The Santa Barbara Land Shark is an amphibious bus – that is, it’s a Hydra Terra tour bus that takes passengers around the streets of Santa Barbara and next-door Montecito, then goes right into the harbor and continues the tour on sea. I’ve been to Santa Barbara, California lots of times before for romantic getaways and trips with my family, but had never tried the Land Shark. This past weekend we signed up for it. It was an informative and fun experience, albeit a little cheesy.
Our tour guide, Milo, clearly knows his Santa Barbara history. He pointed out many points of interest along the 
way, with a heavy emphasis on famous people. I found this a bit unfortunate, as Santa Barbara is a wonderful town for an upscale California vacation, even without knowing where stars ate or invested in real estate. Several times, people along State Street – Santa Barbara’s main thoroughfare – hooted at the Land Shark, and Milo enjoyed an easy repartee with them. He showed us Joe’s Cafe, which has the only large neon sign in the town (grandfathered in, it’s from the ’50′s).
Things got more interesting and exciting when we plunged into the ocean. Some of the yachts docked in the Santa Barbara Harbor are spectacularly gorgeous, with skiffs and dinghies right alongside. California sea lions, brown pelicans, and the odd egret (what was he doing there?) seemed unperturbed by our eager photo-snapping, though when a fishing boat tooted through, they all snapped to attention themselves.
All in all, my small group enjoyed the Santa Barbara Land Shark. We’d have really loved to hear more about the history of Santa Barbara and less about where James Cagney and Kevin Costner lowered their anchors, but I suppose a lot of California tourists want to hear about the movie stars. Ya gotta play to your audience, after all. In any case, one of the restaurant/bars Milo recommended ended up being our pre-dinner drinks spot. That was a relaxing way to end the Land Shark bus tour. Thanks, Milo!
Thanks for the great post! Santa Barbara is the best. It has such a mellow, unique vibe that you wouldn’t believe you were only an hour or so out of Los Angeles. We always try to go to the Missions and other historical landmarks when we are there. Really puts everything in perspective. Would love to live there, but HOO BOY, those real estate prices are ridiculous.
Keep up the great work
Paula