach, and for those it was unfamiliar to, it was a great experience to be in our little Newport Beach bubble for a few days!
There’s truly nothing better than a well-rounded bachelorette weekend with a mix of fast- and slow-paced activities and a good group of girls who all get along. This weekend was exactly that. If you’re considering having a more “chill” bachelorette of your own or you’re in charge of planning a bachelorette trip for a more casual bride – consider Newport Beach. You won’t regret it!