Santa Barbra ~ Worth a Visit?

[KCmike]

Next year will be our last year going to California for awhile. We plan to hit San Diego again, Catalina, Disneyland of course, and possibly a day in Santa Barbra. Is it worth a day trip to spend up there (I know its just an hour or two north of DL)? I have driven the PCH from Hearst Castle to San Francisco before but not the stretch from LA to Santa Barbra. Is the town lovely and worth a trip?

 

[ncc1701]

SB is a great town to visit.If you are going to spend a night or 2 in the area do it..We took a tour of the area going up to the Mission on a hop on hop off trolley.The next day we went up to the wine country.
As a day trip just be prepared for the possibilty of lots of traffic.We had a quick trip up to SB from LAX (even with a stop at the Reagan Library)However on our way back 3 days later we ran into a lot of traffic &it took around 3 hours.

 

[Huff]

Thats a bit of a drive from Disneyland for a day trip there and back. If you are spending the night and have some time then it could be worth it. Its a very pretty town. Following the PCH highway 1 maybe slow although the sites you'll go through are nice. 101 I would think would be faster.

25 miles further (if you take the scenic mountain route) is the town of Solvang. A very pretty swiss village with lots of shops and sites. There are dozens of wineries here that make a great day if you enjoy wine tasting.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We have been to Santa Barbara a few times. The pier is a must do. They have an arts and crafts fair on weekends. The Santa Barbara Court House is a great little tour with an awesome view from the bell towers. We like to go to Summerland for breakfast.

We also toured the Ronald Regan library in Simi Valley. That is a great museum. If you want to make a theme out of it, the Richard Nixon library is literally minutes from Disneyland, and also a great little museum. I'll post some pics when I get a chance.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Here are some pics from Santa Barbara:

Here are some pics from Reagan Library:

 

[pixarmom]

Hi KCMike! Hope all is well and hope you're enjoying your trip planning! We're headed to California with our three boys in February and we'll do the PCH drive from San Francisco to Newport. I've done this route and parts of this route a few times - way before kids. We plan to stop in Monterrey, Santa Barbara and then Newport. We'll briefly stop at Hearst and Morro Bay during the drive, too.

We seriously considered skipping Santa Barbara. We were in Santa Barbara eight years ago for four nights, and it was OK. The oil riggers off the shore detract from the view and the busy street right along the ocean creates a very different atmosphere than at Newport. After growing up vacationing in Newport and Catalina, it's just too hard for Santa Barbara to compare! But the main street (which is perpendicular to the ocean) is charming and we enjoyed a few good restaurants there. So this time, we'll only spend a few evening hours there, stay overnight and then head to Newport early the next morning. It's a good way to break up the drive.

In your situation, I would not choose to drive up to SB after San Diego, Disney and Catalina. It's a 2.5 hour drive from Newport to Santa Barbara, and then you may hit traffic. If you have extra time and don't want to stay put in one place for too long, it's interesting to see. But of course, I wouldn't recommend taking time away from Catalina to do it!

 

[Danibelle]

Thats a bit of a drive from Disneyland for a day trip there and back. If you are spending the night and have some time then it could be worth it. Its a very pretty town. Following the PCH highway 1 maybe slow although the sites you'll go through are nice. 101 I would think would be faster.

25 miles further (if you take the scenic mountain route) is the town of Solvang. A very pretty swiss village with lots of shops and sites. There are dozens of wineries here that make a great day if you enjoy wine tasting.

Solvang is a Danish village. It is a pretty quiet place and you can probably see most everything in about a half day!

I think it takes close to 2 1/2 - 3 hrs. to drive from Santa Barbara to DL using US 101/I-5. Santa Barbara is worth a day or so. It's really a great place but hotels are expensive.

 

[KCmike]

Here are some pics from Santa Barbara:

Here are some pics from Reagan Library:

Thank you Thank you for all the great photos!

 

[KCmike]

Hi KCMike! Hope all is well and hope you're enjoying your trip planning! We're headed to California with our three boys in February and we'll do the PCH drive from San Francisco to Newport. I've done this route and parts of this route a few times - way before kids. We plan to stop in Monterrey, Santa Barbara and then Newport. We'll briefly stop at Hearst and Morro Bay during the drive, too.

