Santa Barbara was a bucket list stop for my girlfriend, and we booked the 2:00 p.m. trolley tour hoping for a well guided introduction to the city's history and landmarks. Unfortunately, it ended up being one of the more disappointing parts of the trip. The seating is tightly packed. I understand maximizing capacity, but at 6'6" it was not comfortable. We moved to the front right side where there is a sideways bench behind the driver, which offered more legroom. That felt like a smart move until we realized most of the sights being pointed out were on the left side of the trolley. It felt like about 80 percent of the tour was oriented that direction, which meant we were constantly twisting around and still missing details. If you book this tour, sit on the left side. The narration also felt disorganized. The driver mentioned he was reading the traffic flow incorrectly and ended up doing much of the route "backwards." Because of that, he would introduce a historical figure or landmark, then later circle back and partially repeat the same information when reaching his usual talking point. There was noticeable repetition and filler instead of a smooth, cohesive storyline. Midway through the tour, there is a stop at Mission Santa Barbara for about 15 minutes. While it is nice to get off and stretch your legs, 15 minutes is nowhere near enough time to meaningfully experience the mission. You can walk through the courtyard and take a few photos, but that is about it. The mission deserves more time than a quick pass through. In practice, the stop felt more like a checkbox than a real opportunity to explore. Another frustration was departure time. The 2:00 p.m. tour did not leave at 2:00. The driver waited past the scheduled time to see if additional passengers would join. When you are visiting from out of town and carefully stacking your schedule, those extra 10 to 15 minutes matter. Overall, for about $30 per person, I expected a more polished and better organized experience. We both left disappointed. If you want a meaningful introduction to Santa Barbara, you may be better off exploring key spots on your own at your own pace. read more

This was a decent ride around a small part of the city. My driver was Joe. He seemed knowledgeable about the history and landmarks. We stopped at a church to take pics and had sufficient time to snap other photos along the tour. This was especially perfect for a warm, sunny day. read more

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Santa Barbara Trolley Tour (Booked via Viator.com) We booked this tour through Viator for $28 per person (non-refundable), and I have to say -- it's an affordable, worthwhile way to see Santa Barbara and Montecito if you're short on time. The tour runs about an hour and a half, narrated the whole way through. Our guide, Rusty, was excellent -- knowledgeable, engaging, and easy to listen to. He mixed history with fun local details, pointing out landmarks, residents, and even a few celebrity homes. His energy kept the ride interesting from start to finish. Pro tip: Seating is a bit of a luck-of-the-draw situation. There are about four or five seats where the window is completely down -- perfect for pictures. Otherwise, most windows stay up and only open a crack for air. If photos are important to you, get in line early so you can grab those open-window spots. It's two people per bench. The rest stop was at the historic Santa Barbara Mission. We had about 15 minutes to use the restrooms, pop into the gift shop, and take pictures of the Mission's beautiful exterior. (The church wasn't open during our visit, but it often is, so worth checking next time.) Along the way, Rusty also pointed out some things I never would've noticed -- like enormous fig trees scattered around town, a fossil of a blue whale, and even a giraffe peeking its head out near the zoo! The Spanish-style architecture throughout Santa Barbara was another highlight, and being able to see so much in a short span of time made this tour feel really efficient. Meeting & Drop-off Spot: The Garden Street Visitor Center (close to the Carousel House). For brand-new visitors or anyone with limited time, this is a perfect introduction to Santa Barbara. Big kudos to Rusty for making it such an engaging ride. read more

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The Santa Barbara Trolley tour was the perfect way to kick off our NYE (and 1st wedding anniversary). We have visited SB numerous times and drove to the sights we wanted to see individually. So glad we got a chance to take in the sights from a different perspective and with so much more history provided to us by the driver. It is obvious that the driver takes pride in his job by the way he describes the rich history of SB. We walked away with so much more knowledge than we had before and a deeper appreciation for the town. The trolley was in great working condition that added to the nostalgia of the experience. The trolley had the capacity for over 30 people but was half full for our tour which was nice and made for a more comfortable ride. Tour drive bys/stops: - SB courthouse - SB Zoo - Museum of Natural History - Old Santa Barbara Mission - Andrea Clark Bird Refuge - Moreton Bay Fig Tree Park - through the Funk Zone and several other pass bys of famous residents/developers Tickets were easy to purchase online before the ride. The driver will confirm upon arrival at the trolley at the Visitors Center. Parking available in several paid lots, as well as street parking at the beach. read more

