The Santa Barbara coastline offers several fun locations for introductory surfing lessons. We will teach you the basics of surfing on the beach before hitting the water to catch some waves. This is a great way to get a taste of surfing in just a few hours. The trip will include an instruction session on the beach and then a 1-1.5hr surfing session with the instructor.

If you’re traveling solo or are otherwise unable to meet the minimum, we’ll do our best to add you into an existing group. Call us with your date.

Starting point and time: Santa Barbara, 10am-12pm or 1pm-3pm.

Level of difficulty: Easy to Moderate. Guests must be comfortable swimming in the ocean and small waves.

Cost: $89 per person, 2 person minimum

Age minimum: Children must be at least 7 years old. It is very important that all guests be comfortable in the ocean.

Surfing trip includes: 3.2 wetsuits (short and full), soft-top surfboards, knowledgeable guides, comprehensive instruction.

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Hot summer days and long evenings are the best time to take advantage of Santa Barbara’s greatest events and activities. Enjoy some of our favorite places and tips for enjoying the coast in July. We included as much helpful information as possible, including both free events and some with fees. If we missed something, feel free to add details in the comments section below. Hope you are enjoying your summer, exploring the beaches and having lots of family fun!

Stand Up Paddle Lessons – available most days in July. Enjoy a unique view of the American Riviera while enjoying an ocean sport quickly becoming a favorite among locals. Most tours see wildlife including sea lions, seals and sea stars.

Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens – Tours are scheduled on weekends at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and are included in admission. Tours are led by a knowledgeable docent and generally last for one hour. Join guest lecturer Susan Van Atta on July 18th for the SBBG Wine & Cheese Botanic Lecture Series. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve ahead of time.

Channel Islands Foxes Playing

Channel Islands National Park Kayaking Tours – available most days in July. Kayak and explore this remarkable ocean environment. Only 20 miles off the California Coast, the Channel Islands isolation over thousands of years has created unique animals, plants and birds found nowhere else on Earth. Come explore the beauty and richness of California’s Channel Islands.

Painted Cave Kayak Tour – 5, 7, 10, 13, 17, 26, 27, 28, 31: Venture into one of the largest sea caves in the world. This three-hour tour of some of Santa Cruz Island’s best sea caves is accompanied by free time for snorkeling and plenty of opportunity for wildlife viewing. Enjoy breakfast and lunch on the two-hour boat ride out to the island while keeping an eye out for dolphins and whales in the channel. A fun, all-inclusive day!

Learn To Surf – available most days in July. Experience the waves of the Pacific Ocean with our surf instructors who have over 25 years of experience. Find the best local breaks in the area while mastering the fundamentals of one of Santa Barbara’s favorite past times.

26th Annual S.B. French Festival – Oak Park transforms into a French Village with all the sights, sounds, aromas and flavors that Paris has to offer. You can even enjoy a poodles and pals parade! Saturday July 18th and Sunday July 19, 11am to 7pm.

Santa Barbara Arts & Crafts Show, Every Sunday – Approximately 300 Santa Barbara County resident artists come to display their own works in an informal atmosphere under the palms of seaside Chase Palm Park. All items are original art, created by the artists you meet. Every Sunday from 10 a.m. ’til Dusk.

Explore the Funk Zone or Presidio, Santa Barbara’s foodie neighborhoods, through your taste buds and camera lens with Eat This, Shoot That! Spend an afternoon savoring amazing food or sipping top-shelf wines while learning food and travel photo tips from a pro tour guide/local foodie.

Fun Paddle – available most days in July. $55 per person. Join us for a relaxing introduction to kayaking where we’ll take a 2 hour paddling adventure around Santa Barbara shoreline. This tour is the perfect half day activity, and a great introduction to the exciting sport of sea kayaking. Fun and affordable for the whole family!

Downtown Santa Barbara Farmers Market – Come down and buy local fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers, small plants and specialty items. Street musicians, music and downtown shops and restaurants. Year round, rain or shine. Corner of Santa Barbara and Cota Streets on Sunday and on State Street (500-600 bocks) on Tuesday. Every Saturday and Tuesday 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m/4:00pm – 7:30.

Please add events and activities that we may have missed in the comment section below.

Photo credit: Zabowski/Creative Commons

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There are many iconic images surrounding surfing: Bronzed bodies in bikinis and board shorts gallivanting on the beach, long boarders hanging ten, hot babes everywhere, bonfires burning, guitars strumming, and of course, extreme stoke. In mainstream media, surfing has become the internal search for the eternal summer. What many visitors to the California coast do not realize is that locals wait all year for winter swells. Sure, a suntan is cool man, but a macking ten-foot barrel ride is way cooler.

