Santa Barbara Tourist Attractions

Santa Barbara, California, offers several exciting attractions and fun activities.

getyourguide.com will give you suggestions for a jam-packed day activity in the city.

Here are some of our recommendations.

Santa Barbara: Guided Kayak Tour

Experience a guided kayak tour in an unforgettable spot in one of California’s most thriving marine regions.

This tour is a 2-hour kayak adventure that offers spectacular views of Santa Barbara City and beaches.

The meeting location is at the boat launch in Santa Barbara Harbor. Joiners are given life jackets and Personal Floating Devices.

Kayak guides will demonstrate bare paddling and safety talk before the tour.

Once the tour starts, guests will paddle about 1 to 2 miles along the coast, surrounded by beautiful beaches and aquatic life.

The group will pass by the harbor, paddling past boats, through the Historic Wharf, the Pier, and along the beach.

During the kayak journey, guests may encounter some wildlife such as harbor seals, sea lions, brown pelicans, cormorants, and seagulls.

Tour guides will also give trivia about the region's history and local marine ecology.

Santa Barbara: Catamaran Sunset Cruise

Capture the beautiful sunset on the Santa Barbara Harbor as you cruise along the coast aboard the catamaran.

The meeting point for this cruise is at Santa Barbara Harbor.

While sailing, you will meet a lot of coastal wildlife creatures such as seals, otters, birds, etc.

This tour is best enjoyed with family and friends.

Santa Barbara: Electric Bike City Tour

Enjoy and discover bike routes, historical landmarks, and viewpoints of Santa Barbara while riding an electric bike with an expert tour guide.

You may opt to join a group or a private tour. Your guide will decide the route.

The tour usually starts with a stroll along the scenic Cabrillo bike path. It suddenly turns to the city's artsy area, where the most delicate and delicious wine and dining culture is located.

The route also includes the downtown area of Santa Barbara, where historic buildings are found. While traversing downtown, enjoy a safe ride up and down the State Street Promenade provided for bikes and pedestrian traffic.

The finale of this tour will take you back to the bike path that links through the Santa Barbara Harbor and along the boardwalk back to the bike shop.

From Santa Barbara: All-inclusive Wine Tasting Tour and Lunch

Guests who are up for some healthy alcoholic beverage boost would love to take this package tour.

Make your tour memorable by exploring California’s famous wine culture and enjoy a fun-filled, cultural time at some of California’s finest wineries.

This tour includes a pick-up and drop-off service from and to your hotel. A shuttle bus will be the transport service for the whole time.

There will be four stop-overs at different wineries to get an insider’s look into the process of wine-making and wine-tasting.

Enjoy a delicious picnic lunch in a scenic winery by one of the city’s top restaurants.

Santa Barbara offers more than 120 wineries, and this tour is initiated by one of the few companies in the district.

Guests will receive their Value Passport and significant discounts on various top-quality wines.

Santa Barbara: Surfing Lesson

Ride the tide and learn to surf at Santa Barabara’s beautiful beaches.

This attraction package includes surf sessions that will give you essential learnings about this exciting water sport.

You can meet your instructor at Mondo’s Beach, south of Santa Barbara.

Learn finer points on how to catch waves and surf above them.

The instructor will demonstrate the correct positioning of the body on the surfboard, some paddling techniques, and a proper stance. Learners will also get pointers on maneuvering waves, some balance techniques, and surf etiquette.

Lunch is not included in this activity. Therefore, guests are advised to pack up their food.

Surf instructors already have years of experience in giving surfing lessons. Santa Barbara is ideal for beginners to get a foundation or enhance basic skills for this water sport.

Surf sites are selected depending on the current and tide conditions.

You will also enjoy the beautiful view of the Santa Ynez mountain range.

Santa Barbara: Amazing Scavenger Hunt Adventure

This fantastic scavenger hunt adventure will be on top of the list for families traveling with their children.

Turn Santa Barbara into a giant game board as you enjoy this interactive and fun-filled activity.

Urban Adventure Quest had the idea of combining a scavenger hunt game and Amazing Race with a three-hour sightseeing tour of Santa Barbara.

Joiners of this game will be guided by their smartphones, making their way among famous historical landmarks of the city while solving clues and completing challenges while learning local history.

The scavenger hunt adventure will start from Sterns Wharf to the downtown art. Your scavenger hunt route will reveal some hidden historical gems of Santa Barbara and unveil the city’s secret.