Santa Barbara Trolley - SB tour time - Wine Tours Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

We had a great experience on the Santa Barbara Trolley tour! I was surprised by some of the negative reviews--ours was nothing like that. The guide was engaging and full of interesting facts, even our 9-year-old stayed interested the whole time. The tour is the perfect length to see a lot of the city without feeling rushed, and it helped us decide what to go back and explore more. There's one stop at the Santa Barbara Mission, which gives you just enough time to grab a coffee, use the restrooms, and snap a few quick photos. We also had no trouble finding parking nearby, which made getting there super easy. Highly recommend for first-time visitors or anyone who wants a fun, low-key way to see the highlights! Also, we enjoyed doing the 10 AM tour (on a Sunday) which might feel a bit early to some, but definitely made it easier for parking and less crowds in general. read more

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Great tour to get the most information in a 90 min time frame. Our drive was very knowledgeable of the area and history of Santa Barbara. Would recommend read more

Santa Barbara Trolley - Driver Joseph was very knowledgeable of the surrounding area and had tips on what was going on in town that weekend also. - Wine Tours Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Beware! This was a silent tour!! Tour guide strongly warned everyone before entering the tour bus and on the tour bus before the tour started that he did not want to hear any talking. We were a family of 2 grandparents, 2 parents, 2 adults (aunt and uncle) , 2 college graduates, 3 kids. We paid for half of the bus and were treated very rudely. This tour is not friendly or welcoming. No noise permitted. read more

From the inquiry through the ride, Santa Barbara Trolley was professional and an absolute joy to coordinate with. We used them for our pre-wedding ceremony party and it was absolutely incredible. Thank you, Santa Barbara Trolley!! read more

Santa Barbara Trolley - Wine Tours Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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It was nice to plan for Santa Barbara Trolley Tour and to see all around the city. The Santa Barbara Trolley can seat up to 32 persons. It is important to purchase your tickets a couple of days in advance. -The  History of Santa Barbara: The Santa Barbara Channel, both the mainland including present day Santa Barbara, and the Channel Islands, has been continuously inhabited by the Chumash people and their ancestors for at least 13,000 years. -Santa Barbara is called American Riviera, but some of the local prefers to call it Santa Barbara Riviera. -Santa Barbara has 2569 Mexican Fan Palms and more than 25000 street trees. It is a rich man community.Montecito is known for high profile and celebrities who live in there. Prince Harry and Megan, Kevin kostner , oprah, Ellen, ketty perry, John Travolta are some of the celebrities. Coral casino club is a private club,  has private access to the beach.The initiation fees is $ 300,000 in addition to annual fees. The city was destroyed by earthquakes, in 1812 and 1925, it was rebuilt after the second one in a Spanish Colonial architecture style The rail road was close to the beach,  then moved to the right side of the beach and Was completed in the mid 1800. Before it was called a missing link There are many landmarks that we passed around with the Trolley, to mention a few: -Four seasons hotel is a beautiful hotel and is still closed since the pandemic -The pier was built first in an angle. -The Funk zone or herbal wine tasting and 3  breweries -Hazard is a bicycle shop, it was in business since 1914. -Lucky penny is covered of real pennies - Music Academy of the west- - Santa Barbara zoo establishef in1964 and has 500 animals. - Motel 6 started  here in Santa Barbara. -Hilton hotel is built on 25 acres. - the very first street  in Santa Barbara was the state street which is 11 blocks - Fig tree is from Morton Bay Australia - one victorian building architecture remained after the earthquake -El Prosidio  -The zoo -The court House - Granada Theatre, the tallest building in down town Santa Barbara -The old mission -Natural History museum and the  Blue whale skeleton  which was 12 years old and located  in front of the National History museum The Tour guy was very informative and knowledgeable. Our tour was scheduled from 2 to 3:30, but it ended at 4:00 instead. It was fun to have a tour across Santa Barbara and enjoy all the landmarks, the elegant buildings and the precious view of the beach. read more