Santa Barbara is a hot spot for winter surf. When swell starts to travel from the northwest, every sand bar, reef, and point starts breaking. What does that mean for the adventure tourist? Ample opportunity to find an empty wave to learn on! While the summer is packed with beach-goers, winter sand is often deserted, making the entire experience very personalized. It’s just you, the view and some tasty waves.  Before you go, there are some crucial elements to cover to make sure your surf safari is an epic journey.

Tips for new surfers: While air temperatures have been known to reach the high 80’s (yes, pack your bikini and sunscreen), water temperatures drop into the 50s. So you are going to need a good wetsuit, and even might consider booties and a hood. I always have an old laundry detergent bottle full of hot water waiting for me to rinse off with, a couple of dry towels, snacks, drinking water, hot coffee, my IPhone to Instagram, sun glasses, a hat, special sunscreen for my face, a waterproof box to store all my wet gear, extra leashes, and at least two boards in my car.
Recommended surf board (type face and color): Start out on a foam board, a minimum of 9 feet long. If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person, A-Frame Surf shop on Santa Claus Lane in Carpinteria, can rent you all the gear you need to get in the water. The best part is they are located on one of the most popular beginning spots in the county. Just south of Santa Claus are some really mellow long boarding waves such as Mondos, Solimar, or, my personal favorite, C-Street in Ventura.

Get a surf instructor through Santa Barbara Adventure Company: The truth is winter surfing takes a ton of gear and preparation. You can save weeks of banging your head in the sand and be up riding waves in one day by booking a lesson. Santa Barbara Adventure Company guides are dedicated to making sure that every one of their clients gets to experience the joy of wave riding in the winter. The best part is they will take care of the boards, wetsuits, booties, food, and even do the picture taking for you.  While most other companies offer standard one hour lessons, SBACo keeps you in the water for half a day. Most importantly, the guides know where to surf and where the waves will have enough power to get you riding, but at the same time keep you safe from rocks, reef, riptides and pounding shore break.  Just smooth rides and good vibes.

You are on your way to living your surfing dreams! Keep the stoke, and don’t stop paddling. Paddle, paddle, paddle, smile, laugh, paddle…paddle.

Amy DiChiro, Adventure Blogger and Celebrity Guide.

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Hometown: Los Angeles
First car: 1969 VW bug
Favorite surfboard: lightning bolt 8′ mini gun . I got this board from an old local on Maui and it’s always waiting for me there when I visit.
Best place to eat in SB: The Sojourner Cafe. It has a great variety of healthy vegetarian plates, vegan deserts, it’s open late and has an old diner feel to it.
Most incredible place I’ve been: Channel Islands National Park! ha! Seriously, I’ve been to a lot of amazing places but my favorite spot is in my own backyard.

Landon at Channel Islands National Park. Courtesy of Erin Feinblatt Photography.

When did you learn to surf? Who taught you?
I learned to surf when I was 12. My uncle was a backyard shaper in Morro Bay. He taught me to shape my first board and that’s what I learned to surf on. I mostly taught myself by watching surf videos and spending a lot of time at the beach. It was a long road to shred-ability. I always tell my students how lucky they are to have a surf coach. I can teach someone in one day, what it took me to learn in one year!

This past season you spent a lot of time in Channel Islands National Park. Most people visit Scorpion Anchorage for kayaking, but what other areas would you encourage visitors to see?
They just built a new pier at Bechers bay on Santa Rosa. They also just opened up camping at Skunks Point. One of the most unique things about the Channel Islands is that they are all different from an ecological viewpoint because they have been isolated from each other for so long. Santa Rosa and San Miguel have beautiful white beaches and dunes. This is a result of bio rich materials in the sand. The sand was blown up onto the island during the last glacial period when the water levels were very low. We are starting to do multi-day kayaking trips this spring! I am so excited to take people to the outer islands (Rosa and Miguel). The more people see of the Channel Islands National Park, the more they understand what a important natural resource it is for us.

What’s your best tip for new guides on how to run an incredible adventure? What should they never do?
Be confident in yourself and your abilities. Don’t ever show fear or self-doubt.

Your email address is “beach wood designs,” can you tell me about that?
I am a salvage wood carpenter. I salvage wood from beaches, ranches, and rubbish piles to use for one of a kind projects.

Any trips or adventures in your near future?
I am currently restoring a Malibu surfing Outrigger sailing canoe similar to what ancient Polynesian guys were sailing. I’ve never sailed one but supposedly they go wicked fast and you can ride open ocean swells for miles. I plan to sail the thing down the Sea of Cortez this winter.

Landon's restored Malibu surfing outrigger sailing canoe.

Thanks for sharing Landon. We feel so lucky to have you on our team!

If you have a memory of Landon from a trip or elsewhere, please share it in our comment section below. I am sure he would love to hear from you!

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