Taking a trip to Santa Maria/Santa Barbara

[Muggsy]

anywhere I should check out? What about a good place to go for a bachelor party?

[Bier Meister]

it's been way too long for me to make any decent suggestions

[darin3]

I went to school at UCSB and was born/raised in SoCal.

 

Santa Maria is a good hour and a half from Santa Barbara. I wouldn't want to throw a bachelor party in Santa Maria, let alone spend any kind of weekend there. Hopefully you're able to spend the entire time in Santa Barbara.

 

Because this is in the Food & Beverage forum, should I assume you want to go wine tasting? If that's the case, simply check out http://www.santabarbara.winecountry.com/ and you should find plenty of tasting options. They are aplenty in SB County.

 

If you're able to throw the bachelor party in Santa Barbara (opposed to Santa Maria), I would suggest a trip to Chumash Casino http://www.chumashcasino.com, if you're into gambling. You could even spend one night in SB and then one night at Chumash. Or just spend the day at Chumash and return to SB.

 

Hotel choices are aplenty in SB, but expect the prices to be high during peak season. Look up the "Ala Mar Hotel", which is near the terminus of State St. (the main drag with all the bars and restaurants) at Cabrillo, which is the street that runs along the ocean. Ala Mar has a pretty cool deck that you can kick back on, have a beer, etc. before you head out for the night. Bear in mind it's a smaller hotel so accommodations may be limited. If it's full or too pricey (it used to be reasonable), there are plenty of hotel options along Cabrillo and a few blocks off the beach. There's even a pretty nice Motel 6 (the original, btw).

 

In terms of restaurants, I never visit SB without having pasta at a joint on State St. called Bucatini. If you're into Italian food, this is a must-stop. Reservations aren't required, but for a larger party, I'd recommend it. Some other good food options include Santa Barbara Brewing Company and Joe's Cafe. Joe's makes the strongest drinks in town. Good place to start out at.

 

Speaking of drinks, I would recommend O'Malley's and Cue's. There are literally countless bars on State, so you could easily check out 5+ in a given night.

 

Depending on how old you fellas are, you may or may not want to go check out Isla Vista, which is the "college town". IV, as it's affectionately called, is fun during the day if it's nice out. There are several sandwich joints with outdoor seating so that you can enjoy the sun while downing cheap beer. And trust me, the "sights" would be incredible.

 

There's plenty of good golf options in SB too. And no bachelor party would be complete without a trip to a gentlemen's club, right? Well, there is a Spearmint Rhino in town.

 

Keep in mind, I graduated in '96 and while I used to go back on a regular basis, I've only been back once in the past 3-4 years. I am pretty certain all of the places I mentioned are still there and still real popular.

 

Let me know if you have further questions and/or give me some more specifics in terms of when you're going to be there, how long you'll have to spend, how much you want to spend, and the size of your group.

 

You might also want to post this query in the Tailgate. There may be some more Huddlers that have things to add... although I am pretty sure I am the only active Huddler that has spent much time in SB (I think QDaddyO is a UCSB grad but haven't seen him in years).

 

Good luck, and have fun... SB is amazing.

Edited April 21, 2007 by darin3