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Would we go again? Nope. Here's why. We took a weekday tour of the downtown Santa Barbara area. Tour lasted about 1.5 hours including a 20 min stop at the Mission. BORING. Our guide was monotone and lifeless. Words were hard to understand and the actually tour was really underwhelming. We literally drove up one street and he commented on the right side then drove it again and commented On the left. How to improve, add some interesting facts, do some research I honestly learned very little and we all left underwhelmed. $35 ea, guess That's what you get read more

...Review specific to SB Trolley's Holiday Lights Tour... Given that it is the Holiday Season, what better way to celebrate and take in the spirit than via Santa Barbara's Trolley of Lights tour?! This holiday tradition kicked off in 1999 and has quickly become a family (and town) favorite. They have 8-10 trolleys that run together as a 'train' for fourteen days. After first moving to town several years ago, little did we know that our rental house was on the Holiday route in Hidden Valley. We were all for it and participated in decking the halls of our home, but also jumped on board for a ride--Spiked hot cocoa roadie in hand, blanket and all. Today I realized I had never written a proper Yelp review! As many Elites agree: If there's no Yelp review, it never happened... I do recall that Chuck was our guide and he was very outgoing, friendly and knowledgeable of the area. It's also worth mentioning that he had quite the sense of humor. Everyone dressed the part, including carolers along the route. If you will be in town during the month of December and are looking for a family-friendly themed activity, buy your tickets well in advance for this fun activity. It sells out quickly! Side note: If you want to be on the same trolley with your entire party, you must buy your tickets at the same time online (Adult: $32.50; Children (under 12): $19.50). read more

A great way to see and get to know Santa Barbara. Good facts and town tidbits shared along the way. Pick and drop off is easy to find and located right by a public (paid) parking lot. read more

Santa Barbara Trolley - Wine Tours Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Santa Barbara and Montecito. Chuck, our driver and guide, was captivating; his extensive knowledge, story telling and humor really brought the location to life! This was one of the highlights of our week long stay in this beautiful, interesting and historical location. read more

This was a fun and informative overview of Santa Barbara history and the town. We saw everything from the Mission to the Court House, to the Lucky Penny bar where the exterior walls are totally covered with actual pennies, to lots of wine tasting stores, to the gorgeous coast line, a glimpse of the zoo giraffes, birds in the sanctuary, etc. Our local Trolley guide Rusty was very knowledgeable and super friendly, along with being a great driver. read more

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I bought tickets through Expedia in May and made sure I got confirmation for the event. We were excited, but were met with extreme disappointment. On the day of the event 08/16/24, my friend and I got there about 10 minutes before. We went to the little visitor center to confirm because there isn't clear signage either. The ladies at the visitor center were not friendly or helpful. Just said "wait out there". So we did...for 45 minutes!!!!! Gave them benefit of the doubt and thought maybe they're running late. Another couple also waited with us and was confused. We did confirm with each other the location and time. They had also went to visitor center to confirm. So the couple left around 30 min and we waited about 15 more minutes. We tried calling the office to speak with someone that day, but kept going to voicemail. I left one and waited for a call. Nothing. I would've definitely understood if they communicated that they had to cancel and immediately refunded me, but nothing. 2 days later they had the audacity to email me asking for a review. It's automated, but still. I responded about the experience and how we didn't go due to trolley never arriving. The trolley company replied to the email, however I never got a response about when I'll receive my refund. I never got a refund. It's been almost 2 months so I decided to reach out to Expedia to get the refund. They said it was take about 72 hours to figure something out. As of 10/05/24, Expedia refunded my money and am happy with their responses. I am a very understanding person. Maybe they had some technical difficulties or didn't have enough people. Fine, just have the courtesy to let me know, refund my $$, and I'm good. The company is super unprofessional and if you are thinking about going, please make sure to call and confirm with them. Also, book with third party because good luck trying to get your money back from them. Go ahead and even mention my review as well. Wish I can give 0 stars. read more

