Getting from Santa Barbara to winery...

Hi, me and friend are visting SB in October and we would like to do some wine tasting. Cant really afford to do an all day trip and have been looking at http://www.firestonewine.com/ . Will need to drop the car off at the hotel which is the bayside hotel on ocean avenue but then as we dont want to drink and drive, is there any way we could get up there by public transport or maybe a combination of public transport and a taxi?

Thanks!

Getting from Santa Barbara to winery...

I%26#39;m not an expert on the area, but have visited wineries there. I doubt you can do this by public transportation. Some people hire a car and driver, but most people drive themselves. Wine tasting isn%26#39;t really drinking (or shouldn%26#39;t be). Professionals don%26#39;t swallow wine when tasting. My wife and I usually share the tasting and I usually do not swallow much.

Getting from Santa Barbara to winery...

Oh okay, just that I saw one vineyard that you do some wine tasting and then have lunch and you can have a couple of glasses of wine with lunch. Just didnt want to take the risk of having the car with us if public transport was readily available.

Thanks

Firestone is one of the bigger wineries but there are some very charming smaller ones--Sunstone and Rideau come to mind as easily accessible, and there are tasting rooms in the little town of Los Olivos. If you drive from one to another, take some time browsing in a shop, eat a sandwich at a picnic bench, driving should not be a problem. Its quite a pretty drive if you take the road up past Lake Cachuma (I think that%26#39;s the name).

Arthur Earl and Andrew Murray are some nice place to wine taste in Los Olivos, very nice Syrah in this area. Los Olivos Cafe would be a nice place for a meal. Enjoy the wine country! :)

A taxi ride would cost you a small fortune. And I am not aware of public transportation to get to the wineries.

There used to be a free shuttle that ran from SB to the Chumash Casino (which is close to the wineries) and you could take a taxi from there but that would still be a very expensive taxi ride.

The best way maybe a half-day wine tour.