Solvang: is it worth a trip ?
 

Is Solvang worth a trip by itself. <BR>We're from the Bay Area and it would take us approx. 6 hours to get there. Our friends highly recommend the town, but would like to hear from others. Any advise ?

Absolutely. Lovely town, great shop-ping, beautiful horse farms. We go there once a year (from Sonora) and the drive down is great too. Be sure to take the drive through the Santa Inez Mountains into Santa Barbara, and visit local missions too. I think you'll love the trip.

I enjoyed Solvang but so much of our travel experiences are connected to our frame of mind at the moment. I spent a chaotic, crazy day in LA and its traffic so by the time I reached Solvang I really unwound! Cute little place that is worth a stop if you are doing the coastal route by I don't think I would go out of my way just for Solvang.

I'm not sure if it's worth a 6 hour trip on its own (tho it is fun) but you're 20 minutes from Santa Barbara, the Santa Ynez (wine-growing) valley, and near Ojai. So if Solvang doesn't keep your interest, there is PLENTY to do in the almost-immediate area.

In my opinion, Solvang NO but Santa Barbara a huge yes.

I thought shopping in Solvang was like going to a huge gift shop. I did not find anything unusual to buy and the town was just filled with tourists. The architecture was too cutsy for my taste.

It cute to stop in if you're in the area, but to make a 6 hr. trip, it's not worth it.

We're also from the Bay area and my answer would be no. Solvang is too touristy, knick knacks in the shops and lots of Danish bakeries. The Santa Inez mission is very pretty though. The Santa Inez wine country is wonderful and you could stay in Ballard, Los Olivos, Buellton or down in Santa Barbara itself. That's certainly worth it!

I went to Solvang from LA and thought it was a complete waste of time for even a 3.5 hour drive. I thought it was over-comercialized and fake. I don't recommend it at all! I agree that Santa Barbara would be the tops! There seem to be many other fun trips to go on worth a 6 hour drive!!!

I went there when I was 12 (MANY years ago) and absolutely loved it. I went again 2 years ago and was very disappointed. It seemed overly commercial, many gift shops, all seemed the same - very boring, and I'm a shopper! We were in Santa Barbara and decided to spend a day in Solvang on our way back up North. We spent half a day, picked up a few bakery items and quickly moved on. It was in the summer and extremely hot. I doubt that I would even stop in the next time. I agree that Santa Barbara is great and worth the trip.

I kind of agree with the rest of the group here, it makes a nice stop along the way but not really someplace that I would go out of my way for, and I really like touristy places.

It was much better years ago. But it's become too commercialized and has sold out to some low quality outlets. Who wants to drive to a Danish tourist town to buy Hanes underwear? <BR><BR>I'd recommend spending a weekend in San Luis Obispo or Cambria if you want a get away (and they're a little closer to SF).