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The tour guide was extremely nice, I don't get the negative reviews. This tour was really fun, and me and my family learned so much about Santa Barbra. Would totally recommend this trolley tour to people visiting. read more

The tour was very informative. I could tell by his enthusiasm that our tour guide was proud of his city. The was he chronicled the progress of the city from being a port for industry to the now Funk Zone. Our stop at the Old Mission gave us enough time to take pictures and visit the gift shop. I was in awe of the Missions history. read more

Everything was fine, except the trolley operator named Rusty. We had a full bus of adults and we all paid our ticket fees. We are having an amazing ride learning about Santa Barbara. Nobody was complaining about chatter and then our operator decided to reprimand us all like we were two year old telling us that we did not obey or follow the rules and they was completely And acceptable. Can't understand why cause we're all adults and he said we treated him horribly supposedly and then now he was treating us horribly he says now that we did this to him he's gonna he's gonna embarrass us and do this back to you guys. We cannot believe what we were hearing. We honestly thought it was a joke, but it wasn't he was Hostile to everybody on the trolley. Were people from other countries can't believe what they are hearing and literally we were all in shock when we walked off I don't think he got one tip. He had mentioned that he had been working for the system company for 25 years. We also saw him up working at the Dwight Yoakam concert at the Santa Barbara bowl. This really spoiled our afternoon it took us a while to calm down after the abuse that we obtained on the trolley. he needs to go.!!!! read more

Jim was a great tour guide, very knowledgeable, friendly and funny. If you're looking to learn more about the history of SB and see some amazing views check them out. read more

Santa Barbara Trolley - Lavanderia - Wine Tours Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

This was so much fun. We enjoyed the scenery and education of the city. If it's your 1st time in Santa Barbara, I highly recommend it. read more

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We used Santa Barbara Trolley as our Baraat vehicle in our Indian wedding. We met in the Bay Area and were getting married in Santa Barbara so the Santa Barbara Trolley was fitting! Their communication was phenomenal and the driver was punctual and very friendly. They stayed for our cocktail hour after the ceremony and people loved taking pictures and sitting on it at a way to enjoy their time. It made our extended cocktail hour fly by! read more

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Richard was the ultimate professional & most excellent tour guide! Only change would be 20 minute stop at "the mission" unecessary on a "90-minute" tour; I'd have preferred to be moving in trolley & seeing hearing more if history/culture of SB! Hop on hop of & ghost tour options would also be bit more interesting! Thank you! read more

What a great way to share Santa Barbara with out-of-town-friends. As a Santa Barbara native I felt that I could be a good tour guide, but it was much more enjoyable to be a "tourist" for the day and to have SB Trolley chauffeur us throughout the city. Along with seeing all the major SB hot-spots, we also had fun meeting all the other "tourists" on-board. We were able to park in the lot next to Visitor's Center at Garden and Cabrillo Blvd, and boarded the SB Trolley right there on Cabrillo Blvd. Some of the highlights on the tour is the Queen of Missions, SB Museum of Art, SB Courthouse, and Museum of Natural History. Along with that stop at SB Museum of Art, we walked to the next block to both Satellite Wine Bar, delicious tasting and lunch, and across the street to the Sanford Wine Tasting Room. Returning to our pick up spot at the Visitor's Center, we ended the day with a couple wine tasting rooms, DV8 Cellars, Kunin Wines, and Skyenna Wine Lounge, which are all conveniently located a block from the Visitor's Center, and wrapped up the day at Brass Bear Brewing and Bistro for burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, skewers of Tri-trip, and their selection of beers. We packed in a lot for a one day adventure, looking forward to sharing the Trolley with more friends and family. read more

This was a great way to learn some of the history of the city and see some historical buildings. Our guide, Rusty, was very knowledgeable. I wish we had allotted more time to spend in Santa Barbara. We highly recommend this tour. read more

Today we went on a Santa Barbara Trolley tour and it was excellent!!! Our driver, Chuck, was very knowledgeable and funny Highly recommend adding this to your bucket list of things to do in Santa Barbara. It lasted about two hours. If you get Chuck as your driver you're in for a real treat. Two thumbs way up read more

