Day Trippin' › California › From San Jose › Santa Barbara Mission
The drive from San Jose to Santa Barbara Mission takes about 3 hr 57 min (southeast of San Jose), by real roads from ZIP 95112. Along the way we found 78 stops within a short detour: 16 coffee shops, 5 bakeries, 15 ice cream and treats and 25 places to eat.
The list below is the best few of each kind, in driving order, with how far into the drive you reach each one (counted from San Jose) and the detour it adds. Stops marked Our pick are chosen by us; the rest come from OpenStreetMap listings, so confirm hours before you count on them.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0
Historic site
Large, elegant mission church often called the Queen of the Missions.
Heads-up: Active church; closed during some services.
First third Middle third Last third Santa Barbara Mission
About 3 hr 57 min by road, heading southeast from the middle of ZIP 95112. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: Splash Cafe (Pismo Beach). The page lists 31 in all, in driving order.
Erik's DeliCafe in Salinas, Alma's Bakery Deli in Chualar, Starbucks in Gonzales and La Plaza Bakery in Soledad. Check hours first; they come from OpenStreetMap listings.
The Bagel Bakery in Boronda, Las Islitas Grill in Salinas, Georgie's Steakhouse in Chualar and Taqueria Hidalgo in Chualar.
Wings of History Air Museum in San Martin, Mission San Miguel Arcángel in San Miguel, Atascadero Historical Museum in Atascadero and Reservoir Creek Falls in San Luis Obispo.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Stops come from our own picks and OpenStreetMap listings; hours and detours change, so check before you go. We do not store anyone's location.