Our answer is always the same – “the best time of year to go is now!” We offer trips year round and guests rave about their experience no matter what month they visit. So while there is no “best” time to go, below you will find a summary of the experiences you could have during the different “seasons”.

Winter: December through February is the peak season for Gray Whale migration, so during the boat ride over and back, as well as during the kayaking portion of the trip, there is a great chance of sighting whales! After the first few rains hit the Islands for the winter, the island will start turning green, making for majestic hiking and picture taking conditions. In addition, for those who enjoy solitude, this is the best time of year to be on the Islands with the fewest crowds. You will generally get a more personal experience with our guides during the quietest time of the year!

Spring: The Island comes alive during the spring! Flowers bloom all over the hillsides and valleys, and the temperature will start rising. For those passionate about plant life and hiking, this is the time to book, as this is the peak season for plants and longer days. In addition, many trips stop requiring wetsuits, as the sun’s heat is enough to keep us warm on the water. Spring is the best time to see birds nesting in the sea caves and offers the highest chance of seeing Orca Whales in the Channel.

Summer: It goes without saying that summer is our most magical season on the island. Blessed with the Mediterranean climate found around Santa Barbara, we get nearly perfect conditions daily: the days are long, the sun is out, the water begins to warm up, and humpback and blue whales are seen in the channel almost daily! If you are looking for the best time to explore caves and enjoy a stunning day on the water, this is the time to go!  Swell is generally the smallest this time of year, which translates into calmer waters and the best opportunities for cave exploration.

Fall: Many locals often call the fall our “second summer” since Santa Barbara usually feels just as pleasant in the fall, as summer does in many other parts of the world. The fall season generally has sunnier, calmer days than the month of June!  In addition to the ideal weather conditions, the winds usually stay calm and the water is the warmest it will be all year.  This water is also the warmest in the fall and while snorkeling is always available year round, this is definitely the most fun time to swim.

Have you traveled to the Channel Islands yet? When is your favorite time to visit? Leave us a comment below and let us know!

You can see all of our Channel Islands Kayaking Tours on our website here.

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On the day of the event, they dive down and retrieve items, often by tethering ropes to larger items and having volunteers hoist up garbage. Volunteers load up wheelbarrows full of trash and cart it up to the dumpster. Santa Barbara Adventure Company enjoys participating in the Santa Barbara Harbor Clean Sweep because it’s a way to give back to the community and to our environment which we all share.

The ocean is a common resource and we need to work together to protect it and help make it safe for ocean life. Andrea Dransfield, an employee at Santa Barbara Adventure Company, states

“I do the harbor clean-up every year and it’s very rewarding. I take it upon myself to make sure all sea creatures collected along with the garbage are safely returned to the sea.”

During the clean-up, a record number of two-spotted octopi were seen hiding in the garbage. We even found an octopus nest in a pipe! Last year only a couple octopi were found so this is good news for the populations in the harbor. We also found many small white eggs covering the surfaces of several items we pulled up. They may be octopus eggs but we are not sure. Please comment if you know what kind of eggs these are!

Among the tons of trash recovered from the harbor this year, we found a microwave, glasses/cups, an uncorked wine bottle, a bicycle, garbage bins, steps, brooms, a fisherman’s receiver, and more!

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What adventures have you been on in the last 6 months, guiding and otherwise?

I believe strongly in making the most of every day.  So while I’m very busy guiding others for SBACo, I love to go on my own adventures whenever I get the chance.  Santa Barbara affords me endless opportunities for exploration.  There is great surfing and hiking locally and I love to take advantage of it when I get the time.   As lucky as I am to live in Santa Barbara, though, I do like to travel.  I went to Bocas del Toro, Panama for 10 days this past December to visit one of my dearest friends.  She is there volunteering for the Smithsonian Institute, Reef Check, 5 Gyres Institute, and Water for People.  We surfed, snorkeled, boated, and laughed a lot.  After that trip, my husband, my dog, and I took 3 weeks to go on our annual trip down the Baja Peninsula.  We take our camper and our surfboards and relish in the delight of having no internet, phone, TV, or responsibilities other than eating, sleeping, and exercising.  Baja is one of my favorite places.  It’s the perfect place to recharge my batteries, which is just what I need after a long season of guiding.

