Santa Barbara is an elegant, Mediterranean-flavored seaside community located about 116 miles north of Los Angeles. You’ll discover a rich Spanish heritage in its distinctive architecture, red tile roofs, and mission-style adobe building. Bicycle or roller-blade along miles of beachfront paths. Explore the western-style towns of Los Olivos and Santa Ynez or the quaint Danish-inspired village of Solvang. Tour the famous Channel Islands or sip your way through more than 60 premium wineries. Golf, tennis, polo, horseback riding, cycling, hiking, and an array of water sports can be topped off with exceptional shopping and dining.

Weather and Geography

Santa Barbara lies on the Pacific Coast, 92 miles north of Los Angeles and 332 miles south of San Francisco. It boasts a balmy, pleasant, year-round climate. Average daytime temperatures range from the mid-60s to mid-70s Fahrenheit, though late summer highs climb into the 80s Fahrenheit. Evening temperatures are refreshingly cool all year long. Santa Barbara’s beaches face south, which affords visitors sun all day long and greater shelter from winds and surf than many other coastal beaches.

Quick Facts

• Santa Barbara is a paradise for outdoor recreation thanks to near-perfect weather and varied terrain, including the Santa Ynez Mountains, the Los Padres National Forest, and more than 100 miles of coastline.
  
  
• Nowhere else captures California’s Spanish colonial heritage better than Santa Barbara, with its cobblestone paths, red tile roofs, and white-stuccoed adobe missions and buildings.
  
  
• Napa and Sonoma Valleys aren’t the only wine-producing regions of California. The Santa Barbara Wine Country produces some excellent vintages.

Expert Travel Tips

• Dress in Santa Barbara tends to be casual and comfortable, though evening wear may be dressier in some locations, especially in restaurants. You’ll be most comfortable if you layer your clothes, as temperatures can be cooler in the morning and evenings.
  
  
• Santa Barbara is prime territory for whale watching. From January through March, Pacific gray whales pass by on their annual migration from Alaska to Mexico. Blue and humpback whales pass through June through October.
  
  
• Take a boat ride out to the Channel Islands, a rugged chain with a pristine wilderness area, which lies about 25 miles offshore.

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