Cottage on the Canal, Balboa Island

This is the ideal place for our family. We've come here for a week in the summer for several years now and love the accommodations. Perfect, quiet location on the water and at the same time close to main street. The house itself is very comfortable and well decorated and has a great front patio and dock as well as a BBQ area on a side patio which is more secluded when you feel like some privacy. The owners and property manager are super pleasant and easy to work with and do a great job in making this vacation rental feel like home. Oh, and thanks for the addition of the bicycles! Great way to get around the island or for a longer ride to back bay or Corona Del Mar.

This was the most relaxing place to stay. The cottage was well appointed and very clean with everything we needed, 2 BBQ's, bikes, beach chairs, well stocked kitchen, and plenty of chairs for the patio. We cooked and ate outside on the patio, loved being able to walk and ride bikes everywhere. We took the ferry to the beach and the Fun Zone, ate and shopped right around the corner. We rented an Duffy boat and cruised around the bay. Our friends and relatives that we usually visit preferred to come to the cottage to see us which saved us time not having to drive. The owner, John, was so helpful and always responded promptly to any questions I had. Being right on the canal was a lot of fun. People are always walking by or paddling by on the canal. We couldn't have asked for a better vacation. The only complaint I have is I wish there was more than one restaurant/bar that stayed open past 9pm on the island.

The property on Balboa Island is a delight! Cute and cozy with clean red, white and blue furnishings, you feel like you're right on the beach with its nautical theme. The lights on all the houses were sparkling, adding a festive glow that could be seen through the front dutch door. The main bedroom had a very comfortable bed which is important to us. It was a special time for us as our family had not been together in a long time, so all three of our children were with us. They did have to share the couch as the other two beds were not workable for the extra person. However, the owner was very accomodating in letting our 3rd son join us. The owners answered all our questions and were very welcoming as was the caretaker who left us our privacy after letting us in. I would recommend this property to a friend or relative. It's near the little town, and we had fun at the Olive Oil store (I still go back there to get olive oil!) and the Stabucks around the corner woke us up every morning with pastries and the New York Times! We watched the Christmas Boat Parade which was great fun, and took the car ferry over to the Peninsula. Just walking around the neighborhood looking at all the great houses is a good time. We rented a Duffy boat and took a picnic out on the bay one evening which I highly recommend. I hope someday we can return.