Santa Barbara To Solvang Weekend Getaway Itinerary (2024)
Want to know how to get from Santa Barbara to Solvang and have the best weekend getaway itinerary ever? We’ve got you covered with all of our favorite things to do.
The distance from about the middle of Santa Barbara to the middle of Solvang is roughly about 34 miles.
There are several ways to get from one place to another, with varying costs, and varying amounts of time it takes.
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Getting From Santa Barbara To Solvang
Here are several ways you can get from Santa Barbara to Solvang.
1. Driving From Santa Barbara To Solvang
Driving from Santa Barbara to Solvang, you have two route options essentially.
As long as the weather conditions are clear, taking Highway 154 through the mountains is the most direct route and the quickest route, taking about 50 minutes.
On busy weekends or during special events, this road can be at a standstill since it’s narrow, windy, and many sections are only one lane each way.
If you want an easier route to drive, you can also drive the 101 all the way to Buellton, then take Highway 246 straight into Solvang from the other side.
Assuming there isn’t much traffic on the 101, this route takes less than 55 minutes.
2. Taking The Train Or Bus From Santa Barbara To Solvang
Unfortunately, there is no train route that connects Santa Barbara to Solvang.
However, you can take the Amtrak Thruway Bus Service directly from Santa Barbara to Solvang, but you must have a train ticket accompanying this trip.
Bus Route 17 goes from Santa Barbara, to UCSB in Goleta, to Solvang and on North to the bay area 11 times a day on one way trips.
So to be able to book this, you’d also have to have a train ticket before or after this trip.
Since the train doesn’t go through Solvang, I’d recommend taking a train to Santa Barbara, then booking this bus route to Solvang.
Another bus option is the Santa Barbara MTD, which takes anywhere from about an hour and 45 minutes to about 2 hours and 15 minutes.
This option also requires hopping on multiple busses and walking between bus stops.
Depending on the time of day you’re trying to do this, there are many different bus routes to take, so I recommend going to the Santa Barbara MTD website and putting in your start and end destinations and it’ll tell you where to go and what to do.
3. Rideshare / Taxi Services From Santa Barbara To Solvang
Rideshare services like Lyft and Uber or a taxi are also possible options for getting from Santa Barbara to Solvang.
Since it’s almost an hour’s drive away, it definitely isn’t a cheap ride.
On average you can expect to spend about $55-$70 before tip.
This number will change (go up) based off of the availability of drivers, how busy drivers are, and if you need a certain type of vehicle to accommodate the number of passengers.
4. Other Transportation Options From Santa Barbara To Solvang
If you really wanted to or had to, you could probably bike or hitchhike your way, but I don’t recommend it.
Google says it’ll take about 3 1/2 hours to bike there and about 11 hours to walk if you’re curious.
Additionally, hitchhiking can be sketchy and depending on how long it takes you to get a ride, it’ll still take a minimum 50 minutes to get there driving.
The Best Santa Barbara To Solvang Weekend Getaway Itinerary
I am super excited to share this itinerary with you because this is the weekend getaway we were on when JP proposed!
Ever since I first heard of Solvang I had been dying to go see it in person, so we finally made it happen.
Day 1: Visiting Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is a beautiful coastal town with a variety of things to do depending on interests and budgets.
If you’ve never been, this itinerary is a great place to start.
If you’ve been before, this itinerary might still have some places you’ve never been so it’s still worth checking out.
➡ Santa Barbara Mission
We’ve been making it a point to visit the California Missions whenever we’re in the area and so far we have only visited 4 of the 21 Missions.
Eventually we’ll make it to all of them!
The Santa Barbara Mission is in an amazing location on top of a hill overlooking the ocean.
It has a huge grassy area where lots of kids were running around and people were having picnic lunches.
It’s a great place to spend a few hours if you’re in the area.
You can take your own self guided tour through the grounds and museum to see the history of this particular mission and where it fits along with the other historic California missions.
➡ Santa Barbara’s State Street
State Street is the “Main Street” of Santa Barbara.
It’s where all the shops and restaurants are and leads to the pier.
We always stop here for lunch or snacks depending on the time of day.
Our favorite place for food and drinks is Casa Blanca Restaurant, which is of course a Mexican Restaurant.
For dessert, we love to stop at Le Macaron French Pastries on Paseo Nuevo (yes, we know it’s a chain).
Our favorite is the Napoleon.
I first learned about this dessert at the France pavilion in EPCOT as a kid and it’s the one dessert I get every time.
When I saw it at this bakery I just had to get it!
Alternate Dining Option: Santo Mezcal
Some other great restaurants we’ve enjoyed here are Santo Mezcal and Holdren’s Steaks & Seafoods.
