Santa Barbara, California: things to do on a girls weekend

The best things to do in Santa Barbara with a group of friends are a tour of Old Mission Santa Barbara, a ride up the County Courthouse clock tower, a wine tasting downtown, dinner at The Lark or Barbareño and a whale watching trip from the harbor. Go from mid July to mid August, when it is warm and almost never rains.

Our handbook puts it in one line: Spanish tiled roofs and palm lined streets by a blue harbor.

When is the best time to visit Santa Barbara?

Mid July to mid August is warm and dry, and September is just as warm with a little more chance of rain. NOAA's 30 year averages for the Santa Barbara station put the average high at 76 degrees in July and 78 in August and September. July has almost no rain, and August and September average 0.1 and 0.2 wet days.

Summer stays mild: the warmest months average 78 degrees. Winter is cooler and wetter, with highs of 66 to 67 and 3 to 5 wet days a month from December through February. Spring and fall sit in between: highs of 71 in April, 72 in May and 76 in October.

Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit. NOAA normals 1991 to 2020, station USC00047902.

What does a weekend in Santa Barbara cost?

From $275 per person per day, by our handbook's estimate. Our 48 hour plan comes to about $600 to $1,125 each, also a handbook estimate.

The inn decides most of it. The rest is dinners, a tasting, a spa treatment and one paid activity. Some stops cost little or nothing: the County Courthouse tour is free, Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden has no admission fee, and the first 75 minutes in a city parking lot are free.

Where to stay in Santa Barbara

Stay downtown and you can walk to dinner, to the wine tasting rooms and to the courthouse. The four inns below are independents, so rates move by date and by room.

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Simpson House Inn, at 121 East Arrellaga Street, has 15 rooms and cottages on a private estate. A hot breakfast is served daily in your room or on the wraparound veranda. The whole estate can be rented for a group. Phone (805) 963-7067.

Check dates and prices

Cheshire Cat Inn & Cottages is a group of buildings: the Main House, the Eberle House, the Coach House and cottages that each hold up to 4 guests. Check in is 3 to 7 PM and check out is 11 AM. For 3 or more rooms, call the inn, because deposits and cancellations vary.

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Secret Garden Inn & Cottages has 11 rooms, 2 in the main house and 9 cottages. Five of the cottages have private decks and hot tubs.

Check dates and prices

Inn by the Harbor has 43 rooms and suites a few blocks from the beach. Check in is any time after 3 PM and check out is 11 AM. Parking and wifi are free, and there are no resort fees. It has an Accessible Queen Deluxe Room. Phone 805 963 7851.

Check dates and prices

Every decision, already made for you

Where to stay, eat and go, plus a ready made 48 hour plan for every town. Pick one and send it to the group.

See the handbookOne time payment. Love it or full refund.

Where to eat in Santa Barbara

The Lark serves Central Coast seasonal food in the Funk Zone. Dinner is Sunday to Thursday 5 to 9 PM and Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 PM. Brunch is Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 AM to 2 PM. Reserve through OpenTable.

Barbareño cooks seasonal California food and is open daily 5 to 9 PM. Call 805 963 9591 or book online.

Paloma cooks over open flame. Dinner is Wednesday to Sunday from 5 PM, brunch is Saturday and Sunday 10:30 AM to 2 PM, and happy hour is Wednesday to Sunday 4 to 6:30 PM. For parties of 9 to 30, email the restaurant.

Finch & Fork serves breakfast Monday to Friday, 7 to 11 AM, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday, 7 AM to 2 PM.

Brophy Bros., at 119 Harbor Way in the Santa Barbara Harbor, is the place for chowder and crab cakes on the water. It is open daily from 11 AM, except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Phone 805 966 4418.

Wine, beer and tastings

Santa Barbara Winery is open daily, 12 to 6 PM. It holds the city's oldest winery license, since 1962.

Grassini Family Vineyards has a downtown tasting room in the El Paseo courtyard. Seatings run from 12 to 5 PM daily and tastings start at $30 per person. Reservations are encouraged: book online for up to 6, and call (805) 897 3366 for a larger group.

Third Window Brewing pours Belgian style ales at 406 East Haley Street. The taproom is open Monday to Thursday 11:30 AM to 9 PM, Friday 11:30 AM to 11 PM, Saturday 11 AM to 11 PM and Sunday 11 AM to 10 PM.

Validation Ale is in the Funk Zone, at 102 East Yanonali Street. It is open Monday to Wednesday 11:30 AM to 8:30 PM, Thursday and Friday until 10 PM, and Saturday and Sunday 10 AM to 8:30 PM.

A spa afternoon

The Spa at El Encanto is open daily, 10 AM to 6 PM. Phone 805 770 3545.

