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The Official Visiting Santa Barbara Thread

SBAnt
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SBAnt

SBAnt

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We are on the Sapphire Princess, and will be stopping in Santa Barbara twice, I was wondering how you get to the Urban Wine Trail from where you get off the ship. Thanks for your help. Fiona Herman

 

From the Sea Landing where the tenders dock, you will go right (in the direction of Stearns Wharf) on Cabrillo Blvd, then left on Anacapa (there's an El Torito on the corner you can look for)

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phoenix_dream

phoenix_dream

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I also appreciated all the input which helped me prepare for my first visit to Santa Barbara on my recent 9/13 cruise.

 

That said, one note of warning. We took the advice about booking the HOHO Trolley online ahead of time. We got to the pick-up point very early and were glad we did! There was only ONE public trolley running that day (I presume the cruise line had booked the rest), and anyone who did not get there at least 15 min ahead of time could not board because the trolley quickly filled up. Considering the trolley only stops by once every hour or so (actually more as it was so crowded) there were some very, very unhappy people who had pre-purchased tickets, who showed up at 10:00 (or somewhat earlier) and wanted to board and could not. We also did not take advantage of the hop on, hop off feature as we were concerned we would not be able to "hop on" again when we wanted to and would waste an hour (or more) waiting for the next trolley.

 

Morale of the story - if your cruise books trolley excursions, be aware that if you want to trolley yourself you may also encounter this situation. I DO NOT recommend buying tickets ahead of time in this case. Better to pay a few $$ more to make sure you are able to catch the darn thing.

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cruisincdns

cruisincdns

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The tenders dock at the Sea Landing. I posted a map earlier in the thread that shows the harbor area and that should give you a good idea of where on Cabrillo Blvd. you arrive.

 

Here is the updated link to the SB Harbor Directory Map. The link posted by SBAnt has been changed. The tenders dock at #18 on this map. http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=17186

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lamchops

lamchops

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The tenders dock at the Sea Landing. I posted a map earlier in the thread that shows the harbor area and that should give you a good idea of where on Cabrillo Blvd. you arrive.

 

I visited Santa Barbara on the Sapphire last week and they had the waterfront shuttles ready in front of sea landing next to the visitors info awning. It was $.50 or $.25 if you were 62+. We visited Au Bon Climat on our way back from the Old Mission as we didn't want to carry the wine in the warm weather. If you plan to take this shuttle back to the ship, take it near the end of it run up State St. or on it's way up and stay on as it turns downward. The shuttles were all full on the return trip (by the wine shops) and we walked back to the ship.

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akawanda

akawanda

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Hello, I apologize if this question was answered, I tried to go through and check...

We will be arriving in Santa Barbara on Monday the 23rd (October) via the Grand Princess. We would love to go to the Botanical Gardens on Mission Canyon Rd. What is the best way to get there, car rental, taxi..I heard there were no trolleys during the week.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Wanda

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SBAnt

SBAnt

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Hello, I apologize if this question was answered, I tried to go through and check...

We will be arriving in Santa Barbara on Monday the 23rd (October) via the Grand Princess. We would love to go to the Botanical Gardens on Mission Canyon Rd. What is the best way to get there, car rental, taxi..I heard there were no trolleys during the week.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Wanda

 

The short answer is, it depends. Do you want to do anything else after the Botanical Gardens? If so, the car rental is probably going to be the cheaper option, assuming you're paying a huge amount for the rental. If you're only going from the Gardens to a restaurant on State Street, the taxi may be the cheaper option, as you can take a trolley back down State Street when you're done. If you want to explore more of the area, the car rental will give you the freedom to see the sights without waiting and paying for multiple taxis.

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lamchops

lamchops

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Thank you....if we are up in that area, we might see the mission. I think it is within a mile? We will check some car rentals.

 

Wanda

 

Our friends took a one-way cab to the Old Mission and it was $8 from Stern's Wharf. I would think $15 would more than cover it to the Botanical Gradens. It was $5 by bus plus walking for me & DW to the Old Mission so a cab back is reasonable and a lot quicker.

Edited by lamchops
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paluni

paluni

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I'd recommend seeing this old mission if you go to Solvang. It is right in town. Very evocative. Like going back in time, and very peaceful. It is still an active church and parish. You step off the edge of the little downtown Solvang, and are in another world. Santa Barbara and Solvang are great. I love seeing all the California missions. They are the oldest built-up places in California, from the late 1700's and early 1800's.

