Brit worried about weather in Santa Barbara !
May 7th, 2015, 10:04 AM
#22
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Weather should be fine but not hot! Fog can occur in the morning but burn off a bit later. As far as swimming in the Pacific Ocean along California...Not to scare you but...it is a rather cold ocean, there are rip tides and undertow all along the coast, not to mention a white shark here and there.
I'd pick San Diego over Santa Barbara...way more things for the kids to see! World class San Diego zoo, Lego Land, Sea World, warmer weather. Have a great trip!
I'd pick San Diego over Santa Barbara...way more things for the kids to see! World class San Diego zoo, Lego Land, Sea World, warmer weather. Have a great trip!
May 7th, 2015, 10:37 AM
#23
Another SeaCliff lover. Anyone remember tubing on the river at Capitola?
I don't remember the cold water affecting me but my younger years were spent at Hampton Beach on the Atlantic so I was most likely hardened by then.
I don't remember the cold water affecting me but my younger years were spent at Hampton Beach on the Atlantic so I was most likely hardened by then.
May 7th, 2015, 11:58 AM
#24
Have a look at the Mission Bay area in San Diego. There's a shallow, warm lagoon on the inland side of a peninsula, ocean beaches on the other side, walkable from each other. Not as picturesque (or as expensive) as SB, but lots to see and do.
May 8th, 2015, 02:13 AM
#25
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Thanks all again ! Am thinking maybe staying in SB at Harbor View Inn for 4 days then going to La Jolla for 4 nights - unfortunately tho we would be driving SUnday 2nd August - will traffic be a nightmare and how long really does everyone thing the journey will take ?
I do like the look of SB it has to be said and the carpinteria beach does look great for my kids and if theres people bodyboarding then my kids would probably too.. do i travel all that way to La Jolla to then come back to LA to fly home as now cant change flights !
I do like the look of SB it has to be said and the carpinteria beach does look great for my kids and if theres people bodyboarding then my kids would probably too.. do i travel all that way to La Jolla to then come back to LA to fly home as now cant change flights !
May 23rd, 2015, 08:56 AM
#26
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Santa Barbara and La Jolla are two of the most beautiful towns in California. I think of them as more romantic adult destinations, though there is enough to do with kids. I assume you would also go in to San Diego proper for the beach, bay, SeaWorld, harbor front, Coronado, Old Town, possibly the Wild Animal Park, etc. If you do include San Diego, I won't be surprised if your kids tell you that was their favorite (way more fun than Carpenteria, IMHO).
As to traffic between San Diego and LAX, well that is bad news. If there is anyway you can make those drives in the "wee" hours it will go faster (I mean between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am). We went down to LaJolla on a Saturday morning last summer from our home in Ventura County and that "3 hour drive" became 6 miserable hours. To be sure you do not miss your flight home, either book a short one-way flight (www.southwest.com) from San Diego into LAX, or perhaps plan to stay at a hotel near the airport, depending upon what time your plane departs.
As to traffic between San Diego and LAX, well that is bad news. If there is anyway you can make those drives in the "wee" hours it will go faster (I mean between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am). We went down to LaJolla on a Saturday morning last summer from our home in Ventura County and that "3 hour drive" became 6 miserable hours. To be sure you do not miss your flight home, either book a short one-way flight (www.southwest.com) from San Diego into LAX, or perhaps plan to stay at a hotel near the airport, depending upon what time your plane departs.
May 23rd, 2015, 11:33 AM
#28
Sunday MORNING would be no problem driving from SB to La jolla since that's the best time to drive through the Los Angeles area. Try to make it through Los Angeles before noon which means leaving Santa Barbara by 9:30. But earlier would be better.
As far as the drive from La Jolla to Los Angeles on a Thursday, what time is your flight out of LAX? That might make all the difference in the world and you may even want to drive up Wednesday night and stay closer to LAX.
As far as the drive from La Jolla to Los Angeles on a Thursday, what time is your flight out of LAX? That might make all the difference in the world and you may even want to drive up Wednesday night and stay closer to LAX.
May 23rd, 2015, 11:51 AM
#29
There is a shuttle bus service between Los Angeles Union station and the LAX airport if you should decide to use the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner. http://www.amtrak.com/pacific-surfliner-train
The Surfliner trains run between San Luis Obispo and San Diego with stops in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Carpenteria and Los Angeles.
The Surfliner trains run between San Luis Obispo and San Diego with stops in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Carpenteria and Los Angeles.