Le Rêve Organic Spa, at 21 West Gutierrez Street, is open daily, 10 AM to 7 PM, and has a Girls Night Out special for groups. Phone (805) 564 2977.

Essence Med Spa, at 107 West Gutierrez Street, books private group events for birthdays and family spa days. It is open Monday to Saturday 9 AM to 9 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 8 PM. Phone (805) 259 1490.

Evolutions Medical & Day Spa, at 350 Chapala Street, Suite 103, offers group discounts and spa parties. Contact it online or by phone to book.

Things to do in Santa Barbara

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Old Mission Santa Barbara, founded in 1786, is open Monday to Saturday 9:30 AM to 5 PM and Sunday 12:30 to 5 PM, with the last tour ticket at 4 PM. Adults (18 to 64) are $17 and seniors (65 and over) are $15. The tour is self guided with an audio tour in 6 languages. Every area of the route is accessible except the cemetery. Some walkways have stairs or are narrow, rough or steep, and wheelchairs are not available to rent. The church and cemetery close to the tour after 3:15 PM on Saturdays and from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Sundays, and during weddings and funerals.

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is free to enter, and an elevator rides up to the 85 foot El Mirador clock tower. The tower is open every day until half an hour before the courthouse closes, with no reservation. The courthouse is open to visitors every day except December 25. On weekdays it is open 8 AM to 5 PM, and weekend hours are not posted, so call before a Sunday visit. A free docent tour of about an hour runs Monday to Friday at 10:30 AM and every day at 2 PM, except December 25.

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is open daily, 10 AM to 5 PM, with the last reservation at 4 PM. Reservations are required. Adults are $23 and seniors (60 and over) and military $18. From March 1 to May 31, adults are $25 and seniors and military $21.

Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden, at 1500 Santa Barbara Street, has no admission fee. The A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden, at 420 Plaza Rubio, is open from 9 AM to sunset, has no restrooms, and shows no blooms from January to March because of winter pruning.

Condor Express whale watching leaves from 301 West Cabrillo Boulevard, and its site says it sees whales and dolphins all year. From early May to December 31 the trip runs 4.5 hours, at $125 for adults 13 and over and $75 for children. From February 11 to early May it runs 2.5 hours at $80 and $60, and in January it runs 2.5 hours at $125 and $75. Children under 5 ride free. A 3.5% reservation fee is added. Phone (805) 882 0088. Prices are from the Condor Express site on October 13, 2026.

The Santa Barbara Trolley is a 90 minute narrated tour. It leaves from 1 Garden Street Thursday to Monday at 10 AM, 12 PM and 2 PM, and every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The operator's site lists adults at $37 and children at $25, excluding fees.

Check dates and prices

Santa Barbara Adventure Company runs a harbor kayak tour, and Eat This, Shoot That! runs a food and photo walk through the Funk Zone. Book either on its own site.

Getting around and getting there

Downtown and the Funk Zone are flat and you can walk between stops. For anything farther, take a taxi or the trolley.

If you drive, the city's gated downtown lots give the first 75 minutes free, once per car per 24 hours. After that it is $3 an hour, up to $33 per 24 hours. Self service lots are $3 an hour, up to $15 per day. Accessible parking with a valid placard gets the first 2.5 hours free and is $12 per day at most, according to the city's parking page.

The Pacific Surfliner train stops at the Amtrak station at 209 State Street, which the line's site calls 2 blocks from the beach.

Drive times from Google Routes, checked October 1, 2026.

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is about 2 miles from downtown.

Coming up

Dates from each organizer's own page, checked October 1 and 13, 2026. Check before you go.

• Old Spanish Days Fiesta, August 4 to 8, 2027. The 2027 event list is not out yet. In 2026 it ran August 5 to 9. Fiesta page
• Summer Solstice Celebration and Parade is held the weekend nearest June 21. The 2027 dates are not out yet. In 2026 the parade was Saturday, June 20, at noon. Parade page
• Semana Nautica Summer Sports Festival begins on the July 4 weekend and runs about two weeks. The 2027 dates are not out yet. In 2026 it ran July 4 to 19. Festival page
• Polo in the Pacific Coast Open, on Sundays in mid to late August. The 2027 dates are not out yet. In 2026 it ran August 14 to 30. Polo schedule

What a Santa Barbara girls weekend looks like

Friday is check in at an inn downtown, a tasting at Grassini or the Santa Barbara Winery and dinner in the Funk Zone. Saturday has the Old Mission in the morning, a lunch at the harbor and the whale watching trip, then a drink at Validation Ale. Sunday is the courthouse clock tower, brunch at Paloma or The Lark and a spa hour.

The full plan, with the bookings in order, is in The Girls' Trip Handbook.

Santa Barbara is one of the towns in our town guides. For towns that feel like a trip abroad, see the Feels Like Europe Index.

Frequently asked questions