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imaboo

imaboo

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We will be in SB on the Golden in a few days. The 2 DH's are playing golf at the SB Golf Club-- t-off at 9:53.

How far from the pier is it ? I'm assuming taxi is the best way to go. Any idea of the cost ?

Thanks.... :)

Pat

 

 

The SB Golf Club is a tiny bit more than 5 miles from Stearns Wharf. If you take the 101 freeway, you should be there in about 10 minutes.

 

For a more scenic view, you could have the taxi driver take you up State St, past the Old Mission and then over to the Golf Club. That should take about 30-40 minutes depending on whether or not you get out of the cab to look around ;-)

 

I'm afraid I don't know what the cab fare will be, I've never taken one in all the years I've lived here - lol. I did a search however and found this article from a local paper dated last year -> http://www.independent.com/news/2012/aug/01/taxi-tips/

Edited by imaboo
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SBAnt

SBAnt

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Is there a nice beach to hang out at close to where the tender boats dock?

 

Ledbetter Beach is on the other side of the harbor so it's not very far as well as almost always having very small waves. There's Shoreline Cafe for lunch/snacks. Otherwise, you can walk about the same distance on Cabrillo, and the beach on the other side of the pier is nice too, although there are no cafes or food places if that is a factor.

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TM

TM

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We'll be arriving in Santa Barbara next Thursday on the Sapphire Princess. How far is it to walk to the Mission form the tender pier? Thank you in advance. Also where is the Courthouse in relation to the Mission and the tender pier?

Edited by TM
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imaboo

imaboo

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We'll be arriving in Santa Barbara next Thursday on the Sapphire Princess. How far is it to walk to the Mission form the tender pier? Thank you in advance. Also where is the Courthouse in relation to the Mission and the tender pier?

 

Hi There TM.

 

It is too far to walk to the Mission from the tender pier (~ 4 miles). Your best bet is to take a taxi. ;)

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SBAnt

SBAnt

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imaboo is correct, and it's not just 4 miles to the Mission, it's uphill pretty much the whole way there. Walking to the Courthouse is doable if you want to spend a lot of the day walking, but again, it's uphill a good amount. The Courthouse is located in between the Mission and the Sea Landing, but closer to the Mission than the Sea Landing. Definitely take a taxi or Uber, as Santa Barbara is the smallest city to boast an Uber presence.

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lamchops

lamchops

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Hi There TM.

 

It is too far to walk to the Mission from the tender pier (~ 4 miles). Your best bet is to take a taxi. ;)

 

1) it's about an 1 hour walk,

2) we took public transit, $.50 shuttle from the pier to the end of the top of state street and then the #11 bus ($1.75?) to pueblo st, then a 4 blk walk

3) friend's took a cab back to the ship for $8

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KCcruisin07

KCcruisin07

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Thanks for the great thread. We were in SB in December and loved it. Since we used to drive from Cerritos (LA area) to Brophy Brothers for dinner when we were engaged and first married, we had to go there again. (It's at the pier n. of Stearns Wharf.) You have to get there early by 5 to eat outside. Since you have to be back on board by 7, lunch might be a better choice.

We also loved Tupelo Hill Cafe on State Street. It has great Southern food with a twist. They have some small plates as well as dinner entrees, and we had both (nice scallops). They had a local Qupé Chardonnay from Los Olivos that was awesome. (I had to find some in a grocery before we left.)

We had a great time exploring the shops on State Street too. There was a juice bar with excellent drinks.

Also I went to the Salt Cave on State Street. Here's a link: http://www.saltcavesb.com/ If you go, they start on the hour.

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MoyCoy

MoyCoy

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It's probably a lot easier to take the Waterfront Shuttle than getting a pedicab. AFAIK, the pedicabs don't congregate by the tender dock.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

The water front shuttles.. are they readily available for a ride to the zoo or are there long lines like the trolley. I have toddler twins who are very short on patience.

 

Would it be advisable to take a cab to the zoo instead of the shuttle? Does the trolley go to the Zoo? Are cabs parked near where we tender? and lastly which beach near the pier is walkable and child friendly ie bathrooms, food ...and would the waterfront Shuttle take us to a beach stop.

Edited by MoyCoy
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