My tip for OC is to do a weekly rental in a condo on the beach at one of the smaller condo places (5 stories or less). If you go north of 60th street, you want to avoid being next to one of the mega-condos (8 stories or more). If you shop around, you can pick up a 2 bath, 2 bedroom with a pullout couch in the living room for about $1,400 in August. This should be plenty for a family of 3-5. It might be a bit tight for 4 kids, but still doable.