Santa Barbara Trolley - Mission Santa Barbara - Wine Tours Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara trolley provided a great service. They were on time and so friendly. Our guest said the driver was very nice and made them feel very safe. They had a pleasant ride experience . read more

I had to cut our visit short in Santa Barbara but still wanted to show my son around. This was a great little tour. I was born there so it was great being able to see much of downtown and be reminded of other iconic stops from Montecito to the Wharf. The guide was a local and was lively and knowledgeable. read more

Great way to explore Santa Barbara and get a good feel for the city. The tour guide was informative and the weather was great for the open cabin style of the trolley. A lot has changed due to covid situation and we passed by the closed down Four Seasons hotel and also could not drive up State St due to the fact that the streets are being used for outdoor dining. However, we still had a chance to see most tourist attractions such as the Santa Barbara courthouse and Mission Santa Barbara. These were areas that we were not sure of checking out as we had only planned to stay for 1 night but with the trolley service, it gave us a glimpse at what to expect if we did want to visit the tourist sites. There are acrylic panels between each of the seats but you still may be a bit close to other trolley riders. Other than that, everyone is very mindful of wearing a mask and the trolley drove comfortably enough that I had a great time. Would definitely recommend for anyone that would like to just learn more about Santa Barbara and have 1.5-2 hours to kill. Also best to book online rather than showing up at the trolley location and hoping for an available seat. read more

Had a great time with the trolley tour. Jay was really entertaining and informative. Would definitely recommend this if you want to go sightseeing. read more

I love a tour - and being a tourist. I'm never too cool to act like a tour isn't a good time. This one is $22 per person and takes about 90 minutes. It's technically "hop on/hop off" but really it's best used as an overview of top Santa Barbara attractions. The tour is short enough that you can pick out which things you want to visit later. FOR INSTANCE, the only actual stop the tour makes is at the Old Mission - and the trolley stopped for about 20 minutes. Turns out that was plenty of time for us - although the Mission is lovely for sure - but we got the photos and a quick tour... so were able to scratch that off our list. On the other hand, I wasn't anticipating how interesting the Santa Barbara Courthouse is, so suddenly that became something I wanted to see. I don't think the website is that helpful honestly. But what you should know is that a lot of the tour stops really ARE just hotels... Again, this is not best enjoyed as a traditional hop on/off tour to use as a way to get around a city. The trolley only comes around once every hour. Santa Barbara is cute, but there isn't that much that you're going to want to spend an hour or two seeing. Tour guide was great - good mix of information without being overly talkative and no gratuity begging - though tip anyway! Highly recommend making this the FIRST stop on your Santa Barbara itinerary... first trip leaves at 10 AM. And the Visitors Center which is where the tour begins, has a parking lot (parking will set you back about $4 if you do the 90-minute tour) and the Visitors Center itself is a wealth of info, maps and coupons! read more

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Very informative. I this was my first time in Santa Bárbara & the trolley tour definitely taught me a lot , i would recommend if it's your first time coming to SB. read more

Our(3 adult couples) tour date was on 10/29/23 2:00 PM. Although the tour guide named Rusty was very knowledgeable of the city of Santa Barbara and its history, his rudeness in the middle of the tour did not earn him a star, whatsoever. From the time I initially met him on the steps of the Mission Church to inquire about the trolley tour, not only was he unfriendly, his arrogance already oozed out of him. Under my breath, I whispered to our friends,"I hope we don't get him as our tour guide." How unlucky did we get! When the passengers were all seated, he announced that we must give him our utmost attention to his narration in order for all to hear him clearly. Admittedly, there were a few times our group conversed and laughed at a sight but Rusty had the microphone to speak loud and clear for all to hear. We also participated in his trivia when he asked us. In the middle of the tour, he made quite a lengthy and accusative speech, as he reiterated our behavior over and over again. The 6 of us grown adults are from the age of 50 to 76, as well as the rest of the passengers, of which should not be scolded and humiliated, as if we were in a grade school bus. We could not believe his authoritative rant, unwarranted conduct and unconscionable assumption, which had left us dismayed and disappointed, to say the least. If he surmised his observance of the passenger's behavior, a professional tour guide with a Public Relations seasoned experience would have spoken with good manners, a bit of sense of humor or even a short and kind request, his own summation was definitely out on the left field! The city of Santa Barbara is absolutely breathtaking, however, Rusty most definitely left a bad taste in our mouths, even on such a sunny and gorgeous Sunday. Sadly, some Yelp reviews had the word "rude" referring to Rusty. Finally, we will no longer ride the "Rusty Trolley" in the future. Thank you to the rest of the courteous and mild-mannered residents of Santa Barbara! Important Side Note: we were instructed to purchase our Trolley tickets on line(cellphone) by the Santa Barbara Visitor's Center's employees for $30 per person, yet only to discover that good ol' Rusty will accept cash of $28 as you board his not-so-fun bus - hhhmmmmm!!! read more