How did you get to choose guiding as your way of living? What is it about guiding that makes it so energizing?

When I started college, I knew I wanted to work with at-risk youth in outdoor settings.  I didn’t know the best route though, so I picked psychology as my major.  When I took a Recreation 101 class, I was told about opportunities to intern at the school’s Ropes Course.  The experience was an eye opener.  I learned so much about myself and about how to work with and manage groups.  Most importantly I worked with an amazing group of people who eventually convinced me to change my major to Recreation.  My degree taught me a vast range of things, including the legal and fiscal aspects of managing recreation programs, programming, resource interpretation, and land use planning.  I think what I learned most, though, is that everyone has some connection to the outdoors, whether they know it or not.  And if you look deeply enough you can help others find that connection.   Through guiding I’ve learned that all people benefit from outdoor recreation.  This is true now more than ever, considering the ever-increasing amount of technology we use and the ever-decreasing amount of time we spend outside.  I love that I introduce people to the outdoors, show them things they may never  have noticed, and build their confidence to do outdoor activities.  The most energizing thing about guiding is knowing that we created an unforgettable experience for our guests. 

And lastly, what can you tell people who read about these trips with fascination, but think it’s probably not for them?

Our trips are for everyone! Some of my kayaking guests in the recent year included grandchildren and grandmothers, ultra-marathoners, people overcoming their fear of the ocean, school groups of all ages, non-swimmers, river guides, and entire families.  I encourage anyone to try our trips; chances are we have something perfect for you.  One of the best things about SBACo is the staff.  My coworkers are one of the greatest benefits of my job.  We all take pride in our work and want to create the best experience possible for our guests.  Our office staff is very helpful and will take the time to answer any of your questions and help you find the adventure that best suits your needs.  Our guides are well-accustomed to having all types of participants on our trips and are happy to accommodate you.  So my advice is that if you’ve always wanted to try an adventure like this, there’s no better time than the present.

Thanks for sharing Brina!

Photo courtesy of Erin Feinblatt Photography

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It is always a good idea to look at the weather forecast for the land as well as for the marine forecast. Both forecasts together help you know the conditions more fully before you go. Your guides will always try their best to stay up to date with the weather forecasts, so feel free to ask them about the conditions as well.

When looking at the conditions, there are some basic terms that are helpful to understand. When the forecast mentions swell height that refers to the height of the wave measured from the trough (the lowest point) to the peak (the highest point). The swell period is the time it takes for successive waves to pass the same point. Wind also plays a factor on tours, whether it is onshore (going from sea to the mainland) or offshore (going from the mainland to sea), and how fast it is blowing. All these factors can impact your kayaking experience.

We do kayak rain or shine, so enjoy the adventure! 

When the weather does impact the trip, please refer to our cancelation policy.

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Here are a few of these very special people -Good job guys.  If you have a story to share about your island kayaking guide, please leave it in the comment section below. I’m sure they would love to hear from you

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Volunteer Marine Debris Clean Up Day

Santa Barbara Adventure Company joined forces with Island Packers Cruises and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper on Wednesday January 15th to remove marine debris from Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Led by Santa Barbara Adventure kayak guides, volunteers paddled through a challenging shore break to reach the barnacle and urchin covered beaches where they collected trash along the shoreline.

Over 900lbs of marine debris was collected during the day as volunteers paddled back and forth from the beach to the Island Packers boat. Volunteers from Save the Mermaids, NOAA and Channel Islands National Park, as well as local kayak guides, joined the group.

Interesting items were found; lobster traps, buoys, tennis balls, plastic bottles, rope, piping, shoes, balloons, an engine, and other indiscernible things.  Trash collects in eddies in the Channel and washes ashore in concentrated areas on the Island. They are hazardous to marine life; seals and sea lions get caught in traps and rope, and smaller bits of plastic are often mistaken for food.

