Every now and then, I just need to go on a quick getaway with my chicas. The other weekend my friends and I decided to fly out to Malibu for the weekend for a brief escape from our hectic corporate jobs and entrepreneurial hustles. Here’s how we spent our short weekend—what we loved and what we thought was so-so.

WATCH MY VIDEO (AND CONTINUE READING BELOW):

ZUMA BEACH

Every time I venture out to Los Angeles, I always like to explore a new beach. Last time I went, I explored Santa Monica Beach and Point Dume. This time, we hit up Zuma Beach. We were not disappointed at all. We had a really relaxing evening with zero crowds and stayed until the sunset. Make sure to watch the video for the beautiful drone sequence of what Zuma Beach looks like from an aerial view.

DINNER AT MOONSHADOWS MALIBU

Pretty much every restaurant I go to on the Pacific Coast Highway is always wonderful, and Moonshadows Malibu was no exception. I purposely choose restaurants along the PCH to enjoy the beach views when I dine—but I’ve never actually experienced eating out there at nighttime until I went to Moonshadows.

The vibe was very sexy. The blue lighting, music, and view of the ocean from the patio set the mood. If you’re ever looking for a perfect date spot in Malibu, this is it.

MALIBU WINE TASTING

Ok, so obviously a wine tasting in Malibu is not that interesting when you consider the actual vineyards you can go to in other Californian cities. Of course, if you’re going to travel to California to do a wine tasting, there are much better places to visit (like Napa Valley). If you really like wine and you are in the Malibu area, then definitely do a wine tasting just for fun. But if you specifically want to travel to California to experience the wine scene, plan to go somewhere else that’s known for its wine.

Overall, we had a great time during the wine tasting, but the particular tour we went on was overpriced for what it was. While it was nice being chauffeured around to the different wine spots, we probably could have just taken Uber. Or maybe that’s just the rebellious traveler in me who usually avoids doing tours—I tend to find my own route when I travel rather than being glued to the hip with a tour guide.

BRUNCH AT L.A. CHAPTER

On our way back to the airport on Sunday, we decided to stop in downtown L.A. for brunch. The restaurant, L.A. Chapter at Ace Hotel, was such a great pick! Los Angeles has tons of great restaurants and this was one of them. Brunch was delicious and filling—plus there was a guy who worked there named Zion that some of my friends were crushing on. They seemed to really enjoy the restaurant for that reason in particular.

ROOFTOP COCKTAILS AT UPSTAIRS

You can’t dine at L.A. Chapter without heading up to Ace Hotel’s rooftop bar that’s so appropriately called Upstairs. Hands down, some of the best cocktails I’ve ever tasted in Los Angeles. I’m also really big on ambiances, and just like Moonshadows, the ambiance at Upstairs was very sexy. The DJ was fantastic, the views were beautiful, the décor was chic, and the overall vibe was very chill.

Be sure to watch the video at the top of this page to get more of a feel for what each of these places is like!

Do you enjoy weekend getaways? Tell me about your favorite weekend trip in the comment section below.

LIKE THIS POST? PIN IT!