The city of Santa Barbara is situated on the California coast just about 90 miles (150 km) north of Los Angeles. It is also called as Channel Islands. It is a wonderful beach to enjoy boating, sunbathing and swimming.

Beautiful Beaches in Santa Barbara

Stunning broad beaches are the chief attractions of Santa Barbara. It is same like Santa Monica Bach in northern Los Angeles. But it is quit calm without any overcrowding, air pollution or traffic. The long dock is fully occupied with many restaurants, amusement parks and shops. It is interesting to see some tourists spread over the beach to enjoy their sunbath, particularly on Saturday afternoon in August.

Santa Barbara is a preferred weekend getaway destination for the local residents of all southern California. You can see many Los Angeles natives too. There are many beaches suitable for surfing in north and south downtown of Santa Barbara.

Rincon Point is allegedly the optimum place for surfing, which is nearly 15 miles from Santa Barbara near Carpinteria. There are many schools in Santa Barbara to teach surfing. It is possible to rent a sailboat or kayaks from the harbor basin in Santa Barbara; you can also rent pedal boats and bicycles. You can travel by fishing charters and whale watching cruise to the channel Island.

Accommodations & Attractions in Santa Barbara

You can see only small elegant hotels, restaurants and shops in beach area; it is difficult to see high-class hotels and restaurants in Santa Barbara. The streets of Santa Barbara are really beautiful with lined palm trees and flowered bushes. State Street is the major shopping entertainment in Santa Barbara, starting about six blocks back from the beach. Santa Barbara has a magnificent collection of restaurants, boutiques and expensive shopping malls.

You can see lively entertainments presented by both local performers and tourists beside State Street on weekend nights. There are many theatres, art galleries, ballet, museums and symphonies. There are some excellent courses in Santa Barbara with palm lined and year around golfing weather for golf lovers.

Santa Barbara offers many attractions in and around the city. You can enjoy the older parts of the city consisting of Old Spanish Presidio and the Mission Santa Barbara. The courthouse is really a worth seeing mixed with both modern design and traditional Spanish colonial features. Santa Ynez Valley is just an hour drive from Santa Barbara. You can see lot of flower farms and wineries in Santa Ynez valley. This is the major cultivation area of world famous great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes and it is also considered as the California Central coast Wine Region. You can visit most of the wineries and get the vintage taste.

The American Riviera

You can see the great walls of Santa Ynez Mountain structures here. This beautiful part of the California Coast is called as the American Riviera. It is a wonderful holiday destination to visit, but is very luxurious place to live.