Things to Do
We started our Santa Barbara stay the way every visitor should — by climbing the clock tower at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. This Spanish Colonial masterpiece from 1929 is often called the most beautiful government building in America, and after ascending the 85-foot tower (free admission), we understood why. The 360-degree view from the top spans red-tile rooftops, the Santa Ynez Mountains, and the sparkling Pacific. We spent an hour wandering the hand-painted ceilings and lush sunken gardens before heading out to explore State Street.
The Funk Zone quickly became our favorite neighborhood. This former industrial area between the train tracks and the beach has been transformed into a walkable paradise of wine tasting rooms, breweries, and galleries. We hit four tasting rooms in one afternoon — Municipal Winemakers ($16 for four pours), Margerum ($20 for five pours), Riverbench ($18 for four pours of sparkling wine), and Figueroa Mountain Brewing ($6 pints) — all within a six-block radius. The art galleries here are free to browse and the vibe is relaxed enough that we spent the entire afternoon without ever feeling rushed.
Our day trip to Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands was the highlight of the trip. We booked an Island Packers boat from Ventura Harbor ($82/person round-trip) and spent six hours hiking the trails and kayaking through Painted Cave, one of the largest sea caves in the world. The island feels genuinely remote despite being just an hour offshore — no cars, no shops, no cell service. We packed our own lunch and ate on a bluff overlooking a turquoise cove where we could see fish swimming 30 feet below us.
Where to Stay
Santa Barbara is not a cheap place to sleep, but we found options across every budget. The sweet spot for us was the Castillo Inn ($170-220/night), a family-run motel three blocks from the beach with clean rooms, free parking, and a small pool. It lacks boutique-hotel charm but the location and value are hard to beat. Budget travelers should look at the Santa Barbara Tourist Hostel ($45/night for a dorm bed), which is basic but centrally located on State Street.
For a splurge, the Hotel Californian ($350-600/night) delivers a world-class experience right on the waterfront. The Moroccan-inspired interiors are gorgeous, the rooftop pool and hot tub overlook the harbor, and the on-site Blackbird restaurant serves excellent cocktails. We spent a memorable evening on the rooftop watching sailboats glide past Stearns Wharf at sunset. The Belmond El Encanto ($500-900/night) is the other luxury option, set in the hillside above town with sweeping views and a serene garden atmosphere.
If you are visiting wine country, consider spending a night in Los Olivos or Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley. The Fess Parker Wine Country Inn ($250-400/night) puts you in the heart of the vineyards and includes complimentary wine tasting at their estate winery. The Danish-themed town of Solvang has charming inns starting around $150/night and makes a fun base for a day of winery hopping.
Where to Eat
Santa Barbara’s food scene punches well above its weight thanks to extraordinary local produce and a community of chefs who care deeply about sourcing. Our best meal was at The Lark, a shared-plates restaurant in a converted fish house in the Funk Zone. The charred Brussels sprouts with dates and bacon ($16) are genuinely famous for a reason, and the grilled branzino ($32) was perfectly cooked. We ordered five plates for two people and spent $85 including a glass of local wine each.
For lunch, we kept returning to the Santa Barbara Public Market (now called the SB Market) on Victoria Street. The stalls rotate but we loved Empty Bowl Noodles for hand-pulled noodles ($13), Corazon Cocina for tamales and quesadillas ($8-12), and Rori’s Artisanal Creamery for ice cream ($5 for a scoop of brown butter or wild strawberry). The market is smaller than a typical food hall but every vendor is strong and prices are reasonable for the area.
Breakfast became our excuse to visit Jeannine’s, a local institution with three locations. Their lemon ricotta pancakes ($17) are fluffy perfection and the portions are enormous — we split one order with a side of scrambled eggs ($6) and it was more than enough. For a quick grab-and-go morning, Handlebar Coffee ($5-7 lattes) in the Funk Zone serves excellent single-origin pour-overs and has a sunny patio that makes the perfect start to a day of exploring.
Getting Around
Santa Barbara’s downtown is blissfully walkable. Our hotel was about a mile from Stearns Wharf and we covered the Funk Zone, State Street, the courthouse, and the waterfront entirely on foot during our stay. The city is flat along the coast, making it one of the most pleasant walking cities in California. For slightly farther distances, the electric shuttle bus (25 cents per ride) loops along the waterfront and downtown continuously.
For wine country, you absolutely need a car or a tour. The Santa Ynez Valley is about 30-45 minutes north of downtown, and the wineries are spread across rolling hills with no public transport connecting them. We rented a car for $50/day and did one self-guided wine tour, stopping at four wineries. Designated drivers should note that most tasting rooms will give the driver a free non-alcoholic tasting or a discount. Alternatively, guided wine tours ($125-175/person) handle all the driving and typically include lunch.
Biking is excellent here. We rented beach cruisers ($25/day) from Wheel Fun Rentals near Stearns Wharf and rode the Cabrillo Bike Path, a flat, paved trail that runs along the waterfront for about four miles. It connects East Beach to Leadbetter Beach and is one of the most pleasant urban bike rides we have done anywhere. For the more ambitious, the coastal road toward Goleta and UCSB offers beautiful scenery and bike lanes most of the way.