A Bit About Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara coastline runs east and west, an anomaly in the normal north-south California orientation. It can make things a little confusing. US Hwy 101 through Santa Barbara will be labeled north/south, even though the compass says something different. Street names can also be maddeningly similar, especially the ones that start with a “C” and end with an “o” – Castillo, Cabrillo, Carrillo. Your best bet to minimize confusion is to use your favorite navigation tool.
When the University of California at Santa Barbara holds its annual graduation ceremonies in June, every hotel in the Santa Barbara are will be filled up, often months in advance and rates will be much higher than normal. If you can, it will be better to choose a different weekend to visit.
You’ll need more than just a place to sleep while you’re in Santa Barbara. Take a look at things to do in Santa Barbara for a weekend getaway.
Choose Your Location
On the Waterfront: Typically across the street from the beach or marina or a short walk from there. The locations are convenient, close to the trolley line and an easy walk to downtown and State Street. They’re also the most expensive places in town – and they sell out first.
East State Street: Near the State Street exit from US Hwy 101, you’ll find several nicely updated older properties that are less expensive than those on the waterfront. The location is a short drive from the State Street shopping area and the beach.
Carpinteria: Just a few miles south of Santa Barbara, it has a few of the more budget-priced chain hotels.
Goleta: You’ll find a few more hotels in the moderate price range in Goleta, just north of Santa Barbara. It’s the closest location to the university and availability varies depending on university events.
Other Options: If you must be in Santa Barbara and can’t a place to stay, try the town of Ventura (36 miles south) or Solvang (40 miles north).
Finding the Best Hotel for You in Santa Barbara
Find your Santa Barbara lodging like a pro. Use the same process we use to choose our recommended hotels. However, you’ll need to know a few things about Palm Springs hotels first:
Santa Barbara has a few big chain hotels, boutique lodging and smaller local chains which are mostly what you’ll find if you consult the typical hotel reservation websites. To find them, I use the online reviews and price comparisons at tripadvisor
Some of the smaller hotels have only one bed per room. If you need more than that, be sure to confirm that the hotel has rooms that meet your needs.
Some properties charge extra “resort fees” which are not always easy to find out about and can increase the total cost. Take extra care about this when using sources such as Priceline and Hotwire which don’t give you the hotel name in advance.
Once you’ve picked a few good candidates for your trip, apply all the best tricks to get the lowest possible rate.
Finding a B&B in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara has a number of really nice, highly-rated bed and breakfast inns, most of them in the main part of town. You can find quite a few of them at Tripadvisor.
Santa Barbara Vacation Rentals
We love to rent a big house and invite a bunch of friends to join us (or rent a small one to have all to ourselves). Finding the right one takes a little more work than finding a hotel, but can be worth the effort. A few ways to find them:
Take a look at what’s available through Vacation Home Rentals and Home Away.
Tripadvisor also lists some vacation rentals. Just click the Vacation Rentals link on their Santa Barbara page to see them – and in some case reserve directly from there.
The most popular source of local rentals is AirBNB but take care with filtering to get the kind of place you want.
Camping Around Santa Barbara
You’ll find a few places to pitch a tent or park the RV in the Santa Barbara area:
Santa Barbara Camping Guide
Places to camp at the beach near Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Camping
Santa Barbara Campgrounds and RV Parks
The California coastline takes a turn from its normal north-south orientation near Santa Barbara, running east-west for about 100 miles. It creates a “banana belt” climate that makes the Santa Barbara area one of the most pleasant places in the state, year round.
Some Santa Barbara camping spots are on the coast, and several are on the beach – and by that we mean so close that you step out of your
door into sand. The Santa Barbara Beach Camping Guide lists all the spots in the area that are right on the beach and allow overnight camping.
To give a sense of scale, the map is about 80 miles from top to bottom. If you click on it, you can see it in a bigger size.
Plan Ahead for Santa Barbara Camping
California’s state parks reservations process can be confusing and it’s set up in a way that practically forces you to plan months ahead. Technically, you can reserve at any state park as little as 2 days ahead. You might even manage to find a spot still open if you’re flexible about dates.
If you’re planning a big trip in mid-summer, you need to be on the phone – or online – 6 months or more before you want to go. For the campgrounds listed below that are state parks, find out how to make California state park reservations.
RV Rental Near Santa Barbara
If you want to camp, but don’t have your own vehicle, it’s no problem You can rent one – and even have someone else set it up for you.
Weekend Haul Rentals: They have a range of travel trailers for rent and are located in Ventura, a little south of Santa Barbara.
101 RV Rentals: Rent a travel trailer from them and you can pick it up – or they can deliver and set it up for you at Ocean Mesa, and El Capitan, Carpinteria, Refugio, and Gaviota state parks.
Camping Around Santa Barbara
Cachuma Lake: Tent, trailer and RV camping. Lots of campsites, some with full electrical, water and sewer hookups, and some with electrical and water hookups. They also have several yurts for rent (a cross between a tent and tepee). North of Santa Barbara on Cachuma Lake.
Carpinteria State Beach: Twelve miles south of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria State Beach offers a mile of beach for swimming, surf fishing, tide pool exploring.
El Capitan Canyon: A step above other Santa Barbara camping spots. Tent cabins among a grove of oak and sycamore trees along El Capitan Creek, equipped with full bathrooms, linens, towels, kitchenettes, private picnic tables and fire pits.
El Capitan State Beach: Located off Highway 101 seventeen miles west of Santa Barbara.
Jalama Beach: About an hour’s drive north of Santa Barbara, with a store and cafe nearby.
Ocean Mesa: This RV camping spot is next to El Capitan Canyon.
Rancho Oso: Take your horses with you at this Santa Barbara camping spot, or come ride theirs. Located 30 minutes from Highway 101, the airport, or downtown Santa Barbara.
Refugio State Beach: 20 miles west of Santa Barbara, camping on Highway 101 at Refugio Road.
Sunrise RV Park: Santa Barbara camping close to downtown, beaches, bus lines, and grocery stores. Off the highway between Santa Barbara and Montecito.
Santa Barbara Beach Camping
Near Santa Barbara, you’ll find some nice places for California beach camping, although some of them are a little far out of town.
Carpinteria State Beach: Twelve miles south of Santa Barbara. Offers a mile of California beach: camping swimming, surf fishing, tide pooling.
Gaviota State Park: California beach camping 33 miles west of Santa Barbara. The campground is right next to the beach, below a towering railroad trestle. Sometimes windy but good for fishing off the pier.
Jalama Beach: Bring your own camper for beachfront Santa Barbara, California beach camping or rent a fully-equipped trailer.
Refugio State Beach: Located 20 miles west of Santa Barbara. The tree-shaded campground is just across a small road from the beach.
El Capitan State Beach has the word “beach” in its name and it’s very pretty, we can’t really classify El Capitan as a good place for California beach camping because the campsites are above the beach on a bluff. We’re including it here just you you’ll know what to expect and won’t get fooled.