LAX>Santa Barbara this Summer

[BigErnMcCracken]

Burbank is also actually worth visiting itself.

Just out of curiosity, for what?

 

[Waquoit]

How long were you holding that one in?

It all came out at once!

 

[Waquoit]

Have fun. Santa Barbara is beautiful and the beaches are nice. We rode our bicycles around town.

I was only there for an afternoon years ago. I remember thinking, this place is nice.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Just out of curiosity, for what?

The downtown area is cute (or at least used to be), Warner Brothers. My ex-GFs mom lived there, always enjoyed it. An area of LA that's actually walkable. For someone who's never been it's more interesting than what's around LAX.

I realize LAX is closer to PCH, but I'd go west through the valley and take Topanga Canyon Blvd down. That's a pretty interesting drive (or used to be). I suppose they'd miss Santa Monica that way. Maybe I'm just nostalgic.

 

[jleves]

Monterey is wonderful, but its at least a 6 or 7 hour ride each way from LA

Monterey is only 4 hours from Santa Barbara - but as stated, some of the 1 is washed out so you may miss the better scenic spots. News sites report they expect it to reopen by late spring, but that's obviously speculative.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Barbareño is excellent for dinner

I enjoyed my lobster roll on the pier

Definitely make your way around the funk zone

There’s a hike up the hills to some hot springs, fun activity for a few hours; not a light climb

Assuming you have a car, cold spring tavern was cool

 

[Rocktheworld]

Another thing to know. Summertime along the SoCal shore may not have the weather you expect. Often from May into July there is what they call the marine layer, fog and clouds that hug the shore, sometimes all day, sometimes it will burn off in the PM. Visitors that time of year, expecting the mythical SoCal "endless summer" are often disappointed. The later in summer, the better the beach weather as a rule. Actually September, October and November are our best weather

Gotta love May gray/June gloom

 

[uconnfan68]

If you're already going to be in Santa Barbara and haven't been up the coast and If you can take an extra day/night, a drive from Santa Barbara to Monterey is definitely worth it. Stay over in Monterey and drive back the next day. I'd recommend the Spindrift Inn in Monterey if that's in your budget. See if you can get a front balcony room. Then plan to have lunch either going up or back in Big Sur. Hopefully the 1 is reopened by then.

Hire a driver so you can watch the scenery.

 

[HCCForever]

I love Santa Barbara and have visited multiple times. I haven't been since 2013 but I did fly into LAX and rented a car. LAX was not that bad to me. The worst part is that I flew from Stewart in NY to LAX and flew home to BDL. The price savings on the flights were not worth the hassles involved.

I enjoyed roller blading around SB even with the bloody knees and elbows.

 

[District-Husky]

Stop by the Getty Villa on the drive up from LAX.

The Getty Villa
(310) 440-7300

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[TedStriker]

I haven’t been to SBA in ages. Used to stay at the BW Peppertree. Not the most glamorous place but it gets the job done. Unfortunately I was never in town for long but it was one of my favorite places to visit at my old job.

 

[LIuconn]

LAX will prob be easiest and cheapest from CT, presumably. Burbank Isa waste of time and not the socal experience.

If you want to do a night/day in LA stay in Manhattan beach, south Redondo (not touristy and near palos Verdes peninsula which is beautiful and has some hiking) or Santa Monica (main street is a locals neighborhood steps from the beach and pier)

In SB, saw some good recs in the thread like the funk zone and a trip to Cold Spring Tavern.

Even if you're not into wine (and better if you or your wife are), the area around Santa Barbara and the vineyards will not disappoint. Towns:
Solvang
Los Olivos
Los Alamos

Vineyards (so many)
Dierberg Star Lane
Fess Parker
Demetria

And watch Sideways before the trip!

 

[LIuconn]

Hire a driver so you can watch the scenery.

Who tf is hiring a driver for a 4 hour 1 way drive. Then go back? Sheesh

 

[SoCalCanine]

LAX will prob be easiest and cheapest from CT, presumably. Burbank Isa waste of time and not the socal experience.

If you want to do a night/day in LA stay in Manhattan beach, south Redondo (not touristy and near palos Verdes peninsula which is beautiful and has some hiking) or Santa Monica (main street is a locals neighborhood steps from the beach and pier)

In SB, saw some good recs in the thread like the funk zone and a trip to Cold Spring Tavern.

Even if you're not into wine (and better if you or your wife are), the area around Santa Barbara and the vineyards will not disappoint. Towns:
Solvang
Los Olivos
Los Alamos

Vineyards (so many)
Dierberg Star Lane
Fess Parker
Demetria

And watch Sideways before the trip!