We seriously considered skipping Santa Barbara. We were in Santa Barbara eight years ago for four nights, and it was OK. The oil riggers off the shore detract from the view and the busy street right along the ocean creates a very different atmosphere than at Newport. After growing up vacationing in Newport and Catalina, it's just too hard for Santa Barbara to compare! But the main street (which is perpendicular to the ocean) is charming and we enjoyed a few good restaurants there. So this time, we'll only spend a few evening hours there, stay overnight and then head to Newport early the next morning. It's a good way to break up the drive.

In your situation, I would not choose to drive up to SB after San Diego, Disney and Catalina. It's a 2.5 hour drive from Newport to Santa Barbara, and then you may hit traffic. If you have extra time and don't want to stay put in one place for too long, it's interesting to see. But of course, I wouldn't recommend taking time away from Catalina to do it!

Thanks Pixarmom. This will probably be our last California trip for sometime so we wanted to see as much as we could. I've always heard of the SB as the Riviera. Maybe we will just build an extra day off instead. Is Santa Monica Pier worth a visit? Is it okay to just visit Catalina or should we try to spend the night there? Is it safe to leave the car behind?

 

[KCmike]

Should we spend the night in Catalina? Any thoughts anyone?

 

[pixarmom]

Thanks Pixarmom. This will probably be our last California trip for sometime so we wanted to see as much as we could. I've always heard of the SB as the Riviera. Maybe we will just build an extra day off instead. Is Santa Monica Pier worth a visit? Is it okay to just visit Catalina or should we try to spend the night there? Is it safe to leave the car behind?

Hello again!! I just saw your post (not checking this part of the board much!) So I definitely recommend a day in Catalina over a Santa Barbara stop. I'd do a day trip to Catalina in a minute! We usually take the Catalina Flyer from Newport, but I've also used the Catalina Express from Long Beach. We did leave the car at the Long Beach port overnight with no difficulties. As for the day trip vs. overnight, I do think an overnight is best. But if it doesn't fit into the schedule, a day trip can still give you a good sense of the island with enough time to take a few tours, get in some shopping and have a nice lunch.

My brother and my dad used to take day trips to Santa Monica from Newport in years past. My mom and I either stayed in Newport or used that day for some Laguna shopping - not my thing, but my brother and my dad enjoyed it!

If you don't mind sharing, why your last California trip for a while? Hope all is well.

I'll see you over on the GF thread - we're finally booking a short stay there as part of our multi-resort trip in February 2013! (Really enjoying all your wonderful photos.) Then it's back to Newport and DL in August 2013. I might actually lobby for DLH instead of GCH - the renovations look interesting!

 

[KCmike]

Hello again!! I just saw your post (not checking this part of the board much!) So I definitely recommend a day in Catalina over a Santa Barbara stop. I'd do a day trip to Catalina in a minute! We usually take the Catalina Flyer from Newport, but I've also used the Catalina Express from Long Beach. We did leave the car at the Long Beach port overnight with no difficulties. As for the day trip vs. overnight, I do think an overnight is best. But if it doesn't fit into the schedule, a day trip can still give you a good sense of the island with enough time to take a few tours, get in some shopping and have a nice lunch.

My brother and my dad used to take day trips to Santa Monica from Newport in years past. My mom and I either stayed in Newport or used that day for some Laguna shopping - not my thing, but my brother and my dad enjoyed it!

If you don't mind sharing, why your last California trip for a while? Hope all is well.

I'll see you over on the GF thread - we're finally booking a short stay there as part of our multi-resort trip in February 2013! (Really enjoying all your wonderful photos.) Then it's back to Newport and DL in August 2013. I might actually lobby for DLH instead of GCH - the renovations look interesting!

My oldest (17 now and a junior in H.S.) will be in College soon and my wife and I want to help her as much as possible with all the expenses. I have twins who will start High School next year as well. Most of our extra income will now be helping them. I will still try to sneak away (hope they wife isn't reading this ) to places like Yellowstone or something much less inexpensive. I will miss California in a big way. We wanted to do a "greatest hits" of CAlifornia this time around with San Diego and the Hotel Del, Yosemite, Disneyland of course and something new like Catalina. Looks like Yosemite won't make the list which makes me sad. I've always wanted to see the Redwood Forest above San Francisco but with it being 4-6 hrs or something like that away it probably won't happen either. Is there anything else I should research or not miss in California that I haven't done?

Have you ever stayed at the GRand Floridian? It is awesome I have to say. We were wondering if it was worth the money because we had always been moderate hotel stayers with places like PO Riverside and we all fell in love with the GF.

