Los Angeles is a world-class city, but the real secret of living here is what's within a two-hour drive. Wine country, desert oases, and a second major city with its own beaches, tacos, and culture are all reachable before your morning coffee gets cold.
If you've just relocated to LA for work, these weekend trips are how you'll fall in love with Southern California beyond the city limits. Each destination below is tested for the Saturday morning departure, because that's when you're actually going.
Relocating to Los Angeles?
Find your perfect furnished apartment as a base for exploring all of Southern California.
Browse ApartmentsAt a Glance
| Destination | Drive from LA | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara | 1.5-2 hrs (via 101) | Wine, architecture, beach towns |
| Palm Springs | 1.5-2 hrs (via I-10 E) | Desert relaxation, mid-century design, hiking |
| San Diego | 2 hrs (via I-5 S) | Beaches, Mexican food, Balboa Park |
| Ojai | 1.5 hrs (via 101 to 33) | Quiet mountain town, spas, Pink Moment sunset |
| Joshua Tree | 2-2.5 hrs (via I-10 E) | Hiking, stargazing, otherworldly landscapes |
| Temecula | 1.5 hrs (via I-15 S) | Wine tasting, hot air balloons, Old Town |
🚗 The Saturday Morning Rule
Leave before 8am and you'll beat the traffic in every direction. Leave at 10am and add 30-60 minutes to every drive time listed above. This isn't optional. LA Saturday traffic is real, and it starts earlier than you think.
Santa Barbara: The American Riviera
Santa Barbara is the trip that makes LA transplants say "I could live here." White stucco buildings, red tile roofs, a waterfront that feels Mediterranean, and some of the best wine in California. It's 90 miles up the 101, and the drive along the coast through Ventura is part of the experience.
Santa Barbara
The city itself is walkable and compact. State Street runs from the mountains to the ocean, lined with restaurants, galleries, and tasting rooms. The Funk Zone near the waterfront has converted warehouses now housing wine bars, breweries, and boutiques. And unlike LA, parking here is manageable.
The real draw for repeat visitors is the Santa Ynez Valley, 30 minutes inland. This is where the vineyards are, and the tasting rooms range from casual barn settings to estate experiences. Los Olivos and Solvang (a Danish-themed village that's more charming than it sounds) make excellent lunch stops between tastings.
Sample Day: Santa Barbara Wine Country
🚂 Skip the Drive: Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
The train from LA Union Station to Santa Barbara takes 2 hours and 45 minutes, hugs the coast through Ventura, and drops you steps from State Street. No traffic, no parking stress, and you can drink wine all day without worrying about driving home. Weekend round-trip tickets run $40-60.
Palm Springs: Desert Modern
Palm Springs is the opposite of LA in every way that matters for a weekend escape: quiet, warm, empty, and flat. The mid-century modern architecture is legitimately world-class, the hiking is dramatic (think slot canyons and palm oases), and the hotel pool culture is an art form.
Palm Springs
The Coachella Valley stretches from Palm Springs through Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, and La Quinta. Each town has its own character, but Palm Springs proper has the best concentration of restaurants, vintage shops, and iconic mid-century architecture. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway takes you from the desert floor (100°F in summer) to the top of Mount San Jacinto (70°F) in 10 minutes.
Summer temperatures regularly exceed 110°F, which keeps most tourists away and drops hotel prices dramatically. Locals call this "Cheap Season," and if you can handle the heat (every pool, restaurant, and shop is air-conditioned), you'll have the entire town to yourself.
Sample Day: Palm Springs
🏠 The Architecture Angle
Palm Springs Modernism Week (February) is one of the biggest architectural events in the country, with tours of private homes normally closed to the public. If you miss the main event, the Fall Preview in October is smaller and less crowded. Both sell out fast.
San Diego: LA's Laid-Back Neighbor
San Diego is the trip you'll do the most often. It's a full-featured city with better weather than LA (less fog, fewer clouds), arguably better Mexican food (the Baja influence is stronger), and beaches that feel less crowded. The two-hour drive down I-5 is straightforward, and Amtrak runs the same coastal route.
San Diego
San Diego's neighborhoods each have distinct personalities. The Gaslamp Quarter downtown has the nightlife. North Park and Hillcrest are the restaurant and craft beer epicenters. La Jolla has the dramatic coastline and upscale dining. Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach are the surf-and-taco neighborhoods. And Balboa Park, the city's cultural center, has 17 museums, the San Diego Zoo, and beautiful Spanish Colonial architecture spread across 1,200 acres.
For a day trip, you need to pick a focus: beach day in La Jolla, food crawl through North Park and Hillcrest, or culture day at Balboa Park and the Zoo. Trying to do all three means you'll spend the day in your car.
Sample Day: San Diego Beach & Tacos
🌿 Hidden Gem: Crossing the Border
Tijuana's food scene has exploded in the last decade. The Baja Med movement blends Mexican, Mediterranean, and Asian cuisines, and restaurants like Telefonica Gastro Park and Oryx Capital are drawing food critics from around the world. You can park on the US side in San Ysidro and walk across the border in minutes. Bring your passport.
Three More Worth Knowing
Ojai
A small mountain town 90 minutes northwest of LA, Ojai feels like stepping into a wellness retreat. The Topatopa Mountains turn pink at sunset in what locals call the "Pink Moment," and the town itself is filled with bookshops, organic restaurants, and meditation gardens. The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa is the splurge option, but the town works just as well as a casual day trip with hiking at the Shelf Road Trail and lunch at Azu Restaurant.
Joshua Tree
Two and a half hours east of LA, Joshua Tree National Park sits where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet. The rock formations look alien, the Joshua Trees themselves are prehistoric, and the stargazing on a clear night is some of the best you'll find within driving distance of a major city. This one works better as an overnight trip. Stay in one of the many Airbnb cabins surrounding the park for the full desert immersion.
Temecula Wine Country
Ninety minutes south of LA, Temecula Valley has over 40 wineries clustered along Rancho California Road. The wines are improving every year, and the tasting experience is more relaxed and affordable than Napa or even Santa Barbara. Hot air balloon rides over the vineyards at sunrise are a signature Temecula activity, and Old Town Temecula has enough restaurants and antique shops for an afternoon stroll.
📱 One App You Need
Download the Waze app if you haven't already. It's the default navigation tool for LA locals and reroutes you around traffic in real time. Google Maps works too, but Waze's community-reported hazards and police alerts are especially useful on the long freeway stretches to these destinations.
Final Thoughts
The best part of relocating to LA isn't the city itself. It's the fact that you're two hours or less from wine country, the desert, the mountains, and another major city. Most transplants discover these trips organically over their first year, but you can compress that learning curve into your first month.
Start with Santa Barbara if you love food and wine. Start with Palm Springs if you need to decompress. Start with San Diego if you want a beach day that feels different from LA. And no matter which you choose, leave before 8am on Saturday.
Your LA Home Base
Our furnished apartments across Los Angeles give you the perfect launchpad for weekend adventures. Flexible month-to-month leases, fully furnished, move-in ready.
Browse All Apartments