Santa Barbara – Buggie Rental
I have seen these little motorized buggies going up and down State Street for a couple of months and could not resist them any longer. On a sunny Sunday in June, I went ahead and rented a buggie for an hour. One hour is great if you want to be zooming the whole time or are locals like us and have already visited the main sights in Santa Barbara. If you want to stop to get out and take photos or enjoy the sights, I recommend two hours. If you don’t have a rental car, this would be fun to rent mid-day, have a quick picnic at the rose garden and see a lot of Santa Barbara at once.
We booked online, making it easy to show up and take our ride in person.
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Funk Zone Pick-Up
The Funk Zone is now the “happening” place in Santa Barbara. Long before I arrived, the Funk Zone was a dangerous warehouse district. Now it has upscale restaurants, wine tasting rooms, surf gear shops, and office buildings. New buildings have popped up, while others have been renovated. With it’s proximity to the ocean, I am not surprised by the gentrification.
We arrived 10 minutes before our scheduled hour but had to wait as one of the owners was buckling a family into a pair of buggies. After signing some paperwork, we picked a white buggie with hot pink writing. After a brief demonstration, we were off!
At a Glance:
- Rating: 3, would like to do it again soon
- Intensity: Sundress and sandals
- Duration: Hourly rate, but based on preference
- Cost: $65 for one hour, $85 for two hours
- Location: Santa Barbara, Funk Zone
- Restrooms: No bathrooms available
Highlights:
- Adorable buggie
- Exploring Santa Barbara from a different vantage point
Recommended for renting a buggie
- Water
- Sunscreen
- Sunnies
- Sense of adventure
Where to go in Your Buggie
The SB Buggie website offers three routes as a suggestion. Santa Barbara is not the easiest place to get around with a lot of one-way streets. As a local, I would highly recommend the Yellow Route over the others with slight modifications. For the first modification, I recommend making a stop at the Courthouse if you have not yet been there. You can park on the street and climb the belltower for free for a fantastic view of Santa Barbara and the mountains. Then the Santa Barbara Mission is also a worthy place to walk around, including the Rose Garden across the street.
Next, the Yellow Route has you driving along the Alameda Padre Serra. This street also provides great views, but please be careful! People drive very fast on this curvy road. If you are running out of time, I recommend heading straight back to the waterfront. Although the Montecito section of the of the route is lovely, it’s not totally necessary. Back on Cabrillo, stop by the Rainbow sculpture before heading back to return your rental.
Google Maps Yellow Route:
- SB Courthouse
- Old Santa Barbara Mission
- (optional) Butterfly Beach (don’t take the 101!)
- (optional) Pier – yes, you can drive on the pier! We didn’t do this, but I think it would be a neat experience.
- SB Buggie
Trouble in Buggie Paradise
When we rented our white buggie, we noticed it felt a little sluggish, but without issues.Next, we decided to head toward the SB Mission and Rose Garden. About three-quarters of the way there, we started noticing our buggie making a few odd sounds. After another block or so, we came to a complete stop.
We tried everything but could not get it going again. After pulling into the shade, we called up the number on the side of the buggie and explained our predicament. After another 10 minutes or so, one of the owners came rolling up in a blue buggie. He tried starting the buggie himself, without luck and told us to take his blue buggie for as long as we wanted. Although hesitant to take his only ride, we hopped in and were off… again! The blue buggie with white writing had more power from the onset – we could feel and hear it take on the hills without any issues. We explored the area above Alameda Padre Serra, which I wouldn’t recommend without knowledge of the area.
Overall Thoughts: SB Buggie Rental
By the time we got back to the rental office, it had been closer to 1 hour and 45 mins. I would say maybe go for 2 hours if you are going to follow one of their routes and maybe only 1 hour if you will stick to the coastline and downtown State Street. If I were going to do it again, I would go for 2 hours and follow one of their routes and bring a picnic lunch. Also, the owner who we took his buggie had somehow arrived back the Funk Zone before us!
Although touristy, I noticed that I always have a really great time renting electric or motorized little vehicles to ride around for an hour or so. When was the last time you had a whopping good time in an hourly rental vehicle?
Happy travels,
Hanna