Santa Barbara is a great place to go for a vacation or just a weekend trip to get away. Located on the coast of central California, you will enjoy a temperate climate throughout the year. You should, however, plan your trip in advance in order to get the most out of it. The following are four resources you can use to do this.
Travel Guides
This city is popular enough that entire books have been dedicated to it. There are many travel guides that you can purchase and read through to plan your entire time in Santa Barbara. These guides will give you good information on how to get around the city, and what the most popular attractions are. Some of the events you may want to attend will involve reservations or tickets in advance, so you can plan for this. Once you get an idea of what you would like to see and do, you will be able to create a budget for your trip, and then compare this to what you plan on spending. You can make adjustments to your itinerary based upon the money you have set aside for your trip.
Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce
Although travel guides can be a great source of information, the one downside is that this information is not the most up to date available. For the latest information, you can go to the city of Santa Barbara’s website. Here you can find any changes in special events being held in the city. Updated information about local weather and other conditions that may affect your vacation can be found here as well. This site is the place for any new announcements of things to do in the city as well.
Hotel Websites
Hotel websites can be a good place to get information about specific things to do that are in close proximity to the hotel. The information may include such things as walking distances from the hotel to nearby attractions or nearby bus stops with scheduling information. This city is well known for their many beaches, and a hotel website may list various beaches and include the hours you can visit the beach along with what activities are most popular at each particular beach. Montecito Inn is an example of a hotel that provides good information about beaches in Santa Barbara.
Hotel Comparison Shopping Websites
A big part of planning for your trip will be shopping for hotels in Santa Barbara. This can be a large portion of your budget for your trip, but it will also represent a significant aspect of your enjoyment of your vacation, depending upon the amenities offered by each hotel. A hotel comparison shopping site will allow you to compare room rates while also listing the amenities for each hotel. In addition, a good comparison site will contain many reviews of the hotels listed, so you can get a feel for how the hotel fits your desires for your stay in the city.
To get the most out of your trip to Santa Barbara, use the above four tips, and plan your trip ahead of time. With proper planning, you are less likely to discover things you wish you knew about before you arrived. You will likely see and do more while in Santa Barbara by creating a trip plan, and by shopping in advance for your hotel, you will save money. One example of a comparison shopping site for hotel accommodations can be found at hipmunk.com.
How do you save money on hotel rooms?