Santa Barbara: Culture, Coast and Experiences

Santa Barbara combines impressive history with experiences by the water, in the mountains and at vibrant cultural sites. If you are planning a trip, you can enjoy very different kinds of days here: get to know historic places, explore the harbor, discover hiking trails in the Santa Ynez Mountains or experiment and encounter animals with children. When searching for a suitable vacation rental, it helps to determine your personal focus early on, as Santa Barbara offers cultural, active and family-oriented points of interest.

Historic Places with Their Own Stories

A good starting point for travelers interested in culture is El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park. The park preserves the site of the last of four Spanish military posts along the coast of Alta California. El Cuartel is also connected with this history: The building is the oldest surviving structure in Santa Barbara and, at the same time, the second-oldest in California.

Old Mission Santa Barbara was founded by Spanish Franciscans in 1786 and continues to house the Franciscan community. A multilingual audio tour leads through the inner garden, the 1820 church, the historic cemetery and the museum. This allows visitors to explore the site through several points of interest without reducing its history to a single building. Santa Barbara County Courthouse provides another distinctive landmark. Completed in 1929, the landmark was designed in the Spanish Colonial style and features a four-sided clock tower and a sunken garden with outdoor facilities.

Water, Mountains and Movement

Santa Barbara’s maritime side is also strongly pronounced. Stearns Wharf is California’s oldest continuously operating pier and dates back to 1872. The wharf is home to the Sea Center, which offers touch pools. Those who prefer an activity on the water can find charter options at Santa Barbara Harbor with instruction in kayaking, diving and sailing.

For more active days, the Front Country Trails Program offers 35 miles of hiking trails in the Santa Ynez Mountains. This selection appeals to travelers who do not want to spend all their time in museums and historic sites. When planning your days, you should arrange the various options according to your preferred pace rather than trying to fit all the experiences into a single itinerary.

Discoveries for Different Age Groups

MOXI complements the cultural offerings with hands-on experimentation. The Innovation Workshop invites guests of all ages to tinker, build and put their own ideas into practice using tools, technology, art and imagination. The Santa Barbara Zoo provides another shared experience. It offers educational animal encounters lasting 20 to 30 minutes, with animal interactions and question-and-answer sessions. Such offerings can be particularly interesting when you want to take different interests within your group into account while planning your trip.

Choose Your Accommodation Based on Your Itinerary

When searching for a vacation rental in Santa Barbara, you can first ask yourself which part of the itinerary should define your vacation. For culture-focused days, El Presidio, El Cuartel, Old Mission and the County Courthouse provide specific opportunities to engage with history and architecture. Those who want to combine water and activity can include Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara Harbor and the hiking trails in the Santa Ynez Mountains in their plans. MOXI and the zoo expand the selection with family-oriented experiences, without requiring every day of the trip to follow the same pattern.

The Santa Barbara Visitor Centers provide further orientation with maps and directions. They also offer current information on the opening hours of activities as well as tips on attractions, museums, bicycle rentals, guided tours and dining options. This allows you to tailor your research on site to your own interests and align your choice of accommodation with the desired character of your trip.

Compare More Destinations

If you would like to explore other destinations from this selection in addition to Santa Barbara, you can also discover Los Olivos, Montecito, Mission Canyon, Buellton, Carpinteria, Santa Maria, Lompoc and Los Alamos.

To the higher-level travel overview: Santa Barbara.