Direct Flights from Chicago to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara · California
Nonstop service from ORD to SBA on United. Here's the schedule at a glance — plus what to do once you land.
How rare is this nonstop?
Only 13 cities have a nonstop to Santa Barbara, so this is a route worth knowing about — most travelers connect to get there.
How long to go to Santa Barbara for, from Chicago
4h 5m in the air, 1,799 miles. A two-night trip loses most of two days to travel; three or four nights is where this one starts to make sense.
About Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is a city and metropolitan area less than 100 miles from Los Angeles but vastly different in pace from its huge neighbor to the south. With a temperate climate and lush natural environs, the "Riviera of the West" is a pleasant day or weekend trip from L.A. Its wide beaches, highly rated wineries, and a large variety of shopping and dining choices enable the town of just 90,000 residents to enjoy the sort of cultural and social amenities which are usually found only in much larger cities.
Summary from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA).
Top things to do in Santa Barbara
- Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch or Neverland Valley Ranch, is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, on the edge of Los Padres National Forest.
- Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park is a unit in the state park system of California, United States, preserving a small sandstone cave adorned with rock art attributed to the Chumash people.
- The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a 78-acre botanical garden (32 ha), containing over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants. It is located in Mission Canyon, Santa Barbara County, California, United States.
- Ganna Walska Lotusland, also known as Lotusland, is a non-profit botanical garden located in Montecito, California, United States. The garden is the historic estate of Madame Ganna Walska.
- The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) is an art museum located in downtown Santa Barbara, California, United States.
- The Music Academy of the West is a summer classical music training program in Montecito, California, and festival with performances in the County of Santa Barbara.
- The Santa Barbara Zoo is located on 30 acres (12 ha) near the ocean in Santa Barbara, California. It was built on the site of what was known as the Child Estate.
- The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum in Santa Barbara, California.
- Rincon (Spanish, "angle" or "corner") is a surf spot located at the Ventura and Santa Barbara County line in Southern California, United States.
- The Art, Design and Architecture Museum is a museum within the University of California, Santa Barbara, located in Santa Barbara County, California, United States.
- The Brooks Institute was a private for-profit art school in Ventura, California. It was formerly the Brooks Institute of Photography and was originally based in Montecito and Santa Barbara.
- El Capitán State Beach is a protected beach in the state park system of California.
Attraction descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); place data from Wikidata (CC0).
Santa Barbara weather, compared with Chicago
11° warmer than Chicago on average across the year, on daytime highs:
- January
- Santa Barbara 65°F · Chicago 31°F · 34° warmer
- April
- Santa Barbara 69°F · Chicago 59°F · 10° warmer
- July
- Santa Barbara 74°F · Chicago 84°F · 10° colder
- October
- Santa Barbara 74°F · Chicago 62°F · 12° warmer
Santa Barbara is the steadier of the two, moving 11° between its coldest and warmest months where Chicago moves 53°.
Average daily highs, 1991–2020 station normals from Meteostat (CC BY 4.0), measured at each city's airport.
Planning a trip to Santa Barbara
- Best time to visit
- Santa Barbara is comfortable to visit year-round, with daytime highs averaging around 70°F.
- How long to stay
- Santa Barbara rewards a longer visit — a full week lets you explore its many sights, from Neverland Ranch, Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park, and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and beyond.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a direct flight from Chicago to Santa Barbara?
- Yes — you can fly nonstop from Chicago (ORD) to Santa Barbara (SBA) on United.
- Which airlines fly nonstop from Chicago to Santa Barbara?
- United flies nonstop between Chicago (ORD) and Santa Barbara (SBA).
- How far is Santa Barbara from Chicago?
- Santa Barbara is about 1,799 miles from Chicago by air.
- What is there to do in Santa Barbara?
- Popular things to do include Neverland Ranch, Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Lotusland, and more.
More nonstop destinations from Chicago near Santa Barbara
Airports near Chicago
The closest other departure airports to Chicago — each opens up more nonstop destinations.