H and I are going to be in Santa Barbara for a week. Any tips on what we shouldn’t miss? My H is a foodie so any restaurant recommendations would be great. Places to hike would be great too. We’re up for anything. Neither one of us has been there before.
If your husband likes taquerias don’t miss La Super-Rica…one of Julia Child’s favorite places to eat. I like the SB Botanic Garden…It’s big enough to get in a nice little hike. Another similar place is Lotusland, a tropical and subtropical garden which is in Montecito…At least when I visited you had to make reservations on their website. If you’re into missions the SB Mission is very nice as well.
Ojai is worth a side trip. Solvang is a little kitschy but also worth popping through.
The Old Mission, strolling the waterfront, bike ride.
What type of food do you like? When are you coming and what part of town are you staying in?
If your coming in the next couple of months Ojai and Solvang will be very hot. Santa Barbara if your staying near the water it’s unpredictable and I’d make sure to have a sweatshirt for the early morning if it’s foggy.
If you are into Wine Tasting check out the Urban Wine Trail.
http://urbanwinetrailsb.com
I love Santa Barbara. LOVE it. Try Bouchon for sure – the original is up in Napa but this is just as good. Try Olio e Limon, try Toma and Cadiz, The Lark and Helena Ave Bakery.
We went last winter and a highlight was seeing a pod of hundreds of dolphins on the way to Santa Cruz Island (Channel Islands National Park.). Absolutely amazing! We backpacked on the island but one can go on a day trip.You can snorkel in the kelp forest or do kayak sea cave exploration. Boats leave from Ventura. There is hiking on the island of course, but for a day trip, not a whole lot of time for a long hike. (Cute mini foxes on the island!)
Dining-I like Several of the places JenJen suggested. Toma is very good but you’ll need a reservation unless you go early. Many people love The Lark but I find it overrated. You will definitely need a reservation. The same people who own the Lark opened another place Loquita which I think is tapas. For Italian I like Ca Dario, Olio n Limone. Both those restaurants also have adjacent pizzerias that are good. Ca Dario pizzeria is nice for lunch. Olio and Limone pizzeria is larger and the pizza is good.
Places I like that are casual- for Mexican food I love Los Agaves. They have three locations I prefer the DeLaVina location. Don’t let the walk up and order fool you the food is excellent. Don’t waste the visit with tacos as I find that is the one area they are weak. I also like Los Arroyos.
For breakfast Jeannine’s Bakery, D’Angelos bakery, Renaud French bakery for good croissants and omelettes.
For a picnic- South Coast deli, Gelsons market and also Lazy Acres has good take out food.
For a refreshing Santa Barbara healthy lifestyle breakfast or lunch try Backyard Bowls. They basically take a bowl of oatmeal, hot quinoa or plain yogurt and load it with healthy toppings. Also popular are the Acai bowls blended with fruit and topped with fresh fruit toppings. They also make good smoothies but they are expensive.
I don’t think any of the spots on Sterns Wharf are worth eating at. If we are feeling like eating in that area we like the fish tacos and fish and chips from On the Alley. It is a whole in the wall in the marina. You go up and order and sit on the tables outside. It’s busy and a good spot for people watching. We also usually end up sharing a table with both tourists and locals. The Japanese small place in the same marina is also pretty good. Locals and tourists alike enjoy Brophy Brothers for the view and drinks.
Public market is not worth the visit unless you’re in the area. They have a couple of good eating spots. The Noodle places gets packed. The taco place is also good. The ice cream is excellent. Another spot for ice cream is McConnell’s they have several locations.
We are going for the first week August and wanted to stay at the Spanish Garden Inn (which folks recommended) but it’s booked for out dates, so we’re looking for something else. Also tried the Kimpton Goodland (another recommendation), which was booked as well. So I still need to find a hotel. I saw another Kimptom (Canary) which I’ll try, unless someone tells me it’s not a good spot.
We are in SB to see our D (actor) in a show. She’s not familiar with the area–just out there for the show. She left for rehearsal this week.
H is a foodie so he’ll want to try regional specialties. He’ll definitely try the place Julia Child liked–recommended above.
Things to do-
Park at the top of Shoreline Park and walk towards the marina. You will be walking on a bluff and will sometimes be able to see whales and dolphins. There is a staircase to the water mid park. You can also watch the surfers on one end of the park. It’s also a nice spot to bring a lunch.
Go to the marina and walk out to the end of the breakwater. There is a small beach called Sandsplit and the waves sometimes break and you’ll be able to watch the surfers.
Also in the marina you can rent stand up paddle boards and use them inside the protection of the marina or take them out the other direction and ride them in the ocean. There is also a Maritime museum that I haven’t been in.
You can walk from the marina along the water to Sterns Wharf and continue down to east beach. At east beach you can watch the beach volleyball players. Sometimes you can catch Todd Rogers the Olympian beach volleyball player in a game.
Across from the Mission is a pretty rose garden another spot to have a picnic.
The County Bowl is an awesome place to see a concert. Most nights in the summer there is someone playing. Look ahead if you want to try to get tickets.
UCSB has a nice lagoon and walking trail at campus point. It’s not a long walk but it’s pretty. At the other end of Isla Vista you can park and walk along the bluff above the ocean out to Coal Point. Another pretty ocean spot with a lot of surfers.
For foothill hiking you can google SB hiking.
Further afield- the Santa Ynez valley for wine tasting or just a nice day trip. I prefer Los Olivos over Solvang. There are a few restaurants and shops and a bunch of tasting rooms. Los Alamos is picking up and has a lot of new places to eat. Somewhere I have a link from the LATimes with places to eat in that area. I’ll link it if I can find it. There are two routes to take to the Santa Ynez valley from Santa Barbara. Highway 101 runs along the coast most of the way, Hwy 246 known as San Marcos Pass crosses over the “mountains”. Both are pretty drives. I suggest going up one direction and coming back the other. Cold Springs Tavern on the San Marcos Pass might be worth a stop. You can also turn off on Paradise Road half way up the pass and maybe find some hiking. You will cross a river so keep that in mind if you have a rental. I don’t know how much water is in the river right now.
