The Fun Zone : In Visitor-Friendly Balboa Area, There’s Lots to Do for Little Cash

A vacation at the beach.

For some, the phrase conjures images of azure skies and swaying palm trees, deserted coves and crystal-clear water lapping on white sand beaches. The air is soft and warm, the ocean inviting and cool. And it all can be very, very expensive.

If you’re looking for the same thing but much cheaper, welcome to Balboa--a fun, financially feasible place in which visitors can travel from peninsula to island and back again.

Here is your cheap guide:

Getting There: The trick on a summer weekend, to avoid braiding your nerve endings, is to leave early. Saturday-afternoon gridlock--with or without the top down--is a California phenomenon, but it’s not one you need to experience firsthand. The Costa Mesa Freeway empties onto Newport Boulevard in a timely fashion until about 10 a.m. Come later than that and you’re camping.

Parking There: Arriving ahead of the crowds, you will have your choice of parking places. Proceed through Newport Beach until the numbered cross streets drop to single digits. Newport Boulevard becomes Balboa Boulevard on the peninsula and suddenly there’s plenty of room to park. Find a space without a meter to feed and hang on to your nickels and dimes. You’re going to need them later.

Don’t Give Me Granola: Since it’s still morning, the sun is probably hiding behind coastal clouds. Perfect weather to do a little comparison shopping for a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. If you’re anywhere near the corner of Balboa Boulevard and Washington Street, you won’t need a map. Just follow your nose to Bon Appetite Bakery and the most delectable blend of sugar, butter and frosting.

At $1.50, this breakfast of former champions is both priceless and a bargain. (The pate sandwich, for example, runs almost $5).

You can also get your coffee here, although the deli next door or the Winchell’s down the street will save you another all-important quarter. Either way, it’s best to have something strong to sip as you make your way to the . . .

Balboa Pavilion: Built as a railroad terminal in 1905, the Pavilion’s distinctive blue-and-white steeple towers over Main Street. Passing the tackle shop and gift store on street level, you’ll find a slippery ramp at the building’s side leading down to the dock. Here, small fishing boats unload the morning’s catch. Breathe deeply to take in the atmosphere. Sip your coffee to make it go away.

Ahoy, Matey: Now you’re ready for a ride on the Balboa Island Ferry, one of Southern California’s most scenic transportation bargains. Operating since 1909, the service offers three 64-foot flattops: the Admiral, the Captain and the Commodore.

Together, the boats carry an estimated 2.5 million passengers a year between the end of Palm Street to the head of Agate Street on Balboa Island. The trip lasts less than three minutes, but for just 25 cents (10 cents for kids, 45 cents for bikes, 65 cents for cars), you’re given a dramatic maritime introduction to the sights and sounds of Newport Harbor. On a summer day, as many as 25,000 boats fill the calm waters of the harbor, hailing from ports as far away as Honolulu, Alaska and Costa Rica.

Cheap Tours: As you pull out from the ferry dock, look east to where the harbor runs into Corona del Mar and turns out toward the ocean. A quarter-mile to the west, you’ll see a house with red tile roof surrounded by trees on the corner of Bay Island--this was the longtime summer home of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Farther to the right, on the next island down, stands another local landmark, John Wayne’s house.

Cheap Tours II: After disembarking, turn right and make your way down the sidewalk that circles Balboa Island. (No cars allowed here; the road is farther inland.) Only a few feet above sea level, this narrow strip of concrete sneaks between the water and a stunning array of million-dollar bay-front houses, each of which was built to maximize its harbor view. Of course, glass works two ways, so while the owners enjoy the view, you can enjoy a home tour 10 times more personal than “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”

Cheap Shopping: At the end of Balboa Island you’ll find a strip of shops and cafes that caters mostly to the profligate and spendthrift. Don’t give in now! Try on the swimsuits and funky surfwear, and buy a frozen banana if you must. But limit your actual souvenir purchases to a cheap pair of sunglasses or a few postcards. Whatever change you have after returning on the ferry will come in handy later.

Back on the peninsula, take a stroll through the center of town past the Balboa Theatre. If you’re a foreign-language movie buff (or if you like to pretend), you’ll find several posters for upcoming attractions to pique your interest.

One of the more adventurous theaters in Orange County, the Balboa screens first-run foreign and independent films, and still shows “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Fridays and Saturdays at midnight.

To avoid the $6-a-seat temptation, make sure you schedule this part of your walk between show times.

Cheap Thrills: While you still have momentum, pass up the opportunity to spend $40 on a few minutes’ worth of para-sailing. Head instead for a more budget-conscious display of aerial daredevilry in Peninsula Park, on the oceanfront between A and B streets.

A group of kite-flying enthusiasts who love to talk about their toys and show them off gathers here almost every day. Kites of all sizes, shapes and colors float on the breeze, darting between palm trees and swiveling in midair.

Head back toward Main Street and you’ll find the foot of Balboa Pier. Walking out over the ocean, you’ll take in a panorama of floating Frisbees, splashing bodysurfers, gliding skim-boarders and, if you’re lucky, a few jet-skiers or kayakers.

The pier is also one of the best vantage points to enjoy the only beach activity that’s more popular than sunbathing: watching other people sunbathe.

Penny Lunch: Once you get past the distractions, you’ll discover Ruby’s, a 1950s-themed restaurant at the end of Balboa Pier. Ruby’s almost always promises a long wait, but you don’t have to stand in line to take advantage of the burger joint’s one truly old-fashioned bargain: a gum ball machine that still costs a penny.

OK, you’ve done it. You’ve kept spending to a minimum, saving a nickel here and a quarter there. You’ve weeded out the folding money and gotten rid of the copper, and now your pockets are bulging with silver coins for the Balboa Fun Zone.

Featuring three arcades crowded with video games, pinball machines, a few World War II Air Force dogfight simulators, as well as a Ferris wheel and bumper cars, the Balboa Fun Zone is an Orange County institution. Restraint may not be possible here, so you might as well give in and spend every last quarter.

Free Beach: Now that you’ve toured both sides of Newport Harbor and spent all your money, you may find that you have a few minutes left to enjoy the only thing in town that’s always free: the beach. (That is why you came here, isn’t it?)

If the coastal scenery you prefer includes a high density of flesh, stay close to the pier, where the biggest crowds gather.

If not, take a sandy stroll for two blocks in either direction, until the radio noise fades and you can hear the surf. Away from the crowd, the number of sun worshipers diminishes.

But remember, the penny-wise ought not be sun-foolish. If you left your sun block at home, don’t wait until you’re on foot to buy some. Local merchants know that sun goop is a precious commodity when your nose begins to sizzle and they price it accordingly.

Saying Goodby: There’s really nothing you can do about the traffic on your way home, except be happy that you’re not one of those people headed the other direction, still searching for a parking spot.