We have visited SB once, in 2019. What we did was arrive in LAX, ubered to Enterprise in Santa Monica, then drove to SB. It was an easy, scenic drive. We did keep our car, because if you parked on the streets around the hotel, it was free. So I can’t help with that decision. We did Uber everywhere. We drove back to Santa Monica and spent one night there before departure the next day. Drove out car to Enterprise and they drove us to our hotel. We love SM, so wanted to do that the last night.
We took a wine tour, they pick up from your hotel. It was wonderful. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie “Sideways”, but it was filmed in SB wine country.
Had drinks at Loquita’s in the Funk Zone, really fun and happening restaurant/bar. Then went over to The Lark for dinner. State Street is a fun place to walk and shop, eat.
One evening we ubered to Lucky’s in Montecito for dinner…you might catch a celebrity! Prince Harry, Oprah, Ellen and Katherine Mcvee have all been sighted there. We grabbed a table in the bar area, as that was more fun, I think. I really want to go back there during the day.
There is way more to do in San Diego, as Marilyn above pointed out. Coronado really is a great place, as would be staying downtown. So much to do in San Diego. It’s like several areas all within 20-30 minutes of each other. Downtown, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Coronado, Old Town. If you have never been, in December, you might consider there because if it’s chilly there is still so much to do. I never understood why people always traveled to San Diego, until we went in 2016. We’ve been back twice since.