<p>My daughter will be staying in a dorm at UC - Irvine for four weeks this summer.</p>
<p>Is it possible to take public transportation to the beach?</p>
<p>Are there coffee shops or whatever within walking distance?</p>
<p>I just want to get a sense of what she could do in her free time, which will be mostly evenings and Sundays.</p>
<p>Is she doing the COSMOS program?</p>
<p>No, it’s a ballet program – classes are elsewhere, UC-Irvine is being used for housing.</p>
<p>there is a small mall directly across the street from campus, called UCI Marketplace. It includes a couple of restaraunts, fast food joints, a Trader Joes, and 24-hr fitness, and Steelhead Brewing, amongst others.</p>
<p>The 'hood is suburban residential, i.e., extremely safe. UCI is kinda quiet on weekends, even when school is in session.</p>
<p>Bus 79 is direct from campus to Fashion Island, a shopper’s delight, and lotsa restaraunts. But, getting to Balboa Island in Newport Beach will take a transfer or two – trip time is ~1+ hour.</p>
<p>Check out OCTA for bus schedules.</p>
<p>It’s definitely suburb, not city, not like walking around block after block of the city, but there are lots of snack and shop places around, and UCI is really quite close to Newport Beach, tons of UCI students rent beach houses to live in for the school year, but some one more familiar would have to tell you the best option for busing. They would not have to go to Balboa to go to the beach, just down to the peninsula would work, too</p>
<p>fendrock: The 79 bus will indeed get your D to Newport Beach’s Fashion Island (somewhat of a holy grail of shopping), however if she wants to go to the “hub” of all things Orange County (the Irvine Spectrum) she’ll want to make a little more effort and get to the 686 bus (the 79 bus will get her a transfer). Getting to the beach isn’t so hard, it’s just a matter of which beach to go to…Go north on the 1 bus (again, the 79 provides a transfer) to go to Huntington Beach, or go south on the 1 bus to Laguna Beach. I personally fancy Laguna. It’s a neat artists village with a beautiful beach and mom & pop type shops, with lots of artsy goods to look at, places for ice cream, etc. Huntington is definitely more crowded with surfers, etc. Main Street in Huntington is full of “name brand” stores and shops. Some kids like that. My D & her friends drool over Laguna (different strokes for different folks).</p>
<p>Here’s a couple of links to what may be her life blood (the bus system). Now don’t balk, Orange County has the WORST public transportation system for a metropolis that I know, but there will likely be several other students in the program with a car. Make sure she offers up a few bucks for gas money and she should be just fine.</p>
<p>Bus route map: <a href=“404 - Orange County Transportation Authority”>http://www.octa.net/pdf/mar08/sysmap.pdf</a></p>
<p>Bus routes and maps individually: [OCTA</a> - Schedule & Maps](<a href=“404 - Orange County Transportation Authority”>Routes and Schedules - Orange County Transportation Authority)</p>
<p>And the bus company general info: [Welcome</a> To the Orange County Transportation Authority](<a href=“404 - Orange County Transportation Authority”>Keeping Orange County moving safely - Orange County Transportation Authority)</p>
<p>We visited Irvine last fall because we’re thinking of relocating there in a year or so. A realtor took us around and told us there are bike paths from Irvine all the way to the beach where you don’t even have to cross a road (all under and overpasses). I don’t know if that’s true and you would have to bike uphill to get back but it might be an option.</p>
<p>Marilyn, it’s true, and I’ve ridden the trail. It’s really beautiful (going along marsh, etc.), however there are quite a bit of hills once you get closer to the beach area, both to and from. These days my knees don’t enjoy the ride as much as they did when I moved here 11 years ago.</p>
<p>As a current student at UCI, I guess I can answer quite a bit.</p>
<p>1) There’s a Starbuck’s on campus.
2) For grocery shopping, there’s a Trader Joe’s across the street and an Albertsons like a 15-20 minute walk.
3) For malls, there’s Fashion Island (79 bus). Brea Mall (59 or 57 bus), The Block (57 bus), and Tustin Marketplace (79 bus)</p>
<p>Mostly for me, I usually head out by bus to one of the local malls to shop. It’s possible to actually try to visit an amusement park (either Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm) by bus as well which might as least be something fun to do on the weekend.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the tips, I am glad to hear she will be able to get out and about without a car.</p>
<p>Using public transportation is a skill she still needs to learn…:)</p>