May 23rd, 2015, 01:39 PM
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Your problem right now is the oil spill in Santa Barbara. You might want to check with their Chamber of Commerce and see how that is going. Truly might be worth the cost of a phone call to get some honest info.
Both La Jolla and SB are simply marvelous, and rich, rich, rich. Rows of shops like Hermes. The kind of place one wears lipstick and nice clothes, and only long khaki/golf type shorts, etc. Think country-club. (Although my daughter lives in LJ and wears athletic wear and flip flops everywhere, lol)
North of SB is the Hearst Castle if that kind of thing interests you, and a wonderful small still hippyish beach town called Pismo Beach, should you care for a glimpse of how wonderful SoCal can be without money. (OK maybe it's not technically SoCal, but as a NorCal person SB feels south lol).
SLO is a college town, with not much else to recommend it, but if you stop there they have a truly amazing barbeque ribs joint that has a zillion different kind of ribs, and you can get a plate with a mix. A really neat and very American thing to try. Closer to Pismo are Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande -- an inland very typical old California town. Not a lot to see but a nice place to stop for ice cream and stroll the sidewalk -- again depending on whether or not that interests you.
The drive from Pismo (or even from Carmel, a super wonderful older rich town, a sort of mini Cannes) to SD is totally worth it, regardless of the traffic. Pack a picnic and lots of beverages, stop a lot and take lots of photos. I wouldn't miss it for the world. It would be like skipping the Louvre because the line is long! I've taken each of my daughters down it at least once in their teens and they loved it (I've seen either a whale or a dolphin each trip!), and done it a number of other times, and it never grows old.
If SW doesn't fly you back to LAX it probably flys you to John Wayne which is almost the same... and they sell one way fares. (I confess I didn't read all the posts in the middle).
I also think you will find that it is pretty easy here to find a different hotel if you decide you want to move on sooner than expected. If you find SB too cold or too oily, for example. We Americans are quite susceptible to hard luck stories, so a personal call to a hotel with a heartfelt plea from the people whose kids are so disappointed... (if any of you speak Spanish, you may have a number of occasions to trot it out in CA).
And if you make it to LJ, do go the rest of the way and see SD, the zoo is supposed to be marvelous if you're into that kind of thing, and there are a good number of funky neighborhoods to see, and indubitably some hideaways with great Mexican food.
Bottom line, don't skip the drive whatever you do. And don't worry too much about the weather -- you can always move!
Best of Luck
TF
Both La Jolla and SB are simply marvelous, and rich, rich, rich. Rows of shops like Hermes. The kind of place one wears lipstick and nice clothes, and only long khaki/golf type shorts, etc. Think country-club. (Although my daughter lives in LJ and wears athletic wear and flip flops everywhere, lol)
North of SB is the Hearst Castle if that kind of thing interests you, and a wonderful small still hippyish beach town called Pismo Beach, should you care for a glimpse of how wonderful SoCal can be without money. (OK maybe it's not technically SoCal, but as a NorCal person SB feels south lol).
SLO is a college town, with not much else to recommend it, but if you stop there they have a truly amazing barbeque ribs joint that has a zillion different kind of ribs, and you can get a plate with a mix. A really neat and very American thing to try. Closer to Pismo are Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande -- an inland very typical old California town. Not a lot to see but a nice place to stop for ice cream and stroll the sidewalk -- again depending on whether or not that interests you.
The drive from Pismo (or even from Carmel, a super wonderful older rich town, a sort of mini Cannes) to SD is totally worth it, regardless of the traffic. Pack a picnic and lots of beverages, stop a lot and take lots of photos. I wouldn't miss it for the world. It would be like skipping the Louvre because the line is long! I've taken each of my daughters down it at least once in their teens and they loved it (I've seen either a whale or a dolphin each trip!), and done it a number of other times, and it never grows old.
If SW doesn't fly you back to LAX it probably flys you to John Wayne which is almost the same... and they sell one way fares. (I confess I didn't read all the posts in the middle).
I also think you will find that it is pretty easy here to find a different hotel if you decide you want to move on sooner than expected. If you find SB too cold or too oily, for example. We Americans are quite susceptible to hard luck stories, so a personal call to a hotel with a heartfelt plea from the people whose kids are so disappointed... (if any of you speak Spanish, you may have a number of occasions to trot it out in CA).
