Best Places for Holiday Travel

Santa Barbara, California

During winter, the coastal towns in Santa Barbara County combine New England–style comfort and old California elegance with outrageous holiday kitsch. In Montecito, the 500-acre San Ysidro Ranch could be a Vermont hunting lodge (rooms have wood-beamed ceilings and stone hearths), except that it’s 20 minutes from world-class surfing at Rincon Beach. Meanwhile, amid the vintage Victorian houses on nearby Summerland’s main shopping street, Stacky’s Seaside stands out like a grounded trawler. Fortify yourself with its fish and chips before hitting the Summerland Winery’s tasting room for a wine that shouldn’t work but does: a sparkling Zinfandel. Six miles south, there’s Carpinteria, a quirky, bohemian beach hamlet where Christmas seems to last all year—its waterfront boulevard is even called Santa Claus Lane. —M. G. Lord

San Ysidro Ranch, A Rosewood Resort (doubles from $650); Stacky’s Seaside (lunch for two $25); Summerland Winery (tastings for two $20).