Yes, you can hear the ocean from the apartment and see it from the balcony. It was very pleasant to be so close to the ocean! A very brief walk from the apartment will take you to the beach itself and to the main street with plenty of restaurants and shops including a new grocery store. The beach crowd, social scene and restaurants were a bit to grunge for me so I spent every day in the more upscale Coronado Island which is a brief 25 minute drive. Leaving Ocean Beach in the morning for Coronado and returning in the evening was an easy drive because the majority of traffic was going the other direction. Balboa Park is an easy drive as well. The apartment worked well for me and my travel companion who needed separate rooms for sleeping.