Santa Maria, CA Road Trips

There are not very many tourist attractions in Santa Maria, but the Santa Maria Inn has a very interesting set of photos and documents about the history of the area and Captain Alan Hancock, the person who founded Santa Maria, or Central City, as he knew it.

Boomers! Fun Park, 2250 N. Preisker Ln, ☏ +1 805 928-4942. M-F noon-9PM, Sa 10AM-9PM, Su 10AM-9PM. Miniature golf, go-karts, batting cages, arcade, and rock climbing wall. Santa Maria Raceway, 1900 Hutton Rd (1/4-mile (0.4 km) north of the 101/166 interchange), ☏ +1 805 922-2232. Mid-April to mid-October. Sa: Gates open at 3PM, races start at 5PM. 1/3 mile (0.5 km) clay oval track on which everything from factory stock to bandit sprint cars race. Part of the Coors Light Summer Racing Series. Waller County Park, ☏ +1 805 934-6123. 8AM-sunset. A huge park with lakes, pony rides, hiking and biking trails, a frisbee golf course, and plenty of grassy lawn space. Free.

Santa Maria is the birthplace of what is now called Santa Maria style barbecue: tri-tip rubbed with spices and cooked whole. The town is a hotspot for barbecue lovers, although those seeking more familiar fare can find chains like IHOP, and Olive Garden. Shaw's Famous Steak House, 714 S Broadway, ☏ +1 805 925-9226. Ichiban Japanese Restaurant, 2011 S Broadway # L, ☏ +1 805 614-9808. Boy's Restaurant, 117 N College Dr, ☏ +1 805 922-1515. Klondike Pizza, 2059 S Broadway, ☏ +1 805 348-3667.

Louie B's, 213 E Main St, ☏ +1 805 925-1193. 10AM til 2AM. A bar with a standard selection of liquor and mixed drinks. No beer on tap only by the bottle. karaoke a few times a week. 2 pool tables O'Sullivan's Pub, 633 E Main St, ☏ +1 805-925-0658. An Irish bar with a good selection of beers on tap. No liquor. 2 pool tables.

Best Western Big America, 1725 N Broadway, ☏ +1 805 922-5200, toll-free: +1-800-426-3213, fax: +1 805 922-9865. Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 2100 N. Broadway, ☏ +1 805 928-6000. Motel 6, 2040 North Preisker Ln, ☏ +1 805 928-8111, fax: +1 805 349-1219. 1 Santa Maria Inn, 801 South Broadway, ☏ +1 805 928-7777. A Central Coast landmark since 1917. (updated Dec 2020)

1 Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX IATA). A single-terminal airport. Scheduled flights are available from Phoenix (twice daily on American Airlines) and Las Vegas (Sunday, Wednesday and Friday service only on Allegiant Air. You could also charter a flight but it is much less expensive to board a connecting flight through Phoenix. Some direct weekday flights from Las Vegas via Allegiant Air can be as inexpensive as $29 each way. (updated Apr 2020) Air Charter or air taxi is another alternative, where you can catch flights from any large or small airport. Air charters fly point-to-point, at the departure time, departure airport, and arrival airport of the passengers' choosing. Prices start around $150 for a seat on flights that might already be going to your destination, or go from $1,000 to $10,000 or more for a custom-chartered flight where you hire the aircraft to fly you directly to your destination, any time you want to go. On-demand flights may also be chartered . Amtrak provides connecting bus service through Santa Maria (bus stop is located at the IHOP near 101/Main St). The bus connects with the Pacific Surfliner train in Santa Barbara. There is a train station in the nearby town of Guadalupe served by the Pacific Surfliner Amtrak train (one southbound train from San Luis Obispo stops there in the morning, northbound train from San Diego stops there at night). There is a Greyhound station at 755 W Cypress Street, and the Greyhound bus also stops at the same IHOP as the Amtrak bus.

Santa Maria has public transportation, Santa Maria Regional Transit, with more coverage during the day, and service ending at 10:15PM. SMAT has routes all throughout the city and even to Vandenberg AFB and Lompoc. RTA route 10 between San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria runs hourly M-F, and less frequently on the weekend . It costs $3.25 for the 33-mile (1 hr 10 min) bus ride from Santa Maria to San Luis Obispo (Apr 2020). The Flyer Express takes you west of Santa Maria through scenic Highway 166 to Guadalupe ($1.50, Apr 2020). Public transportation in the valley will take you anywhere you want but a car would be best.