Sant Mezcal is the first place where I ever had Chicken Mole and I’ve been searching for it at every Mexican restaurant since and it is now my go-to order.
I also loved all the colors on every plate at this restaurant and that they had plantains because I love plantains and they are so rare in California for some reason.
Alternate Dining Option: Holdren’s Steaks & Seafood
Holdren’s on the other hand is a phenomenal steak house on State Street.
It’s a great place to go for a special occasion or if you just like to treat yourself.
Their complimentary bread service is nice and it’s a good idea to start off with a side salad.
I recommend the filet mignon and lobster tail because this is the largest lobster tail I’ve ever seen in my life.
However, it is priced at market price, so you’ll be shocked when you get the bill because the lobster tail is twice as big as a normal one, so it’s twice as much as you would expect to spend.
But if you’re sharing with someone, it’s the perfect amount of food.
The loaded baked potato and mac and cheese sides also complement the meal well.
For dessert, you can try the trio and get a little bit of everything.
Where To Stay In Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara has a variety of hotels, resorts, and inns for a variety of budgets.
✅ Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
Back when I worked for Hilton, JP and I stayed here when they underwent their most recent renovation and it was amazing.
It’s right along the beach, has a great restaurant with an outdoor patio and fire pits, and the rooms are nicely spread out.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Stay At Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort Today!
✅ Castillo Inn At The Beach
I linked above to our complete review of this inn that we absolutely loved.
We visited one weekend where prices were astronomical at our go to resorts, so we started looking at the inns.
The inns are actually really nice boutique properties, they are not run down at all.
We loved our room and it was in walking distance of State Street, so I highly recommend it.
You can see a full walk-through of our room in this video on our YouTube Channel.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Stay At Castillo Inn At The Beach Today!
Day 2: Visiting Solvang
Solvang is a really cute and small Danish town a little less than an hour away from Santa Barbara.
It’s full of wineries, shops, restaurants, and fun things you can only do in Solvang.
➡ Ostrichland, U.S.A.
This was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
Once I learned that this place existed, I knew we just had to go!
It’s just a few miles outside of Solvang.
We were able to buy a bucket to feed the ostriches and it wasn’t too busy while we were there.
You’ll see in this video on our YouTube Channel that there was one ostrich that acted like it was blind, unless you fed it by hand.
It refused to take food from a bucket and would just throw its head around biting at nothing until you hold out your hand.
Then it would suddenly know exactly what to do!
➡ Santa Ynez (Ines) Mission
This is the 2nd of the 4 missions we’ve visited so far.
It is just on the edge of town, so when you’re in Solvang you can just walk to it.
It is definitely smaller than the Santa Barbara Mission, but it is unique in its own way and worth checking out.
Each one has so much history and a different story of how it has survived all this time.
➡ Wine Tasting in Solvang
Now for the REAL reason we were in Solvang!
We love a great day or weekend of wine tasting.
One thing that is perfect about wine tasting in Solvang is that you don’t have to drive anywhere!
Everything is located within a couple of blocks and it’s all very close together.
When we checked in to our hotel we got some 2-for-1 wine tasting coupons and a wine tasting guide to the town.
Of course our goal was to visit every place, but we definitely couldn’t do that in just one day.
We even went a month later to do even more wine tasting and we still haven’t tried every place in Solvang yet!
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🍷 Feliz Noche Cellars
The first two times we visited Solvang, we stopped at Feliz Noche Cellars first for wine tasting.
This is one of the few wineries where we genuinely enjoy just about every wine they offer, though our favorite here are their Syrahs.
🍷 Carivintas Winery
One nice thing about wine tasting in Solvang, is that it’s one of the cheaper destinations in California.
Many of the tastings are about $12-$25 tops, whereas places like Napa have tastings that are a minimum $50.
Also many places offer tasting coupons if you visit the visitors center.
🍷 Cali Love Wine
Cali Love Wine is a very cute and modern wine tasting room.
Our favorite drink here is their Sangria and we get a glass of it as well as share a wine tasting when we visit.
🍷 High Roller Tiki Lounge
High Roller Tiki Lounge is a fan favorite.
It’s a throw back to the tiki themed bars, pin-ups, and Disneyland’s early days.
We personally love their mulled wine when we visit and on a recent trip to Solvang, we bought one of every bottle that was Disney themed to try them at home.
🍷 Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards
At the Lucas & Lewellen tasting room, my all-time favorite Solvang wine is the Late Harvest Gewurztraminer.
I’ve been back to Solvang multiple wines and go back to buy a bottle of this each time.
It’s that good!
➡ Lunch at Copenhagen Sausage Garden
Solvang has AMAZING food!
It is easily one of the best foodie destinations in all of Southern California.
When you’re ready for lunch, take a pause on your wine tastings and go to Copenhagen Sausage Garden.
