90-Minute Trip From Sun Valley
Our last Sun Valley Jose Mier post was about a day trip to Solvang, but we didn’t mean to give short shrift to Santa Barbara, so that’s what this post is about. If you have an hour and a half to spare you can use it to drive from Sun Valley to Santa Barbara. It’s even shorter then the drive to Solvang and if Santa Barbara is your main destination you can spend more time there.
Of course most Californians are familiar with this beach city which was founded in the late 1700s as part of the mission system of Junipero Serra, the Spanish missionary who came to California by way of Mexico. Indeed, the mission church at Santa Barbara is a great tourist destination. But that’s not all Santa Barbara has to offer. Spectacular views of the ocean, gorgeous beaches, world-class restaurants and shopping await anyone who wants to visit. Santa Barbara is also close to the Santa Ynez Valley wine area and wines play a big role in Santa Barbara.
It would take many pages to the activities and things that are available to you as a visitor to Santa Barbara so instead of doing that we recommend you check out Santa Barbara City website. Of course there are some limitations and restrictions nowadays due to the coronavirus but no virus will prohibit you from taking in the fantastic scenery of Santa Barbara or from dining outdoors at any of Santa Barbara’s many fine restaurants.
As we said it’s only a short 90-minute drive from Sun Valley, and like the trip to Solvang we recommend taking the 5, 118, 34, 101 route that we detailed in that blog article. Another idea, for those who don’t want to drive, is to try taking the train. We’re lucky in Sun Valley, California to live so close to several train stations including the one just south of the Burbank airport. You can depart from the station and take the scenic coastline route to Santa Barbara (Amtrak Surfliner). Spend the day there, hop on the train and return. It’s easy and you don’t have to worry about dealing with parking for traffic.
Santa Barbara is only one of many day trips you can easily take from Sun Valley and that’s why we feel Sun Valley is in a central location and a great place to make your base of operations when visiting Southern California.
