Top Santa Barbara Sightseeing Tours

Explore Santa Barbara by electric bike, covering plenty of ground on a morning or afternoon excursion. Ride your easy-to-use beach cruiser to key landmarks such as State Street and the Santa Barbara Mission as your knowledgeable guide shares the city’s history during this Santa Barbara bike tour. Have your camera ready as you glide along the renowned Pacific coastline. Numbers are limited to five people, ensuring personalized attention and a small-group experience.

Discover the great wines of the Santa Ynez valley during a private 4-hour wine tour. This part of Santa Barbara's heralded wine country is home to more than 120 mostly family-owned wineries. You can customize your itinerary in consultation with your private guide to create a half-day tour itinerary that visits the places of your choosing. Includes hotel pickup and drop-off in Lompoc, Buellton, Los Olivos, Solvang, Los Alamo, and Santa Ynez.

Taste some of Santa Barbara’s great wines as you visit top winemaking destinations in Santa Ynez Valley. Make four stops for tastings at a mix of family-owned vineyards and small-production tasting rooms, and enjoy a picnic lunch. You’ll get an intimate experience of the wine region as you sample the wines and hear from your guide about winemaking in California.

No Commercial Crowded Wineries. No Standing Bar Tasting Rooms. Sustainable Wine Tours provides guests with exclusive access to Santa Barbara’s ultra small production, private estates, vineyards and wineries not open to the general public. FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR A UNIQUE WINE EXPERIENCE BEYOND THE CROWDED COMMERCIAL WINERIES. Enjoy premium wines in seated one-on-one tastings and tour the vineyards and barrel rooms with the owners and winemakers themselves.  • APPOINTMENT-ONLY, PRIVATE LOCATIONS, PRIVATE SEATED TASTINGS • TASTE WITH WINEMAKERS AND OWNERS • NO COMMERCIAL WINERIES, NO TASTING ROOMS • NO BACHELORETTE/ BACHELOR PARTIES • LUXURY TESLA MODEL X SUV (for 2-4 guests)

Follow an experienced guide on a 1.5-hour mountain bike tour over Santa Barbara’s scenic terrain. Select a beginner or intermediate route according to your skill level, and ride over coastal bluffs and through lovely meadows. Enjoy fantastic photo ops of renowned Southern California landscapes on this small-group tour, limited to eight people to ensure a more personalized experience.

Visitors who want a quick, fun overview of Santa Barbara's highlights will love this 90-minute trolley tour of the American Riviera. Drive past landmarks like the courthouse, the zoo, the Mission, and the Museum of Natural History. Learn about the town's culture and history from live commentary and note places that you might want to return to independently later.

Tour Santa Barbara wine country with a private guide on this full day outing. Perfect for couples and small groups who appreciate exclusivity, this tour visits intimate, family-owned vineyards not typically open to the general public. Get the VIP treatment with tours of the cellars and vineyards, often with the owners themselves. You’ll never stand at a crowded tasting bar on this tour—it’s red carpet treatment all the way.

Get another perspective on the southern California coast during this leisurely kayak tour in Santa Barbara. Learn the basics of kayaking from your guide, and hear about Santa Barbara’s natural history and marine life during your tour. Includes use of all kayaking gear.

Enjoy a picnic and some of Santa Barbara’s best local wines. Tour four vineyards, and sample a variety of wines at each one. See the wine-making process for yourself with a behind-the-scenes explanation from a winemaker. The best vineyards are selected depending on the time of year you visit, so you see a range of wineries with different atmospheres and strengths.

Learn all about Santa Barbara’s spookiest ghost stories and supposedly haunted highlights—and enjoy top-rated local wine as part of the experience—on this two-in-one, small-group tour. Meet your guide right at an area winery, indulge in sips and samples, and listen to their tales of paranormal encounters. Then embark on a walking tour around town, from El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park to City Hall and Chinatown.

This private Santa Barbara kayaking tour lets you explore the marine life and landmarks of Santa Barbara Harbor and the spectacular coastline on the ‘American Riviera’ along one of four different routes. Take in views of rugged shoreline cliffs and the Santa Ynez Mountains, and be on the lookout for dolphins and seals. This 1.5- to 2.5-hour tour is led by an experienced kayak guide who points out natural features and customizes the speed of the ride according to your skill level.

Avoid the stuffy minivans and tour buses that go from winery to winery; instead, enjoy the wind in your hair as you cycle around the picturesque Santa Ynez Valley on this charming cycling tour. Head out from Los Olivos and explore the parks, villages and rural landscapes of the Valley. Enjoy a pair of wine tastings and sample locally-grown, locally-produced food at local farms and vineyards.