Michael Cohen, owner of Santa Barbara Adventure Company, reflected on the day’s success.

“The last cleanup we did was at Anacapa Island and we collected about 400lbs of trash, so we are very pleased with the outcome from today. Chinese Harbor on Santa Cruz Island is well exposed to the prevailing North West winds and swells and collects a lot of debris. It is also very difficult to access by foot, so it’s a great way for us to clean up by kayak. The volunteers did a great job today and all were grateful for an opportunity to give back to the National Park that they love so much.”

Cohen also mentioned that another clean-up will be scheduled for later in the year.

We are proud to help protect and bring awareness and tourism to the National Park and strive to be responsible stewards of these beautiful islands that give us all so much joy!

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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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Where did you grow up? And how did you find Santa Barbara?

I grew up in the Bay Area, in a town called Novato in Northern Marin County. I came to Santa Barbara to attend college at UCSB and graduated in 1984.

What inspired you to create Santa Barbara Dining and Destinations?

My girlfriend and I left Santa Barbara for Seattle in 1988 and lived there for eleven years. We got married and had a couple of children and returned to Santa Barbara, where for all of our sanity, the children could be outdoors instead of indoors for nine months out of the year. When we returned to Santa Barbara, we went to a few of our old favorite restaurants with fond memories. Unfortunately, either our memories were not so accurate or new owners had taken the restaurant in a different direction. Also, our sleepy little town of Santa Barbara had become much more metropolitan and there were so many more restaurants. Hence, we figured that other people were also overwhelmed in finding the right restaurant for their evening.

My husband’s birthday is coming up and he loves great food. Where should we go?

I get this question frequently and my answer is different and similar each time. I often need to ask a few qualifying questions to narrow down my answer. So since your husband’s birthday is a special occasion, and I am not able to ask you more qualifying questions, let’s go somewhere memorable with varied settings to match your personal taste – Boathouse, Jane, Sly’s, Lucky’s, Brewhouse, Holdren’s, Arch Rock Fish, Tre Lune, Blush and Zen Yai. Cheers!

Where can people go to subscribe to Santa Barbara Dining and Destinations?

To subscribe go to our Dining and Destinations website.

Thanks for catching up with us Phillip. Sounds like I need to make some reservations! I notice you also have a great bi-monthly newsletter that visitors can sign up for and lots of great information on your website.

If you have a question for Phil, our local expert, please leave it in the comments section below. I’ll send the best question some great Santa Barbara Adventure Company schwag!

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Name: Jessica Gray
Age: 29
Favorite Beach: So hard to choose!  I’ll have to say Carpinteria State Beach, since it’s basically in our backyard, and we spend more time there than anywhere else!
Favorite Park: Another tough one.  There are so many amazing parks in this area.  Both Rocky Nook and Stevens Park are favorites because there’s so much wild space to explore with my little one.
Best Place to have Lunch in Carpinteria: The Spot is always a good choice, although there’s a new sandwich place in town called PeeBee & Jay’s that’s quickly becoming a favorite with my husband and me.
Toughest challenge: Creating the time to follow all my interests, to stay caught up with all my friends, to workout as much as I need to, to keep up my house and my garden, and to spend quality time with my husband and son, all while trying to pursue a new career.  It never seems to all be working at once.

There are a few guides that can really handle any situation and make it look easy, though I am sure it isn’t. You are definitely one of those guides. What is your secret?
I don’t know what the secret is.  This has actually come up recently at my new job with the Harbor Patrol.  After successfully maneuvering our largest boat in a really tight space the other day, one of the officers told me, “Wow, you really get it.  You know not to panic when you’re in those situations.”  Actually, I was panicked.  Apparently, I’ve just learned not to show it.  And to be honest, maybe that’s the secret – particularly when you’re guiding and you have guests watching your every move.   I’ve definitely had nerve-wracking moments guiding (like the time when a guest had a heart attack on the ropes course), but because I needed to stay calm for the sake of the other guests, it’s forced me to slow down and react rationally.

