11 Activities to Visit
Wine, Food and a Little Bit of Scandinavia
Starts from
Los Angeles
Transportation
By Car
Guidance
Self-Guided
Activities
11
Duration
2 days
Length
94 mi
Price
$ 4.99Guide details
Starts from
Los Angeles
Transportation
By Car
Guidance
Self-Guided
Duration
2 days
Length
94 mi
Price
$ 4.99Created by:
Elisa Parhad
Travel Expert
Highlights
- Feed ostriches at an iconic ostrich farm.
- Go wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley, made famous in the movie *Sideways*.
- Explore the gastronomical delights in the food-centric town of Los Alamos.
- Try the Dutch sweet treat, abelskiver, at an authentic Danish restaurant.
- Learn about Danish history in the region, and the Danish grandfather of fairy tales.
Located north of Santa Barbara, the Santa Ynez Valley is made up of several communities that are a throwback to a simpler time. Expect cooler temperatures, golden rolling hills and a slower pace. There is the tiny hamlet of Ballard, the vintage western town of Los Alamos (reborn as a food mecca), the wine-infused, arts-inspired town of Los Olivos, and the northern European atmosphere of Solvang, founded in 1911 by Danish-Americans.
Just two hours up the coast from Los Angeles, the Santa Ynez Valley offers a world away, full of possibilities. This route takes you through them all at a relaxed pace that allows discovery and enjoyment of the moment at hand. Find something you like? Feel free to linger. This is your route to enjoy life's finer things.
Just two hours up the coast from Los Angeles, the Santa Ynez Valley offers a world away, full of possibilities. This route takes you through them all at a relaxed pace that allows discovery and enjoyment of the moment at hand. Find something you like? Feel free to linger. This is your route to enjoy life's finer things.
Located north of Santa Barbara, the Santa Ynez Valley is made up of several communities that are a throwback to a simpler time. Expect cooler temperatures, golden rolling hills and a slower pace. There is the tiny hamlet of Ballard, the vintage western town of Los Alamos (reborn as a food mecca), the wine-infused, arts-inspired town of Los Olivos, and the northern European atmosphere of Solvang, founded in 1911 by Danish-Americans.
Just two hours up the coast from Los Angeles, the Santa Ynez Valley offers a world away, full of possibilities. This route takes you through them all at a relaxed pace that allows discovery and enjoyment of the moment at hand. Find something you like? Feel free to linger. This is your route to enjoy life's finer things.
Just two hours up the coast from Los Angeles, the Santa Ynez Valley offers a world away, full of possibilities. This route takes you through them all at a relaxed pace that allows discovery and enjoyment of the moment at hand. Find something you like? Feel free to linger. This is your route to enjoy life's finer things.
Elisa Parhad
Travel Expert
- Feed ostriches at an iconic ostrich farm.
- Go wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley, made famous in the movie *Sideways*.
- Explore the gastronomical delights in the food-centric town of Los Alamos.
- Try the Dutch sweet treat, abelskiver, at an authentic Danish restaurant.
- Learn about Danish history in the region, and the Danish grandfather of fairy tales.
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Travel itinerary
6 Activities to Visit
Day 1
25 mi
Wine, Food and a Little Bit of Scandinavia
Today, you'll take a short drive north to the Danish-inspired town of Solvang. In a bid to attract more tourists, business owners here began boosting the town's Danish heritage in the 1940s, adding windmills in the streets, half-timbered facades to their buildings, and even a scale replica of Copenhagen's Rundetaarn around town.
You'll try some Danish food to round out the experience and pay homage to the movie Sideways, which was filmed here. Then you'll drive further north to the towns of Los Olivos and Los Alamos. Let the rustic and quaint environs of each town charm you and enjoy its gifts of food, wine, and atmosphere.
Head north from Los Angeles to toward the slower pace and idyllic countryside of the Santa Ynez Valley. Enjoy views of the Pacific between Ventura and Santa Barbara.
21:30
5 Activities to Visit
Day 2
69 mi
Vineyards and Feasts of the Santa Ynez Valley
Today is a food- and wine-focused day, filled with grazing, strolling and relaxing. You'll spend your time in Los Alamos and Los Olivos and have a walk through a coastal eucalyptus grove in Goleta before heading back to Santa Barbara for dinner.