Wellness Guide To Santa Barbara, California

5 min readSep 8, 2023

Santa Barbara is the quintessential beach town — sandy beaches, perfect rolling waves, + a mixture of laid back + luxury vibes. It also has a great wine scene, amazing hiking, + lots of farm-to-table restaurants. I love the Spanish-style architecture in Santa Barbara, too... everything is so gorgeous! We stayed in Santa Barbara for a month during our nomadic travels, so I have lots of recs.

“Somewhere between living +dreaming, there’s Santa Barbara.”

Coffee + Cafes

Handlebar — *MUST. Favorite coffee shop in Santa Barbara
Helena Avenue Bakery — *MUST. Super cute bakery + breakfast/lunch spot with great coffee
Oat Bakery — *MUST. Get the Hygge Bun!!
Dart Coffee Co — Coffee, tea, pastries + Mony’s burritos
Dune Coffee Roasters — Coffee, tea, + toasts
Caje — Fancy signature coffee drinks
Juice Ranch — If you’re craving juice, go here!
Ah Juice Organic Cafe — Another juice spot to satisfy your juice cravings
Backyard Bowls — Delicious acai bowls
Bree’Osh Bakery Cafe — French bakery with breakfast + lunch options
Money’s— The best burritos in Santa Barbara
Green Table — Organic, vegetarian, gluten-free, + raw menu. Make sure to get something from the raw dessert bar!
Savoy Cafe + Deli — Love this casual cafe with great sandwiches, salad bar, + soups.

Restaurants

Sama Sama— *MUST. Trendy Southeast Asian restaurant + my favorite date night spot in Santa Barbara!
Satellite — *MUST. Super cute bar with light bites — right across from Sama Sama, so go here before dinner!
Santo Mezcal — Modern Mexican restaurant with a seafood focused menu. Everything is outstanding!
Lucky Penny — Wood-fired pizza with all outdoor seating in the Funk Zone… perfect for after wine tasting
The Daisy — Fresh + healthy restaurant with sandwiches, salads, + colorful plates
Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach— Iconic seafood restaurant to watch the sunset
The Stonehouse Restaurant — Upscale restaurant for lunch + dinner at the beautiful San Ysidro Ranch. Make sure to walk the gardens! $$$$
Oliver’s — Vegan restaurant in Montecito with a fun date night vibe
Bibi Ji — Indian restaurant with natural wine
Kanola Seafood — Amazing fish market with a casual cafe
Santa Barbara Public Market — Food hall with lots of great options!
The Good Lion — Swanky cocktail bar with live music

All the wine: There are over 20 wineries on the Santa Barbara Urbane Wine Trail. Some of my favs are Deep Sea Tasting Room, The Valley Project, Pali Winery, Municipal Winemakers, + Santa Barbara Wine Collective

Wellness

Go to all the beautiful beaches! Hammond’s Beach, Butterfly Beach, Leadbetter Beach, Mesa Lane Beach, + Santa Clause Lane
Take a yoga class at Sol Seek, Yoga Soup [also has a cute bookstore/shop attached], Flow Yoga + Wellness, or Corepower
Hike: There are so many amazing spots to hike in the Los Padres National Forest. I love Inspiration Point, but there are seriously so many hikes to choose from. Check out this list. Also, Channel Islands National Park is not too far from Santa Barbara!
Surf: Santa Barbara is known for perfect rolling waves! Check out this post for all the surf breaks.
Stock up on fruits + veggies at the Farmers Market on Tuesdays + Saturdays!

To Explore

#1] Old Mission Santa Barbara: 1786 Spanish Mission! Walk the rose garden + grounds

#2] Shop on State Street: Wander down State Street + pop into whatever speaks to you. This is where most of the restaurants are located, too!

#3] See what’s playing at the Santa Barbara Bowl

#4] Day trip (or weekend!) to the Santa Ynez Valley: Visit all the wineries + charming towns of Los Olives, Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Buellton, + Solvang! Will write a guide on this soon 🥰

#5] Day trip (or weekend!) to Ojai: Only one of my favorite places in California ever!

Check out: Wellness Guide To Ojai, California

#6] Ride bikes to Montecito: This is where Butterfly Beach + Oliver’s are! Merci is a super cute bakery that has great takeaway lunch options Montecito, where you can pick up food prior to the beach! Montecito also has a super cute downtown street with shops.

#7] Explore the Funk Zone: This is where a lot of the tasting rooms on the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail are — plus cute shops, art, + restaurants!

#8] Planning a Pacific Coast Highway roadtrip? Santa Barbara should definitely be on your list for a few days! Make sure to also add: Santa Cruz, Santa Monica/Venice, + San Diego.

Pro Tips:

Stay: I’ve always stayed at Airbnbs in Santa Barbara, but the Drift Hotel + Palihouse look super cute!
Watch as many sunsets as possible! They are all absolutely gorgeous.
Best time to travel? Literally any time! Other than “June Gloom.”
How many days? 3+
Co-working? We loved co-working at Kiva!
I’d recommend renting car if you are wanting to hike, although you can easily can by without a car. Santa Barbara is very walkable!