Getaways to Santa Barbara

Whether it’s for a girls trip, a romantic getaway, or family’s coming to town, the first place on my list is always Santa Barbara. It’s just a quick 1.5 hr drive up the 101 North from LA with bits of driving along the coast, making it a quick but beautiful little road trip!

What's there to do?

The two reasons I go to Santa Barbara: wine and beach! Honestly, what more do you need? It’s always so nice to escape from the hustle & bustle of LA with a trip to SB. Parking is never a problem, the locals are lovely, the beach is clean & beautiful, and you’re always within walking distance from great wine, food, or shopping!

Though I love walking around and trying out new spots for wine & food, these three are my top favorites and always get a visit:

• Deep Sea Tasting Room: located right on Stearns Wharf, we always make this our first stop for wine! Not only is it my favorite place to sit and enjoy wine (panoramic views of the ocean!!), but the Conway Family Wines offered there are delicious. My parents aren’t wine drinkers and even they left with a few bottles to take home!
  

• Paradise Springs Winery: located downtown on States Street. My absolute FAVORITE thing about this place is that on the first Saturday of every month, they do an insanely delicious Donut & Wine pairing! They pair three of their wines with three donuts (locally made by Good Stuff Baked Treats), and though the flavors vary each time, the ones we got were so decadent and frankly, damn good. Be sure to get there as close to 1pm as possible - according to their site, they start offering the pairings at 1pm and will go until they sell out!
  

• Fox Wine Company: located in the Funk Zone, on Santa Barbara Street. Not only do they have great wine (we usually leave with a bottle of Verna’s Vineyard pinot noir & Haylee’s Rose rosé), they’re located right next to The Nook Eatery, which has incredible food! We usually have a hard time deciding on which food options to narrow it down to, so we always end up ordering several different items to share.

---

Girls Trip

My girlfriend and I are adrenaline-junkies, so our trip to Santa Barbara was probably a bit unconventional, as our main purpose for going was to skydive! I used Hotels.com to get us an adorable room at the Lavender Inn by the Sea, which was closer to the beach than downtown (but downtown was still about a 10-minute walk away). I was blown away at the size of our room!

Most hotels cost a fortune to get a room that spacious, but ours came with two queen beds, a separate little walkway to the bathroom, cozy robes and a bucket of champagne on ice with two glasses. They also left little lavender pouches on our pillows!

Most of the places to stay nearby were also inns, and the majority of them rated high, so if you’re looking for a different experience other than the traditional hotel, definitely check these inns out. Though we stuck to walking, our inn as well as the majority of inns nearby offered complimentary bike rentals as well as free parking for guests (YES free parking!!!). Lavender Inn is marketed as a romantic hotel in SB, but the wine, robes & happy hour were perfect for our little girls’ trip!

Something to keep in mind: though there are a lot of restaurants/bars that stay open at night, we found that the majority of wineries & tasting rooms closed early.

We were able to catch a brewery that stayed open until 8pm, but otherwise, do all of your wine-tasting early on in the day. She and I spent most of the day around the beach and the outdoor shopping mall Paseo Nuevo, so we were lucky that the Lavender Inn provided complimentary wine & snacks at happy hour for their guests!

For dinner, she and I walked downtown to Holdren’s Steaks & Seafood - if given the option, I’ll always go for steak and old fashioned’s! Both the steaks and cocktails were absolutely delicious! We were very happy with our choice to eat here!

The next morning we checked out and drove about an hour north to Lompoc, where Skydive Santa Barbara is located. The scenery on the drive to Lompoc was unreal. Honestly can’t put into words how perfect it was - no traffic, blue skies, spring wildflowers blooming everywhere! We checked in, went through a brief video training, and were off to jump out of a plane! The experience was so great, I brought my parents to Lompoc and took my dad skydiving for Thanksgiving that year! Still one of my favorite moments of my life - being with my dad for his bucket list moment!

---

Romantic Getaway

For our first anniversary, my boyfriend and I decided to stay at the Kimpton Canary Hotel, which was centrally located in downtown SB. What I love about Kimpton hotels is how they always incorporate the city’s personality into their design & style of every one of their locations - and the beauty of the Canary Santa Barbara did not disappoint!

We were blown away by how beautiful the lobby was, and even more blown away by the room! We stayed in a King Premiere, which was just enough space for the two of us. When checking in, our conversation with the front desk led to how we were celebrating our anniversary…we dropped our stuff off in the room, left to grab lunch, and upon returning to the room, a bottle of champagne on ice and a hand-written note was waiting for us! The front desk wanted to say thank you for celebrating our anniversary with them, and to let them know if anything was needed. What a lovely, personal touch that helped make our stay there that much special. Gotta love Kimpton hotels.

Since this location is downtown, there was a charge for parking. Luckily, at the time of booking they were offering a deal for $10 overnight parking with their valet, which was great! However, on their site they state that parking overnight with their valet is $40 plus tax (if you drive a hybrid, they’ll knock off $20 as a thank you for being eco-friendly! I drive a Prius so…yay!).

Helpful tip: become a member of the IHG Rewards Club before booking a Kimpton hotel; it’s free and you earn points with every stay!

---

Family Visits

My boyfriend and I have both taken our families to Santa Barbara when they came into town - once when my parents came to visit us from Utah, and again when his dad, sister and her best friend came to visit from Florida - and both times Santa Barbara did not disappoint!

We drove my parents up for a long afternoon and made sure to stop at the Deep Sea Tasting Room first, which was SO much fun (can't you tell?) and everyone had a great time! They don't get to see as much of the ocean anymore being up by the mountains, so they loved the panoramic ocean views we had, as well as the walk along the water to get to this spot.

For the family from Florida who sees sunshine & blue skies all year round, we were happy to see Santa Barbara's beauty was still able to blow them away! The walkability of the area made it possible for us to stop and try out so many different places, that in two days and one night, we got to enjoy the beach, downtown, the Funk Zone, and some SB night life.

Want a little more structure for your trip?

Sometimes it's helpful to have at least one planned activity ready to go when you check out a new place, and luckily, there are a ton of wine tours offered in SB; just look at where they go and pick the one that sounds the best for you and your group! Here's one site you can check out to help you get started!

Want something different & unique?

We saw a bunch of people riding the Social Cycle down State Street that looked like they were having an absolute blast! It’s a big bicycle that’s powered by its guests, and offers a fun & unique way to both sight-see and barhop through SB! For more info, click here.

---

If you've been to Santa Barbara, let me know what some of your favorite spots were in the comments! I'm always looking to try out somewhere new when I go!