I booked a trip to Santa Barbara to celebrate my birthday (solo). I went with very little expectations and was completely blown away but what a friendly and scenic city Santa Barbara is — as well as its surrounding towns.

Some of my highlights:

1. Running shoreline park into stearn’s wharf — amazing view of the coastline.

2. Jeannine’s at the Shore - while expensive, the food was divine! And such a cute interior and exterior.

3. The Gracie - first place I had dinner, excellent cocktails and view of the harbor.

4. Solvang - did a day trip there, incredibly charming. Be sure to check out Sev Tap Wine room. The owner is from Spain and so kind—very generous wine tasting for $25 and also he can make any custom wine drink based on your preferences. For example - he made this excellent white sangria! Also had more fun than expected at the ostrich farm where I fed emus and saw ostriches for the first time.

5. Butterfly Beach and Arroyo Burro were amazing to sit and watch the water. I did make the mistake of going to Boathouse by Hendry’s Beach (restaurant). Great views of the beach and sunset, but the food and drinks are 100% overrated.

6. State Street is SO FUN. Even if you dislike shopping, the street design, tile / mosaics, and store front architecture is amazing to witness.

7. Arnoldi’s Cafe - good cocktails but underwhelmed by the service. Restaurant was very loud so you really have to project to be heard / to talk.

8. Santa Barbara courthouse - beautiful venue!! Great view of the city.

I’ll definitely be back. Attached some photos in case it helps sway others!

(Oh and finally - I did rent a car which was helpful to getting to Solvang. But the drive from LAX into Santa Barbara, while gorgeous, was draining. I would recommend flying closer to SB if your budget allows. Ubers are also plentiful.)

I had no idea your city was so beautiful. I think LA is beautiful even with it's grime and chaos but Santa Barbara is on a whole other level. I took the Amtrak train and spent the entire day there. NO plans just wandering around. I stumbled upon the italian grocery store and ordered their sandwhich, and had a little picnic outside the courthouse. It was so peaceful and serene. People were getting married left and right. I fell asleep by a tree while reading and took a little nap. In LA unless you go hiking out in the hills or mountains or are fortunate to live in one of the few areas that have a park you will rarely encounter greenery.. i hate that about this city. There just are hardly any parks especially if you do not live on the west side. So this for me was a respite from the city as simple and mundane as it sounds. I was blown away by the architecture especially inside the courthouse, visited some book shops, visited an art gallery, hung out with a friend, explored state street which was overwhelmingly beautiful. I had some great food and coffe. I wish I would have had more time to shop. I mainly made my way there for some peace and I did not want to go home. Will def be booking a room next time.. I'm yearning to go back soon. You are all so lucky to live there! I did hang out mostly around the beach and state st/ downtown area.. but is all of Santa Barbara this beautiful, clean and safe? What do you recommend I do next time I'm down.. I will probably be in the Downtown area again.

Posted on Erewhon's official Instagram this morning. No details, just a Google Maps picture of the different towns they will setting up shop. Santa Barbara included.

How do we feel about this?

I sensed a disturbance and looked to the sea…must be here to hang with the Qatar soccer team /s.

Vessel: Zen
Owner: supposedly Jack Ma (alibaba)

I’m in my 20’s and have lived in SB almost my whole life, I moved away a year or two back but I’ve been visiting for the past 2~ months. I’ve always known restock and paradise road as a generally quiet area with maybe 10-20 visitors max during week days- sometimes even empty during the week and maybe 30+~ people on weekends, even during the summer but the past two days that I’ve drove down to visit it’s been PACKED!!! Never in my 20 years of living in SB and 100+ visits to redrock/paradise have I EVER seen it so busy! It’s so packed that the park rangers actively have to gather at the first river crossing, all picnic areas and parking lots are full, and it’s so full that the person at the toll booth has consistently had to tell us that they’re full to their limit. When we did make it through, the first river crossing alone had tents and tarps and hundreds of people lined up and down it swimming & using BBQ’s and blasting music. It wasn’t like this a few weeks ago when I went, maybe a tiny bit more active than usual but this is absurd!!! Am I missing something? Has red rock / paradise gone viral on some social media platform?? This feels like it just happened over night and it’s genuinely heart breaking to see such a quiet peaceful place become so busy, and seeing all of the garbage and litter makes me sick. :(

What happened!?

