Santa Maria vacation rentals

Santa Maria offers wine and Californian-style BBQs

Set to the sizzling scents of BBQ grills, and surrounded by sweeping fields of flower farms and vineyards, there's much more than meets the eye to little Santa Maria. It's set up on the hills that rise to meet the San Rafael Mountains from the salt-washed coast of the Pacific Ocean, and comes with some charming inns, pool-peppered villas, and stylish Santa Maria vacation rentals that'll let you tour the cellar doors of the local wine area while tasting Pinquito beans and oak-crackling Tri-Tip meals. What’s not to love?

Wineries galore in Santa Maria

It's no secret that the main attraction of the Santa Maria area is its vineyards. These come in all shapes and sizes as they pepper the hillsides of Santa Barbara County, while some of the most famous are located along the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail. Aside from that – and hitting the local BBQ joints in the evening – Santa Maria vacation rentals are also perfectly placed for travelers who want to scale the heights of the Los Padres National Forest to the east, or explore the wave-buffeted cliffs of the Point Sal State Beach to the west.

Get tasting and grilling in Santa Maria

There's no question about it: Santa Maria's biggest draw is its culinary heritage. Hailed as the home of the California Tri-Tip barbeque grill, it's the perfect place to learn how to sizzle up chorizo over live oak briquettes, refry those Pinquito beans, and channel the Spanish-flair of the old Cali ranch cooks. That's just half the story though, because Santa Maria vacation rentals also offer access to one of the state's famous wine regions. You can hop from cellar door to cellar door tasting whites and reds, wondering at the sweeping valleys of the Santa Ynez as you go.

Year-round fun in Santa Maria

Because of the soothing Mediterranean-type climate of southern California and the steady temperatures of the region, Santa Maria is a real year-round destination. You'll find its famous vineyards and wineries stay open for most all seasons, and BBQ shindigs happen all the time. That said, it might be worth thinking about searching for those Santa Maria vacation rentals in the harvest time of fall, around October. That's when the grape growers assemble to celebrate the completion of picking, and food festivals pop up on the city streets.

Between the Pacific and the Cali peaks in Santa Maria

The east and the west of Santa Maria are home to 2 immensely different regions. On the one side is the roaring Pacific Ocean, with surf swells crashing against the shore and beautiful golden sands running from Pismo Beach to Point Sal. To the east are the mountains of the mighty San Rafael range, where gray pines and chaparral sweep across the ridges. Hiking is best done in the depths of Los Padres National Forest, though. There, rare condors swoop in the skies and American black bears peer out from the canyons.

Transportation options to and around Santa Maria

Fly into San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP), the closest airport, located 22.9 mi (36.9 km) from the city center. If you can't find a flight that's convenient for your trip, you could book a flight to Santa Maria, CA (SMX-Santa Maria Public), which is 3.7 mi (5.9 km) away.

If you'd rather travel by train, the main station serving the city is Santa Maria Station.