We have a wedding to attend in the malibu area in early August. We plan on spending a long weekend in that area.
Suggestions on must-do things in the area? We love hiking, biking, any place with great views. We’ve done the drive from Malibu to LA a few times, also been to Ojai. I was also thinking about moving to Santa Barbara after the wedding and staying there for a couple of nights.
Two of my favorite things…one in Malibu one in Santa Barbara…(I love being a tourist in my own city!)
Malibu - take the tour: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24327
Santa Barbara - walking tour, on your own, free: Jeff Shelton Architect — Walking Tour
Who is he? https://www.jeffsheltonarchitect.com/
Have you visited the Getty before? Lovely views and a great museum! Not too far from Malibu.
Yes, the Getty Villa is not too far from Malibu and is worth the visit.
If you enjoy wine tasting Santa Barbara has many vineyards you can enjoy close by.
I was actually thinking of the Getty center but the Getty villa is also beautiful and indeed, much closer to Malibu.
I’d second wine tasting in the area. We did it a few years ago and it was lots of fun. Also, we went to Mission Santa Barbara and the Botanic Garden.
The short walk to the top of the bluff at Pt. Dume has great views. Start at the far end of the parking lot.
I second the Adamson house. For bird watching, the Malibu lagoon.
Have been to the Getty and have visited Pt Dume. Wine tasting does sound good - we could do that after a hike or a bike ride one of the days. Any specific wineries you recommend? Solvang?
Any good biking trails near by? I don’t particularly like biking on roads.
What about the Channel Islands National Park? Is that worth a visit?
You do not have to go to Solvang/Santa Ynez Valley for wine tasting. There are several tasting rooms off State Street in Santa Barbara. My husband and I like Riverbench and Melville (although it has been a couple of years).
We also like Melville.
True, but the drive to the vineyards is gorgeous, as are the vineyards themselves. We did a tour and let someone else do the driving.
Yes. The trip to the Channel Islands is wonderful. Book with Island Packers. The boats leave from either Oxnard or Ventura harbors. Anacapa is nice with lots of birds and cliffs. A longer trip is to Santa Cruz Island, home to the small island fox. So cute. They abound in the picnic area and campground. On either trip you could see pods of dolphins and/or whales.
I’ve taken these trips many times and love it.
Last winter I spent the night in Santa Barbara driving from north to San Diego. The Botanical Gardens was a sweet visit and showed some of the variety of plant life in that part of the coast. They also had a killer view from the hills across the channel.
I stayed by the highway and drove down to find found the sunset on Arroyo Burro Beach, a gorgeous neighborhood scene with a lovely restaurant right there.
Santa Barbara-
Dart coffee in Santa Barbara is a nice spot. Take your coffee across the street and enjoy it in their private garden.
El Capitan Canyon if you want a different type of lodging experience.
Loquita for a good dinner. You’ll need reservations.
Hike Ventura Botanic Gardens above City Hall in Ventura
Ventura Harbor is also nice to walk around (and the beach is right across the street)
Visit the SB Mission as well, and SB Natural History Museum is a great place.
Oops, it’s no longer early august. Disregard.
We did go to Santa Barbara and Malibu. Hiked in Malibu Creek State Park, visited the pier and took several scenic drives along the canyons. Went to Adamson House (thanks for the recommendation) - absolutely loved the location and the gardens. Turns out you can only tour the house on Friday and Saturday - so that was a bummer. We did go to Santa Barbara one afternoon, some gorgeous drives, spent some time at Arroyo Burro Beach and did take a sunset cruise. Sunset was glorious but the dolphin show we saw was even better. There were tons of them, swimming right along our boat, crisscrossing under and playing along for a few minutes. What an amazing sight to see so many at once!
Pre-covid, my D (an actor) was in a show at a repertory theater in Santa Barbara. We flew out to see her show on opening night and rented a B&B in Montecito (nice suburb nearby). While D was at rehearsal, etc. we went to the Botanic Garden, visited the Santa Barbara Mission (not sure if that’s the right name), and drove down to the Santa Ynez Valley and went a tour/tasting at a winery. Santa Barbara had some very nice restaurants.