Any tips for someone just starting to guide trips?
As for anyone new just starting to guide for the first time, if you get into a difficult situation, remember to stay flexible.   Don’t get caught up in needing to run the trip exactly as planned.  There are always options, and you have to make decisions based on what’s best for the safety and comfort of your guests.

You became a mom 3 years ago, has that changed the way to guide or work?
Well, it’s definitely changed my priorities.  Since I’ve had Colten, I’m constantly reevaluating, asking myself, “What do I want my life to look like?  Am I happy with what I’m doing?  Am I spending enough time with my family?”  I don’t know that having him has changed the way I work, but it’s changed the way I make decisions regarding work.

These days you are focusing on a career with Harbor Patrol and Fire, not your typical “mom” jobs. What is your inspiration?
Colten is my inspiration, hands down.  I’ve sort of always known, deep down, that I wanted to do something along the lines of fire and rescue.  But it took having Colten to make me take the risk and begin actively pursuing this line of work.  I want him to see me working towards my goals and understand what it takes to follow one’s dream.  It’s been a surprising process, with lots of ups and downs, and unexpected twists and turns.  What I’ve learned, and what I’m hoping he’ll grow up knowing, is that life is all about learning and growing and enjoying this journey, no matter where or when or even if you ever “arrive” anywhere at all.

You have a lot on your plate with work and family, what do you do to relax?
I work in the yard.  This may not seem all that relaxing to some, but for me gardening and yard work is like active meditation.  There’s something about it that’s just good for the soul.


Any adventures planned for the future?
Nothing too crazy planned for this year.  We love camping and boating, so we have a couple of lake trips planned for this month and the next.  We have friends in Delaware we want to visit, friends in Hawaii we would love to see, and family in Washington that we’re hoping to get up to soon.  In the meantime, we’ll be playing around here, getting out to the Channel Islands this summer (Colten still hasn’t been!) and out to the Santa Ynez River for some lazy days on the water.  That’s what’s so great about living here…every day can be an adventure, if you let it.

Thanks for sharing with us Jessica.

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Michael worked with Adventure Company for 2 years. Guests always loved him; his enthusiasm for nature and the outdoors is contagious. So I was thrilled and saddened when Michael was selected to work with the Community Environmental Council, we lost a great one to an even better cause. Since leaving Adventure Company he has been doing great work on high profile environmental projects. I caught up with Michael between organizing our locally loved Earth Day Celebration and educating locals on ways to preserve Santa Barbara’s natural environment.

Name: Michael Chiacos
Age: 31
First Car: 84 Toyota Corolla. Next one will be electric.
Best beach in town: Rincon, when winter swells are in. Butterfly beach in the summer for lazing around and people watching
Greatest Adventure: 8 month traveling through Asia, from surfing in Indonesia to mountain climbing in Nepal
Favorite Quote: Everything in moderation, including moderation

How long did you work for SBACo? What was your favorite trip to guide? Favorite memory/part of the job?
I worked for SBACo for about two years, and continued working the spring week long rafting trips for another two years, until my full time job made those trips hard to do. My favorite trips were the surfing lessons, because I got to get in the water, share the stoke of surfing with excited clients, and do something that I truly love. Doing the rafting trips was also quite fun, as it is so great to get away and spend a week camped right out next to a flowing river, get to spend some quality time with the other guides, and of course all the great rafting, kayaking, hiking and fun up on the American River. And then there was the time my neophyte whitewater kayaking skills got me over my head, literally, but that’s another story!

Any advice for someone wanting to be a guide? How to run a great trip?
My advice is to have a great attitude, as having a fun and positive attitude will rub off on the clients and make them rise to the occasion. I always hope I inspired people to not only have a lot of fun, but also learn something new about the environment we were playing in. Through that interaction with nature they learned a few things and also hopefully became more conscious of protecting the environment.

You’re a Santa Barbara local – what was it like growing up here?
Growing up in Santa Barbara was great – I grew up in the mountains in a little 1930’s cabin in a community called the Trout Club and was part of a feral pack of boys that ran around building forts in the oak trees and playing in the creek. My dad used to blow a conch shell at dark to round us up for dinner.

