Rating: A for information, open-air, ability to get off and ride later
Ages: 4 (if you only do half of it at a sitting) to adult
Directions: Call for directions to trolley stop
nearest you
Contact: 965-0353 or www.sbtrolley.com
Season: Not recommended on rainy or cold days
Only San Francisco does a better red trolley! The Santa Barbara Old Town Trolley Company offers fully narrated 90-minute tours of Santa Barbara and Montecito. It looks touristy, but it’s interesting even for locals. Drivers tell the history of Santa Barbara and even point out houses of world amous celebrities in the area. It’s open-air so children love the wind
in their hair, and adults love the information. It starts at Stearns Wharf, then stops at Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse at East Beach,
Montecito Inn, Butterfly Beach/Four Seasons Biltmore, the zoo, and Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort. It continues with the Visitor Center, Franciscan Inn, the historic Moreton Bay Fig Tree, State & De La Guerra, the Mission, Simpson House Inn (the only five-star property in the City of Santa Barbara), and the County Courthouse. The great thing about this tour is even though it’s only 90 minutes long, you can make a day of it, getting off for brunch at East Beach Grill for example, and taking the next trolley behind it. You can get off and visit the zoo and get on a later trolley. You can picnic in the Mission rose garden at the halfway point, and continue after lunch. Last departure from the Mission is at 5 p.m.