Sharing is caring!

This post may contain affiliate links to products we recommend. You can read our disclosure for more information.

The Itinerary – Traveling in the Month of February 

I was lucky enough to go to Santa Barbara, California in 2020 right before the coronavirus pandemic broke out. I had visited California many times before but never Santa Barbara so I made that the focus of this mini getaway. This travel guide will discuss why Santa Barbara, California is the Perfect Escape from the east coast winter cold.

Getting There

I took this trip with my mom and we were traveling from the east coast to the west coast so the most affordable tickets for February 2020 were through United.com. We opted to fly directly into Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) instead of into Los Angeles (LAX) and drive potentially in traffic. You will likely have to connect if you fly directly into SBA. It’s a tiny airport but for us it was worth it to avoid LA traffic.

Where to Stay

When visiting Santa Barbara you have two options for where to stay. Staying in Santa Barbara proper or the town right over in Goleta. We opted for the latter due to hotel availability. However, Goleta was a cute town and a nice twist to staying in California.

We ended up staying at The Kimpton Goodland on Calle Real. 

Address: 5650 Calle Real, Goleta, CA 93117
Website: https://www.thegoodland.com/ 

Pros:

  • Outdoor swimming pool, with poolside service from Outpost
  • Hosted evening social hour, 5-6pm daily
  • Morning coffee and tea service
  • 24-hour fitness center
  • A record player in every guest room
  • IHG® Rewards members get complimentary high-speed WiFi 
  • Pet-friendly accommodations 
  • Free on-site self-parking

Cons:

  • Kimpton converted an old motel into a boho feel hotel but some of the remaining motel features still linger
  • We had some problems with the electrical ports in our room due to the old bones of the motel (but the hotel was responsive to fix our concerns)

My second lodging suggestion would be this cute bed and breakfast called the Hideaway Santa Barbara, A Kirkwood Collection Property. This was located in Santa Barbara (farther from downtown) but all rooms were sold out when we booked our trip. 

Address: 420 W Montecito St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 
Website: https://hideawaysantabarbara.com/ 

The Weather

The weather was really great in Santa Barbara coming from an east coast winter. It ranged between 68-70 degrees during the day for a high and around 47 degrees at night. As long as we were out and about in the sun it was very comfortable. At night it felt a bit chilly just because it was so much warmer during the day and felt like a sudden temperature drop at night.

Getting Around 

Santa Barbara is very spread out so I suggest renting a car to get around. You could make due with Uber or Lift but it will be pricey. We used Hertz as our booking service and were able to book and pay online before we arrived. I also suggest booking through National if you are willing to spend a little more. Once we arrived in Santa Barbara (SBA) it was very late coming from the east coast but our car pickup was easy even with limited staff at SBA.

What To Do

  • Downtown Santa Barbara: This is a great area for shopping, restaurants, theaters, and ambiance (day and night). Most of the parking is garage or street parking with plenty of walkable attractions.
  • Stearns Wharf and Santa Barbara Harbor: If you want a great view of the water this is the place! The Wharf is located in the harbor of Santa Barbara. There are plenty of restaurants, recreation, specialty shops,  and merchants. If it’s not cloudy you’ll be able to snap some great photos of the water and mountains in the distance.
  • Relax at the Salt Cave Santa Barbara: If you have an afternoon to relax I highly recommend the Salt Cave in Santa Barbara. This is a Himalayan Salt Cave that has a great environment to relax, recharge, and rejuvenate. The cave walls and ceilings are made of Jurassic-Age salt blocks and crystals and the floor is crushed salt. The spa provides zero-gravity lounge chairs to relax directly in the salt. Make sure to hydrate afterwards!
  • Butterfly Beach: Check out Butterfly Beach located in the village of Montecito. This beach is ideal for swimming, surfing, and sunbathing. The location of this beach has some picturesque sunrises and sunsets.
  • Visit Old Mission Santa Barbara: If you are a history fan check out Old Mission Santa Barbara which was established in 1786 as the tenth of the 21 California Missions. Old Mission offers self guided tours, a library, and a gift shop to tour this historic site.
  • Visit the City of Solvang: Solvang is “a little slice of Denmark in Southern California” and was a great quick day trip. Solvang offers a unique getaway in the historic Danish village and a different twist on the Santa Ynez Valley.
  • Food Tours: If you are a foodie like me check out the Eat this Shoot That Food Tour located in Santa Barbara. Another popular option is Taste Santa Barbara Food Tours.
  • Visit the Channel Islands: If you are into cruising you can take a trip to Venture, California to tour the Channel Islands.
  • Carmillo Premium Outlets: If you like shopping check out the Carmillo Premium Outlets! The outlets are just 42 miles outside of Santa Barbara and the biggest Outlet Malls I’ve ever visited. Its worth the trip if you have some shopping plans,
  • Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu: Driving the Pacific Coast Highway was high on my bucket list so I worked it into this trip. The Pacific Coast Highway is located on State Route 1 in California and runs along most of the Pacific coastline of California. The entire span is just over 656 miles. If you have a day where you want to get outside of Santa Barbara I highly suggest taking the scenic route on the Pacific Coast Highway on your way to Malibu.
  • El Matador Beach: If you have a day to drive to Malibu I suggest visiting El Matador Beach. This Is a beautiful collection of 3 small cliff-foot beaches with great views located in Malibu California.