This is another place we keep going back to each time we visit.
They have sausages from around the world and you can pick whichever ones you want with a variety of sides and toppings like sauerkraut, mustard, and potato salad.
Of course they also have a great beer selection if you like beer.
It is most cost effective for 2 people to share an order of 3 sausages rather than for each person to just get 1 sausage for themselves.
It’s a lot of food though.
This is where I learned I do not care for Currywurst, but I do enjoy Bratwurst and Kielbasa.
➡ Aebleskivers from Solvang Restaurant
You will definitely want a dessert after this and the place to go is Solvang Restaurant for some Æbleskivers!
We’ve also gone here for breakfast too.
You can get Æbleskivers right from the window though and take them to go.
You can get them plain or add toppings.
They’re yummy either way!
➡ Treats To Take Home With You From Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery
Lastly, if you’re looking for food you can take home with you, we recommend Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery.
You can get a bucket of 5 dozen Handmade Danish Butter Cookies with 6 different varieties: coconut, chocolate chip, cinnamon, almond, oatmeal, and marble.
➡ Dinner at Fitzpatrick’s Tavern
Another restaurant we recommend if you have the time is Fitzpatrick’s Tavern.
It’s an Irish Pub with all the classics – Fish and Chips, Shepherd’s Pie, Bangers and Mash, and Corned Beef and Cabbage.
➡ Alternate Dinner Option: Cecco Ristorante
If you’re looking for Italian food, we recommend Cecco Ristorante.
They have great pizza and pasta selections and this is where JP and I had dinner the night he proposed!
➡ Evening Stroll Through Solvang
In Solvang, everything closes early.
After dinner there’s not really anything you can go out and do, so we decided to just take a stroll around town and see how neat it looked at night.
This is also when JP decided to propose.
If you’re looking for a spot to propose in Solvang, I recommend a windmill!
JP did this before the Bachelorette made windmills a thing.
Where To Stay In Solvang
Solvang is made up of a bunch of small inns, cottages, motels, and boutique hotels.
They are themed like the rest of the town and are in walking distance to everything, so you can’t go wrong with whatever you pick.
✅ Wine Valley Inn & Cottages
If you’re looking to stay in Solvang I highly recommend Wine Valley Inn & Cottages.
They have a unique variety of room types, great rates, and it’s just the cutest place.
We’ve stayed there for our first two Solvang trips.
It’s right in the center of town, so you never have to drive once you’re there.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Stay At Wine Valley Inn & Cottages Today!
✅ Royal Copenhagen Inn
Royal Copenhagen Inn has more motel style rooms, but they’re all kept up nicely.
It’s one of the cheaper places to stay in Solvang, but still well themed and spacious.
Below is a video tour of the room we stayed in when we visited.
You can see a full walk-through of our room here in this video on our YouTube Channel.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Stay At Royal Copenhagen Inn Today!
More Fun Things To Do In And Around Santa Barbara and Solvang
If you’re looking for things to do in the surrounding area, you can drive to nearby Los Olivos for more wine tasting and antique shopping.
Along the way there are several wineries you can stop at too.
I also recommend visiting during Christmastime for “Julefest”.
The town is completely decorated and looks like those German Christmas Market towns.
✔ Solvang Weekend Getaway
If you’re looking to explore more of Solvang and spend your weekend just in this area, then this itinerary is for you.
This itinerary gives you more time for exploring the shops, trying different wine tasting rooms, and dining at some other iconic restaurants.
✔ Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park is just off the coast of California and you can take day trips or camping trips out there from Ventura and Oxnard.
There are several islands you can visit and these are the ones we’ve done so far:
Santa Cruz Island Day Trip
Santa Cruz is the second closest island and is one of the more visited islands.
There are two different harbors you can choose to visit and that will determine which activities you’ll be able to do on your visit.
Santa Rosa Island Day Trip
Santa Rosa is much further out than Santa Cruz, so it doesn’t get quite as many visitors, but it’s worth the extra time it takes to get there.
You can still do this itinerary in just one day.
✔ Ventura Weekend Getaway
Ventura is about half an hour south of Santa Barbara and is another popular coastal town in California.
Ventura has a great historic downtown, historic mission, and some fun activities in the area for everybody.
✔ Avila Beach Weekend Getaway
Avila Beach is a Central California coastal town about an hour and a half north of Santa Barbara and about an hour north of Solvang.
They have a cute beach boardwalk area with shops and restaurants and a great resort on the water that’s in walking distance.
Conclusion: Santa Barbara To Solvang Weekend Getaway Itinerary
Going from Santa Barbara to Solvang can be a great way to spend a weekend whether you’re a local or just visiting each place for the first time.
There’s so much to do that you can’t fit it all into one weekend, but this itinerary hits some of the most popular highlights.
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