Our location on Redondo Circle is a short drive from Pacific Coast Highway, so “where should I take it?” is an easy question to answer. If you’re planning an exotic car rental Huntington Beach trip this winter, the coast runs both ways from here and the canyons are within reach inland. December adds the boat tours of the Huntington Harbour Cruise of Lights. One rental day from Huntington Beach can cover the coast in the afternoon and the harbor lights after dark.
Below you’ll find the drive south to Newport and Laguna, a December evening around Huntington Harbour, two inland routes for people who want curves instead of ocean, and the cars from our current fleet we’d pick for each.
Exotic Car Rental Huntington Beach: Why Start Here?
Huntington Beach sits on the Orange County coast between Long Beach and Newport Beach. Head south on PCH and you reach Newport Beach and Laguna Beach; head north and the road passes Sunset Beach and Seal Beach on the way toward Long Beach and Los Angeles. Inland, the 405 and the 5 connect you with the rest of Orange County. That central spot is the practical case for starting a luxury car rental in Huntington Beach: no single direction is a long haul.
Starting here also means your first miles are on wide, quiet streets instead of a crowded downtown grid. With a car you’ve never driven, a few blocks of surface roads let you learn where the mirrors sit, how the brakes bite and how wide the front end really is before PCH gets busy.
If you’re comparing options across the county, our Orange County exotic and luxury rental page lists the categories and brands we carry, and the catalog shows which cars are open on your dates.
A PCH Coast Drive: Huntington Beach to Newport and Laguna
Most people pick up the car, point it south on Pacific Coast Highway and follow the ocean. You pass the Huntington Beach Pier and the state beach before the road crosses the Santa Ana River into Newport Beach. From there PCH runs past Newport’s harbor, through Corona del Mar and down to Crystal Cove State Park, where the shoreline turns into bluffs and the traffic thins out.
Laguna Beach is the natural turnaround. The town has galleries, coves and a downtown that’s easy to walk once you’ve parked. Our Laguna Beach rentals page covers renting from us for this stretch of coast.
Drive south first, with the ocean on your right. Plan a parking stop in Corona del Mar or Laguna rather than circling for street parking, and save the return leg for late afternoon, when the light over the water turns gold. The full drive to Laguna and back fits comfortably in an afternoon with a lunch stop, and you can stretch it into a full day without feeling rushed.
Things to Do in Huntington Beach in December: The Huntington Harbour Cruise of Lights
On a December evening, the local tradition is the Huntington Harbour Cruise of Lights, a narrated boat tour through the harbor’s channels, past homes, docks and boats decorated with thousands of lights. According to Visit Huntington Beach’s event listing, the most recent season ran December 19 to 23, with departures at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 pm and tours lasting about 50 minutes. Check this year’s dates before you plan around them.
The official Cruise of Lights FAQ explains the logistics. You park at the Huntington Harbour Mall rear lot at 16889 Algonquin Street, then take a five-minute shuttle bus to the yacht club to board. Tickets work as boarding passes, and phone orders placed at least seven days ahead are mailed. Because the cruise starts from a shared mall lot, arrive early and park the car where you can see it from the walkway. The official pages describe the event as a boat tour, so plan to see the lights from the water; the homes along the channels are private.
A good December evening looks like this: a late-afternoon drive along the coast, an early dinner near the harbor, then the 6:30 or 7:30 cruise. Bring a jacket, since the harbor gets cold once the sun is down.
Inland Options: Canyons and OC Evenings
If you’d rather feel a car work through corners than watch the ocean, Orange County’s canyon roads are close. Santiago Canyon Road runs along the foothills east of Irvine and Orange, and Ortega Highway (State Route 74) climbs out of San Juan Capistrano toward the Cleveland National Forest. Both are two-lane public roads with residents, cyclists and the occasional slow truck, so treat them as scenic drives with a few good curves rather than a racetrack.
Canyon roads reward an early start, before the traffic and the cyclists build up. Fill the tank before you leave the city, check the road conditions after rain, and turn around at a sensible point instead of pushing deeper than you planned.
For an evening inland, many Orange County restaurants and hotels offer valet, which takes the stress out of parking a wide car. If the night runs late, ask our team about a chauffeur so nobody in your group has to drive home.
Which Car for Which Plan?
Here’s how we’d match the drives above to cars in our current catalog:
- Coast drive for two: a convertible. The Porsche 911 Carrera 4S convertible and the Lamborghini Huracán Evo Spyder are both listed, and the McLaren 720S Spider brings a retractable hardtop. Our Orange County convertible rentals page shows them side by side.
- Coast drive for four: the Rolls-Royce Dawn, a four-seat convertible that suits slower, scenic miles.
- A group or a family: a super-SUV such as the Rolls-Royce Cullinan or the Lamborghini Urus, or a seven-seat Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum when everyone needs a real seat.
- Canyon morning: the Porsche 911 GTS or the 911 GT3 RS, both two-seat coupes built for this kind of road.
A convertible in December works fine if you drive with the heat on and the roof down only while the sun is out. Day rates are shown on each car’s page; the Carrera 4S convertible was listed from $595 a day and the Dawn from $1,095 a day when we wrote this. Popular cars book early around the holidays, so pick a first choice and a backup.
Booking Your Car From Our Huntington Beach Location
Our Huntington Beach location is at 18081 Redondo Circle, Suite B, Huntington Beach, CA 92648. Each listing spells out its own deposit and extra-mile charge, so read the listing for your chosen car ahead of your request. Requirements such as age also vary from car to car, which makes a quick call worth it before you commit.
Specials change from month to month. One running now is “Rent for two days, get the third day free,” and offers can’t be stacked with one another. Phone (949) 877-6485 or write to reservations@monzaexotics.com, and tell us the drive you have in mind.
When you’re ready, browse the fleet and book your exotic car rental in Huntington Beach, and we’ll help you match the car to the drive.