Butterfly beach in Montecito is nice. It is opposite the Biltmore Hotel.
El Encanto hotel in Santa Barbara has a great views.
A note- the lower State street area and the waterfront between Sterns Wharf and East Beach are heavily visited by the homeless and sometimes pan handlers. It’s perfectly safe just somewhat sad and annoying.
I’m not sure where exactly but I think you can rent kayaks. Also as someone else suggested a trip to the Channel Islands is fun. I’ve seen groups out there with kayaks.
The shopping isn’t great. If you like Ugg, Teva, Hoka or Sanuk brands they have a great showcase store out at the Deckers headquarters in Goleta.
Have fun.
The first week in August will be tough as it is Old Spanish Days during that time. http://oldspanishdays-fiesta.org/
The Canary is a nice hotel. It wouldn’t be my first choice as it’s across from the bus station but I would secure a place fairly soon as it will be fought. The city of Santa Barbara also has banned most vacation rentals. The Goodland hotel isn’t as good of a location as you will be driving to everything.
https://la.eater.com/2017/6/27/15878818/central-california-coast-driving-destination-restaurants
We stayed in an airbnb in Carpinteria and drove to SB several days. I enjoyed the courthouse tour. We took a drive to Solvang, toured the mission Santa Ines there and stopped to look at the miniature horses at Quick Silver Ranch.
If you can afford it, the El Encanto is gorgeous up in the hills. But I just checked the rates and August is high season. Holy moly, the bungalows and rooms are expensive!
We stayed at a chain hotel that came with free breakfast and a washer/dryer on premises when we were in Santa Barbara ages ago in June. D ended up doing a lot of clothes washing from deferring it for a long time before our visit. That is our strongest memory of that visit. We ate at a decent steakhouse and washed clothing–that was pretty much it. If you’re not picky, Hotwire or Priceline may have some hotels or other lodging when you’ll be in the area. We drove up and back from LA.
Just outside of SB is the posh (as in, Oprah and Ellen Degeneres have estates there) community of Montecito. And there… is this amazing place called, fittingly enough, LotusLand
http://www.lotusland.org/
Named one of top 10 gardens in the world.
It looks like you are getting good suggestions.
Fiesta is Aug. 2-6 and it’s crowded everywhere then (except Santa Ynez and the wine country). If you can get a reservation at the Canary, that’s a fine hotel (with a nice restaurant). I see there are still some reservations available on hotwire.com. (Yipe, for some of those prices you could stay at the Bacara some other week!)
VIVA is a nice new restaurant that is open for breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday. http://vivasb.com/ but they don’t list their breakfast menu. Their FB page has pictures of their breakfasts, which are amazing. It’s the “turtle fountain” restaurant and has a bunch of nice galleries in the same area.
http://www.santabarbara.com/dining/ is good for restaurant reviews by locals.
I’m not a La Super-Rica fan, despite the Julia Child recommendation. (But I don’t like super authentic Mexican food with organ meats, etc.) If you want a non-fussy place locals like, try the Savoy Cafe. It was on some Food Network show–Diners, Dives, and Drive Ins, I think.
I 2nd (or 3rd) recommendations for Lotusland. It’s great, and you do need to make a reservation.
The Botanic Garden is nice for walking. As far as hiking trails, I like Rattlesnake Canyon (and haven’t seen a rattlesnake on that particular trail). Also, San Ysidro Trail. If you are adventurous hikers, Tangerine Falls is nice. I don’t know if there is still water in the falls, and you may have to ask locals on the trail for directions, as the turnoff is not well marked.
Also, Lizard’s Mouth on West Camino Cielo is fun and has the best views. The Playground is near there, but hard to find and more adventurous. If you are not looking for hill climbing on your hike, try the Douglas Family Preserve.
http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/ for hiking directions.
Lower State Street has improved a great deal, though some construction is still happening. If you like science museums, the new MOXI is great! If you had a kid with you, it would be on the “don’t miss” list.
If you are into music, the Santa Barbara Bowl is a wonderful venue. It’s an amphitheater that seats less than 5,000 - the acoustics are great (it was built in the late 1930s, carved into the side of a mountain). I’ve seen many shows there and honestly there’s not a bad seat in the house! There’s a lot of history (music and other) there. Joni Mitchell even recorded a live album there.
Agree with every suggestion in mom60’s post #9! Check the tide chart before beach walks near bluffs because at high tide the waves reach the base of the bluffs. At low tide you can walk from the steps at Shoreline park all the way to the harbor breakfront. if all the downtown hotels are sold out check availability at Pacifica Suites in Goleta. A little overdue for renovation but very comfortable with full breakfast included. Sofa in suite makes into bed if your daughter wants to stay with you part of the time.
Another recommendation for Lotus Land if you can get reservations.
I forgot about Moxi. I haven’t been yet but I’ve heard great feedback even if you don’t have kids with you.
I’m embarrassed to say that after 30 years here I’ve never been to Lotusland. I need to plan a staycation.
You could also consider moving hotels during your stay. Staying further out on the weekend and. Icing to a more desirable locale mid week when there should be more availability. I think also depends on what your looking for in a location. For some coming from a landlocked state being near the water is important. If the ocean isn’t a must have close by going further in town.
Another suggestion, check the website Edhat Santa Barbara for up to the minute updates on local news, activities, rumors and commentary. It was down for a few weeks after a hack and not quite back up to its former activity level but still a good source of local information before and during a visit.