Other than somewhat disagreeing on airports, I concur with most of this. But I can't in good conscience not mention that, in my view, Solvang is probably about the 4th ring in Hell. An imitation kitsch Danish village full of nothing but gift shops, lousy restaurants and jam-packed with obnoxious tourists. Ask other people, I will admit to being a curmudgeon, but I am not alone in this opinion. Some people DO love the place, but some people actually watch Syracuse basketball, so there you go. The whole surrounding area though is great, Los Olivos,Los Alamos, Buellton, Santa Ynez, all great fun. And I heartily endorse the Cold Spring Tavern, a local institution. Great atmosphere, great trip tip sandwiches, GREAT LIVE MUSIC. Sorry to shout but I have a lot of friends who play there regularly.

 

[speckle]

Other than somewhat disagreeing on airports, I concur with most of this. But I can't in good conscience not mention that, in my view, Solvang is probably about the 4th ring in Hell. An imitation kitsch Danish village full of nothing but gift shops, lousy restaurants and jam-packed with obnoxious tourists. Ask other people, I will admit to being a curmudgeon, but I am not alone in this opinion. Some people DO love the place, but some people actually watch Syracuse basketball, so there you go. The whole surrounding area though is great, Los Olivos,Los Alamos, Buellton, Santa Ynez, all great fun. And I heartily endorse the Cold Spring Tavern, a local institution. Great atmosphere, great trip tip sandwiches, GREAT LIVE MUSIC. Sorry to shout but I have a lot of friends who play there regularly.

LOL. Living in Washington I feel the same way about Leavenworth. Something about 30+ days of open air Christmas music makes me want to throw myself down a flight of stairs. Other people seem cool with it though.

 

[husky8273]

FYI - due to mudslides, there are at least three points along the PCH (north of San Luis Obispo) that are currently closed to traffic while they repair the roadway. As a result, you are diverted inland and required to continue up the 101 freeway to get to Monterey.

If you get to San Luis Obispo, enjoy a meal at Koberl at Blue

 

[FluxTZ]

LAX will prob be easiest and cheapest from CT, presumably. Burbank Isa waste of time and not the socal experience.

If you want to do a night/day in LA stay in Manhattan beach, south Redondo (not touristy and near palos Verdes peninsula which is beautiful and has some hiking) or Santa Monica (main street is a locals neighborhood steps from the beach and pier)

In SB, saw some good recs in the thread like the funk zone and a trip to Cold Spring Tavern.

Even if you're not into wine (and better if you or your wife are), the area around Santa Barbara and the vineyards will not disappoint. Towns:
Solvang
Los Olivos
Los Alamos

Vineyards (so many)
Dierberg Star Lane
Fess Parker
Demetria

And watch Sideways before the trip!

Demetria is a beautiful vineyard with great wine!

 

[Scrutineer]

My wife and I were approved to attend a four-day educational workshop in Santa Barbara this summer. My birthday happens to fall the day before the workshop starts, so to celebrate, I wanted to fly a few days early to enjoy California in the summer.

The plan is to fly into LAX and rent a car to drive to Santa Barbara with the intention of taking the Pacific Coast Highway from LAX to Santa Barbara. It'll be my first time into LAX and that part of California, so in the few days I have off from the conference, help me out w/ some tips for the trip!

Three car and university ideas:
Right
next to LAX (Torrance) you can visit McCluskey, LTD, the world's leading shop restoring original Cobras and GT40's. Call first.

A few minutes north of the airport you can stop at Loyola Marymount for a commemorative t-shirt and then in Malibu you can visit Pepperdine for the view and a "Waves" t-shirt and maybe run into BarBra Streisand in downtown Malibu before you head on to Santa Barbara.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Our JFK>PHX>SBA had a sketchy situation last night when a haboob hit Phoenix as we were landing. We were very close to the ground, shot back up and got diverted to Tucson, where we spent the night. Certainly a memorable birthday for me.

After almost 24 hours of delay, we’re excited to finally arrive at Santa Barbara. Thanks to everyone for the recs!

 

[Hey Adrien!]

We’re back home after landing late Friday night.

Grateful for the opportunity to visit Santa Barbara on the school’s dime. Excellent conference but, to be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of Santa Barbara.

Yes, weather is fantastic and tons of natural beauty, but I guess I don’t jive with the vibe of the city. Almost felt like I was in a giant version of New Canaan. Highlights though were the historic theater district and both of my favorite meals were at the public market. It was also fun eating takeout at a different beach each day.