What To Pack

For Around Santa Barbara
  • Layers, Layers, Layers: The highs during the day are nice hovering around 70 degrees with a low of about 47 degrees so you will want to pack some layers in your clothing you can change into quickly for day to night activities.
  • A Hat: If you plan on hiking, going to the beach, or just staying in the sun a hat will be needed for this trip.
  • Water Shoes: I found these helpful for beach days to walk around on the beach and in and out of the water.
  • Beach Towel: I suggest bringing your own beach towel with you if you are visiting beaches on your trip.
  • Backpack: You’ll want to bring a backpack or a daypack to carry around your items for day excursions, parks, beaches, and gardens in Santa Barbara.
  • Sunglasses: Most days were very bright and you will want a pair of sunnies. You can always buy one anywhere in Santa Barbara but do yourself a favor and pack a pair.
  • Powerbank: I use my iPhone as my camera while on vacation so I often travel with a power bank everywhere I go. I like this one from Anker since it’s slim and good for two full charges. This comes in handy when you are out and about touring and don’t need to stress about your battery dying.

FOR Long Haul TRAVELING
  • Hardside Suitcase: If you are in the market for a hardside luggage set (or single piece) I highly recommend this affordable set from Amazon Basics. I’ve traveled with this same set of luggage since 2018 to Thailand, Canada, Alaska, Portugal, and more and it’s held up for every trip.
  • Compression Socks: I always travel with compression socks if I’m traveling for over 4 hours. Compression socks help your legs from getting tired and achy. On longer flights they can also help with blood circulation. Grab the pair I use which is a fun multi stripe pattern so its easy to spot in your carry-on.
  • Luggage Scale: If you are like me and tend to over pack you will want to invest in a luggage scale! This is the best purchase I’ve made for travel (stealing the idea from my Alaskan friend back in 2011). Keep this in your carry-on bag and never have to pay for your overweight luggage again!
  • Book Cover: I always travel with a good book on longer flights but they would always get destroyed in my backpack. I found this book cover in 2018 and I haven’t turned back. This keeps my books nice and protected in my backpack or carry-on bag.

Check out our Essentials Store for other travel items!


Good Eats

  • Boathouse Hendry’s Beach: This is a local restaurant in Santa Barbara with a great oceanfront view. We went for a really nice breakfast but they also serve lunch, dinner, and happy hour.
    • Location: 2981 Cliff Dr Santa Barbara, CA 93109
  • The Drunken Crab: The Drunken Crab is located in downtown Santa Barbara and was the perfect option for a fresh seafood boil lunch.
  • Finch and Fork Restaurant: Is a stylish restaurant with American cuisine using local ingredients. This would be a great option for a nice sit down dinner or lunch. 
    • Location: Connected to the Kimpton Canary Hotel: 31 W Carrillo St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 
  • Farm Stands: On the way back from Malibu we stopped by Camarillo, California and found some great produce at a local farm stand off the beaten path. These were some of the BEST Strawberries I’ve ever tasted!
  • Kyle’s Kitchen: We found this great local chain called Kyle’s Kitchen one night for a fast dinner and I highly recommend it. This is a fast casual restaurant that has burgers, fries, salads, soups, milk shakes, beer and wine on tap. Although it’s a fast casual chain the burgers are made with grass-fed beef, brioche buns, and hand cut fries. There are several locations in both Santa Barbara and Goleta 
  • Jeannine’s Restaurant & Bakery: A cute local chain with amazing gourmet breakfast food, sandwiches, and salads. There are a few locations around the area. This restaurant also has the best coffee!
  • In-N-Out: This is a cliche option but I had visited California before this trip at least six times and never made it to an In-N-Out (I know!) For a fast food place I really think the hype is real so I’ve added it to the list of places to stop by if you have a chance.
  • Santa Barbara Public Market: We stumbled on this place by accident. It’s a Food Hall in Santa Barbara featuring the best local food and drinks. There are tons of options from Thai to Pizza and Sushi to Ice Cream. Location: 38 West Victoria (at Chapala) Santa Barbara, CA 93101 
  • Backyard Bowls: This is another local chain we popped into for breakfast and there are three locations around Santa Barbara. They specialize in Smoothie Bowls, Smoothies, Toasts, Oatmeal, Muesli, and Quinoa. A really great option for a quick breakfast! 

Planning Your Trip

I’ve been using TripIt to track all of my vacation trips as a neat tool. You can load all of your airport notes and rough plans into the app to track your itinerary as you plan and travel. The app is free for the basic version (which I love), but you can also upgrade to TripIt Pro for $49 for an entire year which comes with extra features such as alerts for gate changes on your connection, notifications if a better seat becomes available on your flight, a point tracker to track your reward programs and many other nice perks.

I hope you get to check out Santa Barbara as the perfect vacation getaway! Let me know in the comments some of your favorite places to travel to get away from it all.

Sharing is caring!

The Bread and Butter Life Blog

Related Posts

4 Comments

Comments are closed.