So the driver was trying to be helpful but made it very apparent that it SHOULD be a kid free ABSOLUTELY no talking so everyone could hear the tour which is understandable but should be advertised on the website so that parents can make the decision to not purchase tickets for this not kid friendly tour. The driver even pulled over half a block after starting to ask me if my kid was going to quite down. Stated "if your kids talk to you don't engage and don't even look at them and they'll stop" we tried to do the tour with 2 -6 year old kids and 1- 18 month old. Said no talking was allowed at all on the tour amongst each other. read more

On our wedding day, my wife and I used SB Trolley as our mode of transport from our ceremony at the courthouse to our reception space. They also gave about a one hour tour of SB. We had nothing but rave reviews from our guests about how cool the experience was. Planning was really easy over the phone and they are happy to cater to whatever type of experience you are looking for. Only miscue was a miscommunication re: whether or not the driver would talk during the tour or not. We had spoken to the company and had it in notes for it to be a full tour talking about stuff, then apparently the driver had to be prompted and didn't know that we wanted him to give facts or what not during the tour. It ended up working out and was still a great experience, but maybe just clarify with your driver, not just the company. Overall, top notch and would recommend to anyone. read more

Chuck provided an educational and personalized experience. He is a native of the area and accommodated my family at an odd hour, but provided a very relaxing environment. read more

Santa Barbara Trolley - Rainbow bridge - Wine Tours Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Used Santa Barbara Trolley for our wedding and we couldn't be happier about the whole experience. Booking was seamless and we had a wonderful driver - Rusty - who took a huge bridal party from the hotel to the Courthouse. He was thoughtful, patient and kind on a high stress day. All of our guests said it was one of their favorite parts of the day. read more

Great tour and a clean trolley. First time here in Santa Barbara so I wanted a quick and informative tour while I was on a cruise ship for the day excursion. I paid $22 which on the ship was $29 for the same trolley tour. Easy to find once off the ship. Just a 5 minute walk to the visitor information ticket booth. Our tour guide was Richard. Very friendly,informative and courteous. Smooth and clean driver. We stopped at The Santa Barbara Mission for 15 minutes. Plenty of time for photos for us. You are able to get off at any of the 11 stops and grab another trolley, but we stayed with Richard. The whole tour took about an hour and 45 minutes. read more

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We had a great time. The driver gave a full history of Santa Barbara. He was humorous and very sweet. We had a group of 4 at 2pm and it was not packed out. We highly recommend it!! read more

To celebrate Mothers Day we drove to SB n decided to do the SB Trolley our driver/narrator LupeLu was AMAZING. She made our experience so worthwhile the tour was amazing n she is very knowledgeable of the Historical of SB... the whole ride we were smiling n having pleasant conversations she made us feel very comfortable n welcomed. GREAT JOB Lupelu thanks for making our Mothers Day Xtra Special -Brenda read more

Always enjoy visiting Santa Barbara and have been on the Trolley Tour years ago. I took my mother last week and found it uncomfortable with the driver almost bragging about how financially secure his wonerful life is. When letting us know how much the celebrities houses are worth, he felt the need to let us know that his home has increased by hundreds of thousands of dollars since he retired 3 years ago from Rhode Island. No big deal right, but then he started talking about some hotels can cost over $1,000 per night and letting us all know that he can afford it becuase he retired with a couple of million dollars in the bank. Poor taste Sir. The best part is that he also had a tip BUCKET front and center. Sad read more