Santa Barbara Island - 2 Day
Wake up at Santa Barbara Island and enjoy a full day of diving at one of the most incredible and seldom visited islands. Lush kelp forests, arches, Sea lions, and Giant Black Sea Bass. This is a great trip for beginner divers, seasoned divers, and freedivers. On our second day, we’ll dive the East end of the island chain at either Anacapa or East Santa Cruz.
What's Included
- Free air fills
- Accommodations in private bunks with pillows and blankets
- Night Dive (conditions permitting)
- Divemaster and naturalists
- 3 meals a day & snacks
- Hot and cold beverages
Select your trip dates
Select your trip dates
What's Included
- Free air fills
- Accommodations in private bunks with pillows and blankets
- Night Dive (conditions permitting)
- Divemaster and naturalists
- 3 meals a day & snacks
- Hot and cold beverages
Trip Details
Santa Barbara Island is a hidden gem… diving here is extraordinary!
Location Information
- Departure Harbor: Santa Barbara Landing in the Santa Barbara Harbor.
- Destination: Santa Barbara Island, Anacapa Island, East Santa Cruz Island.
Important Times
- Check-In: 5:30 pm
- CIEx Hosted Buffet: 7:30pm (appetizers and handheld bites)
- Briefing: 9:00 pm
- Dives: 4-5 dives per day plus an optional night dive
- Return to Santa Barbara: 5:00 pm on final day of trip
Trip Specific Information
- Season: Year Round
- Experience Level: Beginner-Advanced
- Minimum Number of Guests: 16
- Maximum Number of Guests: 30
- Minimum Age: 12 years old
How do we calculate ticket prices?
Itinerary
Meet your crew at the Santa Barbara Landing in the Santa Barbara Harbor (at 301 West Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA).
You will board anytime after 5:00 pm to load gear and check in with our crew. At 7:30 pm we serve appetizers and snack food. Enough to fill you up, but nothing formal.
A mandatory briefing will occur at 9:00 pm, and all loading of personal items should be completed before then. All guests must be present for the briefing. After the briefing, and once the manifest has been signed, passengers are not allowed to leave the vessel.
Once the mandatory briefing has occurred, we respectfully request that all passengers remain onboard even though we may remain at the dock for several hours.
Dive Day 1 – 4 Dives
We will attempt to dive at some of SBI’s premier dive sites: Amphitheater, Sutil, Reserve Reef, etc. The terrain at SBI is incredible, lots of structure and plenty to explore!
Night Dive at SBI
If conditions allow, we will stay at SBI for the night dive, which starts at 8:00pm.
Night Dives are offered when we have the chance to set-up at a nice location that is safe for the evening. Due to weather and other conditions, we may not be able to get a night dive in each night, but we will most certainly get as many night dives as we can.
Night Dive Policies
We require the following for all night dives:
- At least 4 divers who wish to participate in the night dive are required.
- A primary and secondary light must be in working condition to enter the water, no exceptions.
- All tanks must have a beacon or chemical glow stick attached during the dive.
- No scooters on night dives.
- Divers must dive in pairs (buddy diving).
Dive Day 2 – 3-4 Dives
We will head overnight to Smugglers and wake up to diving at the backside of Santa Cruz and Anacapa Island. At 2pm we’ll head back to Santa Barbara for our 5pm arrival.
Cuisine
Organic Produce from Tutti Frutti Farms
We source most of our produce from the local farmer’s markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays in order to serve a seasonal, fresh, and healthy menu.
We always strive for a fully balanced and healthy selection of food.
We can accommodate the following diets and ALL severe food allergies:
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten Free (we do not provide gluten free bread)
If you have any severe food allergies, please inform us at least 7 days prior to departure so our galley can plan correctly. Thank you.
Channel Islands Expeditions employs world-class chefs with decades of experience. Learn more about what to expect from our galley chefs .
Accommodations
Visit our accommodations page for more information about your stay on one of our custom dive vessels.
Dive Club Wholesale Pricing
We provide excellent deals for dive clubs/shops/agencies looking to share this experience with your clients.
- Bulk ticket sales
- Discounts start at 2 spots
- Free instructor/organizer spots
Please share some more information so that we can be in touch with the best pricing for your needs. Thank you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the age limit?
The minimum age is 12 years.
How many people can sleep in an oversized bunk?
Each person is assigned one bunk.
How difficult is the diving?
Santa Barbara Island has it all, deep pinnacles, arches, kelp forests. It’s also a very small island, and while we don’t move very far, there’s a lot of variety!
Can we land on the islands and hike?
This trip does not include landing or hiking on Santa Cruz Island. If you want to hike on the Channel Islands, we recommend that you book a 4-Day Expedition Trip with us! Because you are not paying a National Park entrance fee, you cannot take advantage of the National Park’s terrestrial areas.
Do you offer Nitrox Fills?
Nitrox is $75/day for unlimitted fills (go home with a full tank).
Why are your trips so much more expensive than other dive trips in the area?
A great question that we’re happy to answer in more detail.
- The western islands of the Northern Channel Islands are more than 80 nautical miles from Santa Barbara Harbor. This is a great deal of fuel, much more than the eastern islands from Ventura and Oxnard.
- We pay our captains and crew enough to make a living doing this.
- Maintaining boats has always been expensive, but if you’ve been to the hardware store lately, you’ll agree that things are more expensive now than ever before. Imagine what that means for boat parts!
- We have increased the quality of our food and accommodations so that you can expect a world class experience on all trips!
Testimonials
-Tanner Keys | Google
-Mark R. | Yelp
-David C. | Yelp
-Chuyên L. | Yelp
-John S. | Yelp
Recently went on a 5 night, 6 day liveaboard trip off the Truth. The crew and captains were all very nice and welcoming. The boat has great safety protocols to ensure us divers were safe throughout the entirety of this trip. Chef Tim was fantastic! I have never had better quality food on a boat trip, and he has definitely set the bar high. We had amazing homemade dishes almost every meal, he had vegetarian and vegan options as well. I would 100% recommend this boat to anyone interested in planning a multi-day dive trip to the Channel Islands.
-Jill D. | Yelp
We had a wonderful time kayaking through the sea caves and Anacapa Arch. All the on board staff were excellent. We will definitely come back and do a different tour with them.
-Jen Y. | Yelp
-Allyson Arons | TripAdvisor
-Tad | TripAdvisor
-Alicia | TripAdvisor
-Denise W | TripAdvisor