And if you make it to LJ, do go the rest of the way and see SD, the zoo is supposed to be marvelous if you're into that kind of thing, and there are a good number of funky neighborhoods to see, and indubitably some hideaways with great Mexican food.
Bottom line, don't skip the drive whatever you do. And don't worry too much about the weather -- you can always move!
Best of Luck
TF
May 23rd, 2015, 05:58 PM
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I disagree that oil will be a problem in July in Santa Barbara. The oil that spilled from an onshore pipe and spilled into the ocean is north of Goleta, which is about 20 miles away from the beaches in Santa Barbara. It will be cleaned up by the time the OP visits. There are natural oil seeps in Santa Barbara that result in oil deposits sometimes but you can easily wipe it off your feet with baby oil and it isn't a big problem.
May 23rd, 2015, 06:36 PM
#32
Santa Barbara hotels were on the news gasping at the cancellations for this weekend due to the overblown news coverage calling it a "Santa Barbara oil spill". It's way up at Refugio beach and not expected to impact Santa Barbara/Montecito/Carpinteria beaches. And the cleanup is going very well.
May 24th, 2015, 08:22 AM
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I don't know if it's worth your time in the car to drive LAX to Santa Barbara to La Jolla to LAX. As suggested above, there are great towns and beaches right near Santa Barbara-- go up to Pismo, San Luis Obispo; or down to Malibu and Zuma. I'd plan the entire visit in that area. La Jolla is nice, but you have equally nice places near Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara is a wonderful city, with great food and a fun culture.
Driving from there, through LA, down to La Jolla-- not so much fun.
Santa Barbara is a wonderful city, with great food and a fun culture.
Driving from there, through LA, down to La Jolla-- not so much fun.
May 24th, 2015, 08:30 AM
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PS. Forgot to mention there are nice day trips into wine country from Santa Barbara. You mentioned ocean activities, but you also might want to drive into the hills and enjoy those pretty areas. The kids would think Solvang is cute.
May 24th, 2015, 05:40 PM
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You've never really said why you're coming all this way, or how old your kids are. If you only wanted a beach you could go to Cannes -- much closer and warmer, so you must be looking for something more. Perhaps we could help you more if we knew what that was...?
If you're looking for surfing, Pismo is a good start and perhaps start a different post on surfing. If you're driving through LA, are you sure you don't want to spend a day at Disneyland? I took my kids when little, and then again in their late teens and still had a blast. I still love it, and I have grandkids! (And I don't do the crazy rides.) And what about Hollywood? Totally tacky but it is Tinseltown after all. LOL (sp?) You could break the drive up with a night in either of those spots.
Also I think I misspoke earlier. I think it's the drive north of SB that is truly spectacular, although La Jolla with all its sea lions is quite awesome too. (Consider taking the 15 to avoid the traffic). Carmel has a lovely small beach, and Pebble Beach and it's 17 mile drive is wonderful too. Again I encourage you to go with the flow -- if you're having fun, stay put, if you're not having fun, hit the road.
IF you're looking for warm water you're out of luck, but I grew up spending summers on Boston's northern shore and cold water never bothered me -- just tell the kids it's part of the American experience lol. And if they're old enough to try any kind of boarding then they won't be thinking about the temperature. The weather itself tho should be fine, as long as you're close to the coast... gets rapidly hotter as you move inland.
Best
TF
If you're looking for surfing, Pismo is a good start and perhaps start a different post on surfing. If you're driving through LA, are you sure you don't want to spend a day at Disneyland? I took my kids when little, and then again in their late teens and still had a blast. I still love it, and I have grandkids! (And I don't do the crazy rides.) And what about Hollywood? Totally tacky but it is Tinseltown after all. LOL (sp?) You could break the drive up with a night in either of those spots.
Also I think I misspoke earlier. I think it's the drive north of SB that is truly spectacular, although La Jolla with all its sea lions is quite awesome too. (Consider taking the 15 to avoid the traffic). Carmel has a lovely small beach, and Pebble Beach and it's 17 mile drive is wonderful too. Again I encourage you to go with the flow -- if you're having fun, stay put, if you're not having fun, hit the road.
IF you're looking for warm water you're out of luck, but I grew up spending summers on Boston's northern shore and cold water never bothered me -- just tell the kids it's part of the American experience lol. And if they're old enough to try any kind of boarding then they won't be thinking about the temperature. The weather itself tho should be fine, as long as you're close to the coast... gets rapidly hotter as you move inland.
Best
TF
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