People say that it's gross and they don't want to swim in it; but the most disgusting thing that I've ever seen in it is seaweed. (Obviously that is disgusting to the extreme -but not worth abandoning the beach over)
There are several categories for rating beach the beach-going experience:
1) Crazy people,
2) waves,
3) wildlife
4) beach-side food.
Venice Beach:
1) Obviously they have the best crazy people and also the most of them. On the downside? They're crazy for pay.
2) Waves here, in my limited experience, are not great. I'm not now, nor will I ever be a surfer, so I can't speak to that -but for boogie-boarding they've been consistently underwhelming.
3) Wildlife: seagulls, skaters in thongs.
4) Food: classic boardwalk fare -nothing too exciting -but unpretentious and not crazy-expensive.
Santa Monica:
(Does this count as a different beach from Venice? I'm not sure.)
1) Crazy people: not sure if you count as crazy for having a sweet one-man-band.
2) Waves here are cute. I like this beach but it seems like it's kind of a beginners beach. Maybe I've just been on days when the waves were behaving themselves.
3) I saw a dolphin eating a fish at this beach and it wasn't that far away. I was very, very excited -dolphins are effing cool and I can pretend that I've been swimming with them now.
4) This food is mostly similar to the boardwalk stuff -the restaurants at the end of the pier seem more overpriced for the quality of the fare. There's a place at the entrance to the rides that has really horrible food in general -but delicious sweet potato fries.
Manhattan Beach:
1) Not a single crazy person in sight anywhere.
2) I've only been to this beach once, but the waves were enormous. They banged me around a lot and I thought it was exciting and properly terrifying as well.
3) I'm sure they had normal oceanic wildlife -but I was so terrified of the waves that I don't remember any specifics.
4) Everything around Manhattan beach seems very genteel and it made me feel really gauche when I did my usual swapping from wet bathing suit to clean underwear by the car. If Starbucks is an integral part of your beach experience this place is for you.
Zuma:
1) Crazy people here seem more genuinely insane and don't ask for anything. Last time I was there a guy stood at the edge of the water feeding seagulls so they flew around his head in a way that made me think of Hitchcock. When he took breaks in the feeding I got the impression he was hoping a wave would pull down my bikini top.
2) Waves here are big but not too big. Again, I'm so not an expert -but I like these waves. I feel like they're challenging enough to make me feel accomplished, while still small enough for enjoyment.
3) Food in Malibu seems to be universally sucky. Every place I've been is deep fried and crappy and has the extra advantage of being overpriced.
4) I saw a stingray glide over the sand and slide back with a wave here. It was picturesque and exotic to me. I also watched pelicans fishing. When they dive into the water they look like Japanese block-prints.
These are the beaches I've tried personally. I don't see anything on any of these beaches that made me think I needed to avoid swimming here, and I always feel perfectly healthy afterwards. So there.
P.S. Surf-forecast site.
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