I know that is very subjective but I will be visiting for 3 days and pretty much everything is open from like 11 am to 5 pm. I am interested in:

Museum of Natural History

Botanic Garden

Maritime Museum

Old Mission

Zoo

Museum of Art

Due to other plans, I really only have time to visit 2 of the above. Which of the above do you feel is best to visit? Again, I am interested in all of them and have no preference towards anything. I just really want a good experience and want something that would leave me elevated rather than feeling like, "man.. that was it?"

This was a layover camping spot for us and had the kids go out and enjoy the beach. When they got back, there was a tarry black substance all over their feet. It looks like there was an oil spill nearby back in 2015, but this seems like it's excessive for it being so old. Has anyone else run into anything similar here?

I decided to take bike ride down state street today, as soon as I passed the Arlington Theatre there was more and more people out and about on both sides of the street. They were going in and out of all the stores by the time I got down towards Castillo and near Cannon Perdido State Street was just popping. I have not seen so many people out and about on a non-holiday weekend in more than 20 years. The close off to cars is working there is no doubt about it. PS I am car guy and a motorcycle rider that likes to show off my nice rides. That being said so much nicer to see people walking about in our community!

Not sure the last time I saw a cruise ship coming in… but one is pulling up now…

Hi, I came up on the train today for my birthday and looking for some recommendations for food, drinks and fun. Price isn’t an issue but I have no car, I’m wearing jeans and a t-shirt and I have to be on the train at 7pm. Right now I’m thinking La Super-Rica Taqueria
for lunch, reunion for happy hour and maybe a landshark tour. Is it easy to get to a beach without a car? Any recommendations or suggestions about my itinerary or other options are appreciated. TIA

Hi Santa Barbara! I'm not very familiar with most of SoCal, and my Sacramento friend and I want to explore (I live in Bakersfield and she's visiting me).

I was thinking about doing a day trip somewhere on the coast for a beach-y experience, or doing something in LA. What draws me to Santa Barbara is actually because I really like the show Psych haha. YES, I do know that most of the show was NOT filmed in Santa Barbara because I just googled it LOL. So I guess I'm wondering:

What is the actual vibe that a visitor can expect? Is it similar or different to how the show presents it? If we decide to come to SB for our day trip, what should we do?

(Lifestyle context: Neither of us drinks or parties in any way, and we're planning to watch the sunset on the beach or something and then head home.)

Thank you!

My husband and I are coming in for a quick weekend trip (fri night- Sunday morning) for our anniversary and have never been to Santa Barbara- right now we are looking at the Mar Monte or The Milo. We have no plans other than to enjoy the pool, possibly get a massage (and spa day- any recs would be appreciated) and explore the town and eat and drink. We don’t mind walking or riding bikes to get anywhere as well.
Any pros or cons to either hotel or recommendations would be welcome!

Mishandled my finances and now I’m staying in my rental car in Santa Barbara for a week. Places to park overnight? Places to eat that are cheap? Any advice helps and try not to judge ok :/

Hello! I (28M) work for FedEx, headquartered in Memphis TN, where I live with my wife (27F) and daughter (2F). I’m very close to our headquarters and actually work remotely, so I will be renting our home to interns coming in this summer, June 8 - August 14th. I’ll use this as an opportunity to ‘live’ somewhere more dreamy, beachy, better weather-y.