 

[pixarmom]

My oldest (17 now and a junior in H.S.) will be in College soon and my wife and I want to help her as much as possible with all the expenses. I have twins who will start High School next year as well. Most of our extra income will now be helping them. I will still try to sneak away (hope they wife isn't reading this ) to places like Yellowstone or something much less inexpensive. I will miss California in a big way. We wanted to do a "greatest hits" of CAlifornia this time around with San Diego and the Hotel Del, Yosemite, Disneyland of course and something new like Catalina. Looks like Yosemite won't make the list which makes me sad. I've always wanted to see the Redwood Forest above San Francisco but with it being 4-6 hrs or something like that away it probably won't happen either. Is there anything else I should research or not miss in California that I haven't done?

Have you ever stayed at the GRand Floridian? It is awesome I have to say. We were wondering if it was worth the money because we had always been moderate hotel stayers with places like PO Riverside and we all fell in love with the GF.

So glad to hear that all is well! I've been to Yosemite and it's just beautiful. That's on our list for a future trip, but given the location, it might not happen for us soon, either. As for the Redwoods, we're seriously considering a Portland to San Francisco trip in the next few years - we'll see how our three boys do on the San Francisco to Newport drive in February and then decide!

Given the circumstances you've described, I think the highlights are already on your list! San Diego, DL and Catalina are definitely some of the "greatest hits!" Of course, I'd add Laguna and Newport, but that's based largely on my own nostalgia. I really do hope you are able to make it to Catalina and I do think the overnight would be ideal for your family. It would really increase your opportunities to enjoy a few tours, rent boats or kayaks, etc. And it's beautiful at night - perfect for practicing your night photography. And if you're buying Catalina Flyer or Express tickets for 5, it always seems like a better value with an overnight stay. (And on a selfish note, I'd LOVE to see the photos you would take!)

Funny about GF. We've never stayed there before. Of the monorail resorts, I've always been attached to the Poly (again, sentimental value.) As you know, of the Epcot area resorts, we've stayed at BC quite a bit (although we are really loving BWI after a recent stay there.) As you can see from my signature, we branch out here and there. We had APs (mine was a Premier!) and visit my parents' condo in SW Florida, so we've had even more opportunity lately. Then, out of the blue, GF just came up. How can we not try GF? We've visited GF several times, but the main building didn't call to us. Then I started reading about SL, and I think that may be a great fit! I love the GF thread and it's great to see so many familiar "faces" over there - I need to jump in soon!

P.S. Trying POFQ with our youngest when he and I are on the way to the airport from SW Florida in April - any experience with POFQ?

 

[KCmike]

Do you recommend a hotel on the island?

 

[pixarmom]

Do you recommend a hotel on the island?

I do! I've been staying at Hotel Metropole for as long as I can remember - literally since childhood. Since then, I've researched the alternatives, and even stopped by a number of hotels on the island to investigate for future trips. But we always end up at Metropole and I'm always happy. The closest I've been to booking something else is Vista Del Mar - they renovated relatively recently and it's a central location right in the middle of everything. (That could be good, or not!)

http://www.hotel-metropole.com/

http://www.hotel-vistadelmar.com/index

 

[KCmike]

Thanks so much. Off to check out those hotels. Nearing the end of the year and when the calendar strikes Jan. 1st its time to start planning our annual vacation. Travel bug time.

 

[JumboBu]

I went to school here, and it is an absolute not to miss. State Stret is a quaint downtown, and El Paseo Shopping center is excellent for shopping, brunching, and whatever you feel. The weather is always really nice except for the summer fog

 

[KCmike]

I'm adding up the cost of our summer vacation and it looks like it will either be Catalina instead of Santa Barbra. We are going to have to cut days out of our trip and SB has hit the cutting room floor. Sad.

 

[pixie08]

We too were thinking of maybe going to Santa Barbra for a few nights. We love to visit vineyards and of course it is like all you hear about now because of sideways. Napa is too far for us from LA so would you experts still say skip it and visit Catalina for a few nights for a romantic getaway before LA and DL?

 

[Boston Tea Party]

My oldest (17 now and a junior in H.S.) will be in College soon and my wife and I want to help her as much as possible with all the expenses. I have twins who will start High School next year as well. Most of our extra income will now be helping them. I will still try to sneak away (hope they wife isn't reading this ) to places like Yellowstone or something much less inexpensive. I will miss California in a big way
.

Our daughter is graduating this year so I know exactly what you mean. Luckily she has been accepted to USC so now I have a built in excuse to make it out to CA more often! Maybe yours will fall in love with a California school also.