However, like most kids I didn’t realize how good it was until I left Santa Barbara. I lived in some cool places, Portland, Oregon, the Big Island of Hawaii, and traveled all around the world. However, every time I came home I was blown away by the natural beauty of Santa Barbara and all the access to amazing outdoors we have here. I can ride my bike from my house and in 15 minutes be hiking or biking through the mountain trails of our front country or hop in my car and be surfing in 5 minutes. On the culture and community side, Santa Barbara has the accoutrements of a much larger city and lots of great people. Those things made me want to move back here to Santa Barbara and experience living here as an adult. Well, that and the fact that every Christmas break when I’d come home I’d go hiking in the mountains and the smell of winter sage after a rain touched me so deep inside. The chaparral is where I grew up, and is in my blood. I had to come back.

Currently you are working for the Community Environmental Council to raise awareness about the most pressing environmental issues that affect Santa Barbara. What is the most pressing issue affecting our environment? How can we make a difference?
We are lucky here in Santa Barbara and the US in that we’ve made huge progress on most environmental issues. Compared to India, Peru, Kenya, and other places I’ve travelled we have relatively clean air, water, and cities, though things could always get better.

The biggest environmental challenge humans have ever faced is now pressing on us, but oddly not pressing too hard. Climate change is something distant and faceless enough to think about that it is hard for humans to rally around and agree to tackle it. Our whole economies are built on cheap oil, coal, and natural gas, and we need to totally transform many things to address our dependence on fossil fuels and the environmental, social, and economic issues with them. I believe there will be huge economic benefits, amazing new technology and a whole new economy that emerges as we transition to the clean energy economy, but in the meantime there are powerful vested interests and a whole infrastructure that needs to be changed.

Here’s an example. As the Transportation Specialist at CEC I work on everything from bikes and carpooling to electric cars and better city planning. Lately I’ve been working a lot on electric cars, and they are a great example of the new green economy. They get around 100 mpg equivalent, emit zero tail pipe emissions, and on California’s green grid cut greenhouse gas pollution by around 70% compared to gasoline cars. Our local utility, SoCal Edison supplies 20% renewable energy to our local grid, and that will go up to 33% by 2020, so these cars actually get cleaner as they age, not dirtier like a internal combustion engine. Even more inspiring, many electric car early adopters also get solar panels, so they are driving on sunshine instead of oil! These are the things we need to be moving toward, and where we can have some competitive advantage over China and India. We are working right now to build charging stations and make it easier to use electric vehicles in Santa Barbara –you can check out a short video of our efforts at Plug In Santa Barbara or watch it below.

You just finished working on the Santa Barbara Earth Day celebration. How did it go this year?
Amazing! We had over 38,000 people over two days and the most fun, educational, and peaceful vibe ever. We’ve been able to grow tremendously (around 8,000 attended in 2007) while keeping a great vibe and an emphasis on not only having a fun time with the community, but also learning some positive things to take back and incorporate into life the rest of the year.

Where can we find you when you’re not working these days?
Well, lately making raised beds and laying brick and flagstones as I transform my front yard from a grassy weed patch into a food forest! It’s been a lot of work the last couple months, but is now starting to look great. I bought a house 6 months ago and have been working on it a lot lately – mostly on the outside as thankfully the bones of the house are pretty good. I now have over 50 types of edible fruits, vegetables, and herbs growing on a little downtown lot.

After this big front yard project is over I promised my girlfriend that instead of working on the house three weekends a month, and going on an adventure one weekend a month, we can revert back to our old schedule of three weekends of adventures a month! So starting this summer you’ll see me a lot more in the mountains, in the ocean, and out on the islands.

Thanks for lots of great memories Michael. Look forward to seeing you around town and at the 2012 Earth Day Celebration!

If you have a memory of exploring nature with Michael, please share it in the comment section below. I am sure Michael would love to hear from you.

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