Have fun, play the game, learn something, see historical sights, and uniquely experience Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara: Funk Zone Food and Photo Tour

This food and photo tour starts on lower State Street and will walk you through the Funk Zone, where you can taste some of Santa Barbara’s famous food.

Try fresh seafood, Mexican food, and gastropub creations, and drink artisan beer, locally grown wines, and hand-crafted spirit beverages.

Along the way, you will get used to and embrace the local culture of Santa Barbara.

You will also learn some photography tips, mainly easy-to-shoot photos from your tour guide, and take your food photography skills to the next level.

At the end of the tour, you’ve learned a lot from the local culture and some photography skills.

Santa Barbara: Craft Beer Walking Tour

Visit three unique craft beer breweries and have fun as you take advantage of the free taste at each one.

This tour will tell you the history of each brewery and listen to some historical facts and cultural trivia about the city.

Watch the brewmasters as they draw their brew inspirations from Santa Barbara and beyond.

This walking tour will also take you to explore the downtown hotspots, including a visit to Funk Zone and State Street.

Enjoy plenty of free beer tasting choices. You may also purchase your lunch from local Californian cuisine as you walk through the district.

Santa Barbara: Wine, Chocolate, and History Walking Tour

Get trivial facts from the historical highlights of Santa Barbara shared through this walking tour. Find out about wines and chocolates.

Visit two of the region’s excellent wineries and two chocolate factories that produce handmade local choco bars.

The meeting point is at Casa de la Guerra. Please be there 15 minutes before the tour starts.

From the meeting point, you will walk through the downtown area with your guide. Enjoy the stroll and the sightseeing as you pass Santa Barbara County Courthouse, La Arcada, State Street, and more.

Santa Barbara: Maritime Museum Admission Tickets

Enjoy engaging activities at Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.

Tourists will learn about the city's maritime history by engaging in interactive exhibits.

Learn about the original inhabitants, the Chumash, and how they constructed their plank canoes called “tomol.”

Get up close and touch an otter pelt; learn their characteristics and why they’re bound to extinction.

Watch videos of famous surfers and experience firing one Goleta Cannon.

Learn about the Honda Disaster. Hear about the sinking of the Winfield Scott Ship.

Tourists can watch four to six feature films in the 88-seat capacity Munger Theater. Film selections include Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure and Santa Barbara and the Sea, a 13,000-year-old maritime history of the area.

Note that the Maritime Museum is closed every Wednesday.

Santa Barbara: Santa Ynez Wine Country Shuttle

A wine shuttle service will let you explore the extent of diversity of Santa Ynez Valley without restrictions from a wide selection of wineries and points of interest.

This package tour allows tourists to choose from various selections of some of the best wines in the Valley.

Enjoy different lunch options in Los Olivos. Experience olive oil tasting and stop at a Lavender farm.

Learn about the culture and history of Santa Ynez as one of the famous wine regions from your knowledgeable tour guides.

Upon arriving at the Valley, your first stop will be the three wineries. The next stop is at the Los Olivos Tasting Rooms for lunch and an opportunity to visit the facility. Enjoy a broader view of Santa Barbara’s vineyards and horse ranches.

Los Olivos has approximately 25 tasting rooms. Bring your packed lunch, or you may eat at one of the restaurants in town.

The final stop will be in one of the most beautiful tourist spots in the valley. You can choose between two famous vineyards the same day you visit the area.

Please always bring a valid Identification card or your passport.

Santa Barbara: South Coast Mountain Bike Day Trip

Enjoy and go extreme as you explore the mountains of Santa Barbara through this Mountain Bike Tour. Ride on a full-suspension mountain bike with safety gears such as a helmet, and water, together with your tour guide.

Feel the thrilling adventure as you ride up the mountains with a stunning ocean view.

Discover the peak of Santa Barbara on this cycling tour. Bring drinking water to keep you hydrated as you follow your guide through stunning vistas of the mountains, city, and the ocean.

Bikers can choose what course will be good for them. Beginners should choose a simple course and an intermediate course for avid cyclists.

For beginners, the mountain bike tour is over primarily flat terrain with few dips and climbs.

Before the tour starts, make sure to check your bike. Adjust the suspension and seat heights to ensure you are comfortable.

Let your guide handle the navigation as you ride through eucalyptus trees.

The bike must be returned to the supplier’s shop at the end of the tour.