Eat delicious lunch food, drink great drinks and learn about downtown Santa Barbara on this 3.5ish-hour walking tour. Indulge your palate for a few hours with sipping, sampling, and savoring. You will enjoy food from 5-6+ local eateries, 1-2 wine tastings or 1 wine tasting plus another alcoholic beverage (depends on the day, it could be wine, beer or a cocktail). Go where locals like to go. This fun, informative and local walking lunch tour is sure to pleasantly fill you up and entertain the whole family. Great for a daytime activity and awesome way to learn about other places to eat and drink on your visit! TOURS CAN EASILY BE MADE PRIVATE - please email, call or text us for more information regarding private experiences. IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE WALKING OR HEALTH ISSUES, please let us know, we do occasionally offer slower paced tours or please consider a private tour experience to meet your comfort level.

Explore Santa Barbara's wine country on a private tour for just you and your group of friends or family. You'll visit four wineries for wine tastings of different varietals, plus enjoy a provided lunch. Up to 14 people can be accommodated with pickup and drop-off in Santa Barbara or surrounding towns.

Our Wine Country Shuttle service allows you to experience 2-3 wineries at your leisure for the day. At each winery you can opt to purchase a tasting or enjoy wine by the glass or bottle. Food options will be available for purchase either at the wineries or in the quaint town of Los Olivos. If you want to explore the breadth and diversity that the Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country has to offer this is the tour for you! Our incredible guides will offer interpretation & history about the Santa Ynez Valley throughout the day.

There’s hardly a better place to learn to surf than the Southern California locale of Santa Barbara, which offers fantastic weather year-round. During this 1.5-hour lesson, an expert instructor shows you how to stand up on your surfboard and balance, offering tips on how to catch the perfect wave while ensuring your safety in the water. Wetsuit and surfboard rental are included, and all skill levels are welcome.

There are plenty of Santa Barbara winery tours that revolve around popular commercial wineries, but this tour offers the chance to try something a bit more exclusive. Instead of standing at the bar of a crowded cellar door for your tasting, enjoy seated one-on-one tastings at a series of private small-production wineries. Customize your itinerary based on your own tastes and interests, and learn the secrets behind the wines on behind-the-scenes tours of those vineyards and barrel rooms.

The only tour in Santa Barbara that takes you on the sand of our famous beaches on your very own fat tire electric bike! Prepare to take in Santa Barbara's most stunning oceanfront views as you glide in between the waves and the palm trees. This Electric Bike Tour involves riding on the beach as well as biking through town on the boardwalk and downtown promenade. If you're looking for the must-do activity that shows you everything Santa Barbara has to offer this is the bike tour for you. For your safety helmets are both required and provided on this bike tour.

Savor the best of historic Santa Barbara on a 3.5-hour culinary walking tour through the heart of this scenic, seaside city. Meet local chefs and artisans as you explore alongside your local guide, and get an insider’s take on the vibrant gourmet scene. Sample locally-made wines, handcrafted chocolate and gourmet cheese at a series of six tasting stops that include a public market, wineries and boutiques. Learn a bit of local history as you trace the relaxed course, which blends essential landmarks with hidden gems and local favorites.

Santa Barbara offers a wealth of history and architectural splendor—and this private walking tour is the perfect way to discover the city’s highlights and lesser-known attractions alike. Set off with your guide at a time that works best for you, and visit landmarks like El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, City Hall, and the Granada Theatre. Learn about everything from the city’s origins to adobe construction as you go.

An open-air, eco-friendly bicycle rickshaw (pedicab) ride with a knowledgeable, friendly driver is the perfect way to get to know Solvang for the first time, or find out things you never knew about your favorite little Danish town nestled into the Santa Ynez Valley!

Santa Barbara is home to some of California’s top wineries—and this private, half-day tour offers the perfect introduction to the region’s vineyards. Leave the driving and logistics to your guide, and set off at a time that works best for you. You’ll visit three different wineries in the Santa Rita Hills, Santa Ynez, and Los Olivos growing regions, and will enjoy generous samplings at each. A gourmet picnic lunch is also included.

On this tour, we will peel back the layers of history to imagine what Santa Barbara, and the people in it, were like in the 18th and 19th centuries. We will explore the old core of Santa Barbara, known as El Pueblo Viejo, "the old town," centered around the Presidio, and discover what remains of the first few decades of the town. I will show you the must see sites, as well as some out-of-the-way architectural gems that only a local like me knows about. I have researched local history quite extensively and am very knowledgeable. What makes this tour unique is my in-depth understanding of local history, lore, and architecture, and my abilities to answer whatever questions you might have, as well as to show you the hidden places that aren’t listed in every guidebook. We can arrange beforehand to focus on what you find most interesting: Architecture? History? Adobe construction? Perhaps a combination of them all! I can cater to whatever interests you have!

Stroll through downtown Santa Barbara with a guide and small group to get the most out of your visit. You'll benefit from insightful commentary as you visit some of the top attractions, as well as some eateries you might not find on your own. Purchase food or drinks at the three historical cocktail bars and listen to the explanation of why each is significant. Traveling with a small group means you'll get plenty of attention from your guide.