One of the great things of living in Los Angeles was that it was near so many places you can can easily check out over the weekend, let alone a day! Santa Barbara was no exception, at only about an hour and a half you would find this cute beach town, which was perfect for a quick day trip. Keep on reading and learn how to make the most of a quick, nonetheless epic, Santa Barbara Day trip!
Table of Contents
Where is Santa Barbara?
One of my many dreams includes doing a major road trip up the West coast! Now if you have a similar dream know that Santa Barbara can be a pit stop as it lies near the coast off of highway 101. There are many ways to get to Santa Barbara for a day trip. At about 90 miles north of Los Angeles you can reach Santa Barbara by driving in about an hour and a half to 3 hours (due to traffic). If you fly into LAX make sure to time your flight accordingly in order to avoid rush hour, because LA traffic is no joke!
Another option I’d recommend is taking the AMTRAK train to Santa Barbara! It does take about 2 and a half hours to get there, but for about $40+ ticket it’s not too bad, especially with all these gas prices going up!
When’s The Ideal Time To Visit?
Let’s face it, the biggest perk California has is it’s all-year round perfect weather! The only exception I would maybe make are for Holiday weekends, but even then I would still make an effort to head out and explore. After all who doesn’t love a 3-day weekend?!
Santa Barbara Day Trip Itinerary
Old Mission
Get to know a little bit of what makes Santa Barbara unique by exploring one of its historical sites, Old Mission. It’s one of the many missions all along the California coast. The Mission served as a gathering place and spiritual escape for many since the late 1700’s.
There’s a great self-guided tour you can do for $15 to learn more about the history. Once you’re there you’ll appreciate some fun facts, the beautiful architecture and views from the top of the hill. If you’d like to learn more about hours or service make sure to check out their site before visiting.
Rose Garden
Across Old Mission, there’s a huge lawn where you can lay down and enjoy a picnic. Next to that you will find this beautiful rose garden you can walk through. There are so many different varieties of roses it’s hard not to stop and smell them. This garden is small, but free to the public. Makes a great place to practice your photography skills (as you can see haha).
Court House
In my opinion, the Santa Barbara court house is what makes Santa Barbara uniquely beautiful. Obviously, this isn’t your average courthouse, as you can see it’s breathtaking! I fell in love with this place so much I wanted to elope here. Make sure you check this place out! You will more often than not see couples getting their wedding pictures taken while you’re visiting.
Downtown
Head to downtown and shop around at any of the small boutique stores, grab a bite to eat, and take in the small town atmosphere that makes Santa Barbara one of my favorite places to visit.
Botanical Garden
Make sure and stop by Santa Barbara’s Botanical Garden filled with California’s native plants and beautiful walking trails all through out their 78 acres of land! The garden is open 7 days a week, rain or shine, from 10am to 5pm. Admissions are as follows:
- $16 adults
- $12 Seniors
- $10 Students & Military (with I.D.)
- $8 Children 3-17
Make sure you time this accordingly, my fiance and I got there close to five to we had to rush through the garden. I wish we would have had more time to take things in.
Take a Hike!
Immerse yourself into nature and get to see some amazing sites with a quick hiking trail. Below are some nearby trails you can check out around the area:
- Rocky Nook Park – 0.7 mile out-and-back, easy trail
- Santa Barbara Waterfront – 4.8 mile out-and-back, easy trail
- Shoreline Park -1.4 mile out-and-back, easy trail
- Arroyo Burro Beach Loop -1.3 mile out-and-back, easy trail
- Cold Spring Trail Loop – 2.7 mile out-and-back, moderate trail
If you set off on a hiking adventure make sure and check out my hiking guide for beginners for some tips!
Stearns Wharf
Head out to the pier and enjoy some ice cream as you watch fisherman try to reel in their catch for the day! This place is pretty laid back with plenty to do, but not parking can be pretty chaotic so I recommend parking on the side of the road and walking to the pier.
Sunset by the beach
I’m a sucker for a good sunset, especially for one on the West coast. Either walk or bike along the beach as the sun sets and enjoy the last bit of your day. Below are some of the beaches in Santa Barbara:
More Travel Tips!
There’s plenty more you can do in your Santa Barbara day trip, more so if you extend your trip. Below are things we didn’t necessarily do on our day trip, but are highly worth doing!
- Santa Barbara Museum of Art
- Santa Barbara Zoo
- The Funk Zone: Lovely shopping and dinning district near downtown
- Point Castillo
- Lotus Land: This place is the definition of breathtaking so take my word for it and check it out! You’ll need reservations three weeks in advance so plan accordingly.
- Catch a concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl!
Map of Attractions
Don’t forget to pin it for later!
