Santa Barbara for a Couples Weekend

Santa Barbara is a perfect destination for a weekend getaway - beautiful weather, great restaurants, and steps away from the ocean.

Santa Barbara

We were looking for a place to go for a friend's big birthday, and at the last minute decided that Santa Barbara was the destination. We flew into LAX and it was a quick 2-hour drive to our hotel in Santa Barbara.

We wanted to relax and explore the city during the weekend, but the first stop was the amazing rooftop pool!

If you can get away for a quick weekend, here are the highlights from our trip, where we stayed, and our favorite restaurants:

• Rent e-bikes: we spent a few hours riding around the city (without breaking much of a sweat!) and the beachfront on e-bikes we rented from Wheel Fun Rentals (24 E Mason St.). The bike path along the beach was not too crowded and we stopped for a drink at the marina at Brophy Bros. (great bloody marys!)

• Santa Barbara Farmer's Market: this is one of the best farmer's markets we've ever seen - fresh produce, flowers, homemade treats, and one vendor making custom nut butters (pistachio was our favorite). You could smell the flowers and strawberries from a mile away

• Santa Barbara Mission: so much history and a beautiful cemetery located in the courtyard. It gets busy with tours but you can do your own walking tour that takes less than an hour.

Where to Stay: It depends on your budget and what amenities you prefer, but we stayed at the Kimpton Canary Hotel (31 W Carrillo St.) in downtown Santa Barbara. We loved this location because we could walk to shops, restaurants, and the Farmer's Market. They had a beautiful rooftop pool, rooms were spacious, and their food and cocktails were amazing.

Where to Eat: We had some awesome meals while we were there, and visited a beachfront place both mornings because we loved it so much!

• Shoreline Beach Cafe - great breakfast/brunch/lunch right on the beach

• The Lark - awesome bar and drinks were amazing - we ended up eating at the bar too! This place is jam packed on weekends - make sure to get reservations

• Toma Restaurant and Bar - great Italian with views of the harbor

• Oku - sushi with beautiful rooftop terrace