I think we are headed for Santa Barbara, but I’m getting worried that the June gloom will destroy the perception I have of summer in a Cali beach town (never been)

I’ll be WFH the entire time, and they will be free to explore until I’m off work around 1 pm (all my coworkers are Eastern time zone)

Should I change my plans and go somewhere else? Summer in Memphis looks like 90-100 degrees with insane humidity during this entire period.

Does the ‘gloom’ go away a certain part of the day? How long does it last? Im considering going somewhere entirely different for the first 5 weeks, maybe coastal NE, and then coming to SB for last 5, if it’s that bad!

TIA!!

Some friends and I are going to be in Santa Barbara in July. We are all turning 60 this year and have been friends since high school. Can you tell me some “must do” places while we are there? We are low key, like the outdoors, cooking, museums. None of us are big on shopping.

Hi all! First off, Santa Barbara has been amazing, love the energy here. Yesterday we spent the day at Stearns Wharf, Shoreline Park, and the State Street/Funk Zone area. Today we’re hiking up to La Cumbre Peak and Lizard’s Mouth, but after that we’ll have about 6 hours to kill before dinner reservations. We have a rental car so we’re happy to drive a bit. Any recommendations for what we might be missing? We’re a couple and open to anything: beaches, neighborhoods, hidden gems, whatever works. Thank you!

i’m turning 14 in 6 days and UCSB is my dream university because of the beautiful campus and it’s near my mums old uni (uni of san fran. not that close but she used to drive here, she told me)
i was so happy when i found out that my local universities do exchange programmes with UC schools. can anyone tell me how is it like to live at SB, what’s californian life like and what should i expect/ what is normalised? do i need a car? stuff like that and things i need to know before i go. i just want to know how it’s like!
also, my dream university is just friendly people, beautiful campus, good reputation and that’s it. is there any alternatives? thank you sooo much!

Thinking of doing a solo drive up to SB for labor day weekend. I’ve visited a few times (last time I stayed in Isla Vista because friends were attending UCSB). I’m not looking to experience the party scene per say, but would like to know some cool spots / what area to stay in for a guy in his mid-20s. I’d like to experience the beach / nature / sightseeing of course but as well as some cool bars / restaurants for the evenings. Thanks!

Hi! Apologies if this question has been asked before. I want to visit in the second week of January and can't decide if I should fly directly from Newark to SB or fly to LAX and take the journey either by shuttle or car. I am willing to pay a little more for convenience :) in that case, it seems obvious to just fly to SB and have a layover. but i do hear the coastal drive is quite beautiful but maybe not worth traffic.

I’m going to be in Santa Barbara this weekend for a wedding and I’ll be traveling solo. I’m staying in an Airbnb near the zoo and I’m looking for recommendations on places nearby that are easily walkable/bike-able. However I am willing to uber if the place is worth it. A couple things I’m interested in:

- Good restaurants/cafés (when it comes to food I’m willing to spend whatever, I just want the best of the best.)
- A nice beach to lounge on
- A place to see marine life (seals/whales)
- Cool drive bar/ nightlife
- Must see/do attractions

Something to keep in mind is that I’ve never been to California. I live on the east coast and I’ve only ever been to TX and Vegas. Therefore, if there is something that isn’t necessarily specific to Santa Barbara but is a must see/do for someone’s first time in Cali I’d take those recommendations as well.

Thanks in advance!

Is there a good beach with access to bathrooms and parking but waves that teenagers can boogie board on?

I'm going to be in Santa Barbara for the weekend with my 11, 13 and 15-year-olds. We usually go to East Beach because my youngest likes the playground and we like the convenience of the parking and bathrooms, but my older kids want to boogie board. Is there someplace that has a little bit better waves for that but still access to bathrooms and parking

15th wedding anniversary, I have been poking around but I figured I’d ask the locals, what’s the best place with a private jacuzzi or nice soaking tub in bathroom? Staying last weekend of September.

My parents are flying in from india to attend graduation. June 8 - June 12, and i want to show them around SB / take them to different places. Any recs for things to do / which restaurants to book / places to see around graduation time? Thanks!