santa barbara scenic drive

mathstud

The area away from the beach had some nice scenery. The directional signs could be better. It's a good idea to map out your excursion first.

DocMary1

This is a beautiful place to walk, run, bike, or drive. Lots of sidewalk, paved path space. Saturday and Sunday mornings are crowded with lots of friendly people and their dogs. Some points have high cliffs and you can look out over the ocean. Others are low and you can park and get right to the beach. A wonderful place to slow down and take in the view.

sfogirl

It's how the other half lives. Beautiful views, architecture, just amazing. It's not like Monterey's 17 mile drive. If it's a slow day, or rainy, do this and just go ooooo and ahhhh,

barbd18

We found this to be a wonderful way to see some of the scenic views of Santa Barbara and the beautiful neighborhoods. Allow at least an hour and a half for this unless you don't plan to stop. We actually spent about 2 hours doing it. We stopped at several beaches for the views (Hendry Beach was very interesting) and at the Mission. Before going, stop at the Visitor's Center across from West Beach and get a printed copy of the drive. It was very helpful in figuring out the many turns. There are signs along the way marking the scenic drive, but sometimes they don't show up at important turns.

Loubna999

Not to be missed if you have a little time to kill... well worth the experience. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Redfoot

If you are in Santa Barbara, by all means do the drive. However, there is much prettier scenery in other parts of coastal California. Save your time for those drives if your tour time is limited.

bmalloy

I've been to Santa Barbara dozens of times: on weekends when I lived in Los Angeles, several times with a friend who love the place and more after I became About.com's California travel expert in 1999. And I had never heard of the Santa Barbara Scenic Drive until I read about it here on Tripadvisor. There is an "official" drive, with a maps and signs to follow if you travel in their preferred direction. It wasn't easy to figure out the exact route, but wow! What a great way to get a quick tour of the town. It jumped right to the top of my list of things to do in Santa Barbara at http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/casantabarbara/tp/topsights.htm, but I had such a hard time navigating it that I created a Google map the shows the route. Save yourself a lot of headaches and take a look before you set out. It's at https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zhQ13I4PkLug.k2v3Y5M6WXR8

Flyingseb

After a quick breakfast we went for a sunny morning walk along the beautiful beach of Santa Barbara, with the palm trees on the side and the mountains on the horizon.The stop on the wharf with all the shops was worth the time, could see some seals playing around.

Beachplum3

The Visitor's Center suggested taking the Scenic Drive Tour as an overview of the city. We were glad we did it as the weather was cold so walking would not have been comfortable. There are several beaches and parks to stop at and towards the end you will visit the Mission.

Ane_traveler

A place anyone would like to live! Fancy and cozy houses in front of the scenic beach. A woody and nice road.

BlakievanHemert

Many people think of Santa Barbara according to what they see when passing through on the freeway. Yes, there`s some ocean and mountains, palm trees and a lot of red tile roofs.There`s so much more to discover and the Scenic Drive helps to place one in some of the more elegant, scenic and pristine areas within the city and in some cases, on roads not heavily traveled.

karenpK9940PH

The Santa Barbara scenic drive is a must-do if you visit or live in California. We took the train just so we could both enjoy the lovely views.

Rich5631310

I was on this route a part of the hop on and off trolley. There were great scenic views including some very expensive houses!

Jenae7

This drive along the shore is so breathtaking. It has such a European flare with the boats anchored off-shore and the gorgeous distant vistas.

RSP27

A few nice stop offs to see the coastal views but that's about it. Houses along the drive are nothing too special. Yes they're in a nice location but not particularly stunning.