SBA

$49 Find Cheap Flights from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight to Santa Barbara departing on 1/15. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara

Thu, Dec 18 - Mon, Dec 22
United Airlines Logo
8:40 am - 10:05 amSFO-SBA
1h 25mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
2:08 pm - 3:24 pmSBA-SFO
1h 16mnonstop
$127United Airlines
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Sat, Jan 10 - Tue, Jan 13
United Airlines Logo
10:40 am - 11:55 amSFO-SBA
1h 15mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
6:51 pm - 8:09 pmSBA-SFO
1h 18mnonstop
$134United Airlines
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Wed, Dec 17 - Mon, Dec 22
United Airlines Logo
7:10 pm - 11:44 pmSFO-SBA
4h 34m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
2:08 pm - 3:24 pmSBA-SFO
1h 16mnonstop
$137United Airlines
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Tue, Dec 9 - Wed, Dec 10
Southwest Logo
2:35 pm - 9:05 pmSFO-SBA
6h 30m1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:50 am - 10:10 amSBA-SFO
4h 20m1 stop
$151Southwest
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Wed, Dec 17 - Mon, Dec 22
Southwest Logo
2:35 pm - 9:05 pmSFO-SBA
6h 30m1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:00 pm - 12:25 amSBA-SFO
7h 25m1 stop
$156Southwest
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Sat, Jan 10 - Tue, Jan 13
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 7:47 pmSFO-SBA
12h 47m2 stops
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:20 am - 8:12 pmSBA-SFO
12h 52m2 stops
$253Alaska Airlines
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Tue, Nov 18 - Tue, Dec 2
Delta Logo
7:37 pm - 11:57 amSFO-SBA
16h 20m2 stops
Delta Logo
4:59 pm - 9:33 amSBA-SFO
16h 34m2 stops
$264Delta
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Tue, Dec 2 - Sat, Dec 6
Hawaiian Airlines Logo
7:55 pm - 6:25 pmSTS-SBA
22h 30m1 stop
Hawaiian Airlines Logo
7:19 pm - 1:29 pmSBA-STS
18h 10m1 stop
$267Hawaiian Airlines
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Wed, Nov 19 - Thu, Dec 4
Alaska Airlines Logo
9:00 am - 6:56 pmSFO-SBA
9h 56m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:20 am - 6:03 pmSBA-SFO
10h 43m2 stops
$282Alaska Airlines
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Thu, Dec 18 - Mon, Dec 22
Hawaiian Airlines Logo
10:24 am - 6:51 pmSJC-SBA
8h 27m1 stop
Hawaiian Airlines Logo
7:15 am - 12:24 pmSBA-SJC
5h 09m1 stop
$729Hawaiian Airlines
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$127
Overall average: $349
United Airlines
Thu 12/18Mon 12/22
SFO - SBA • Non-stop
Cheapest one-way
$49
Typical prices: $241-$316
Southwest
Thu 1/15
OAK - SBA • Non-stop
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KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Santa Barbara!
Useful Info

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$49
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 4% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 8% increase in price.
Flight from Oakland to Santa Barbara

FAQs for booking flights from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Santa Barbara from San Francisco Bay Area is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Santa Barbara with an airline and back to San Francisco Bay Area with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Santa Barbara from San Francisco Bay Area up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Reviews of the top 3 airlines serving from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Francisco Bay Area to Santa Barbara? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 11214 reviews
7.8Comfort
7.1Food
7.0Entertainment
8.1Boarding
8.5Crew
Airline reviews

I was delayed several times. Missed a very important event. The airline only provided a $12 voucher after being delayed 3 times.

4.0 OkayAnonymous, Oct 2025SJC - LAX
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

I was delayed several times. Missed a very important event. The airline only provided a $12 voucher after being delayed 3 times.

Online check in didn't work. Somehow ended up with 2 Alaska rewards numbers and 1 for Hawaiian. No one at check in could figure out what to do. No one at check in could help me confirm an upcoming flight on Hawaiian Airlines.

This was likely the smallest, oldest plane I've been on. It didn't handle turbulence well and we were all jostled a lot more than I'm used to. At least it was a short flight.

Flight was delayed two hours; for an hour and a half flight?! And so we missed our connecting flight to Rome because of the long walk between the terminals. Hoping to hear back from Alaska about some compensation for our missed flight and night stay in Los Angeles.

Excellent service from staff at the gate as well as flight attendants on board. Seats had more room than many other airlines and if they were just a little better cushioned they would have been perfect.

Such great crew, from checkin to the plane. So friendly and helpful, I was genuinely impressed.

Staff at Gate desk were helpful. My connecting flight from the first part of my trip Kona to Seattle was late. I had to run through SeaTac Seattle to catch my flight to San Jose. They made an exception to let me board. On my return trip San Jose to San Diego and San Diego to Honolulu the same thing happened. One flight arrived late and I had to run through the terminal to catch my connection. There are no Gluten-free & Vegan options meals and snacks to purchase.

I liked the crew. There was no food flight to short

2 FLIGHT DELAYS? what an inconvenience to stay @the airport HALF THE DAY😳from 1pm till boarding @ 4pm pass 😠exhausting !

boarding was late worst was going back LAX to SFO delayed not once ? but TWICE😡I was at the airport practically almost 5 hours of previous time , very inconvenient! i would have spend longer time with family , I was wanting to avoid TSA line? but it just got me to spend unwanted time @ d airport

Ever since Southwest starting charging for bags, passengers don't want to pay to check their bags, so the gate agents have to beg people to check their roller bags now because there's "not enough space". This was a terrible business move by Southwest.

Delays delays delays. Late taking off, late landing, wait for a gate, etc.

Connecting flight is on time and boarding was a breeze!

Very smooth checking in our luggage with a super pleasant SW agent. I enjoyed a fun entertaining movie.

First time traveling on Southwest since bag fees were implemented. Usual good service. Just more expensive now.

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

Boarding process, crew were good. But the seats were so uncomfortable that was all I could focus on. I literally had to sit forward so that all 3 of us could fit in row. I will try to avoid Southwest in the future for any flights over 60 minutes.

Great flight, 47 passengers on a 180 seat plane. Stewardess was pleasant and cheerful.

Great experience flying Southwest. The crew was really kind and helpful, and very friendly with our toddler.

Plane late from DC to Austin 30 minutes. Crew made up much of the time enroute to San Diego.

Flight was timely, relatively comfortable, with decent entertainment and food served. Only problem encountered was with the free messaging which I highly appreciate, but it did not work from iphone to non-iphones.

The internet service I paid for didn’t work at all and the flight crew was not very friendly.

Subject: Formal Complaint: Discriminatory and Unprofessional Conduct – Request for Immediate Action & Compensation Dear [Airline Customer Relations Team], I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding my recent travel experience with [Airline], which was by far the worst I have ever encountered. What occurred was not only unprofessional, but in several instances discriminatory, unsafe, and unacceptable. On the first leg of my trip, I arrived only four minutes past check-in. Instead of making any attempt to resolve the matter, your representative flatly denied me boarding and made me wait while she attended to passengers who arrived after me. By the time a manager intervened, it was too late to board, costing me time, money, and unnecessary frustration. The second leg of my trip (Chicago–San Francisco) raised even more serious concerns. From the outset, it was apparent that the staff—particularly two attendants—prioritized Caucasian passengers while dismissing African American and minority passengers. • When a Caucasian passenger in the exit row refused to comply with federal safety requirements, I, as a first responder, immediately offered to switch seats and assume the responsibility. My offer was blatantly ignored, and instead, a Caucasian passenger seated further up was chosen. This was discriminatory and deeply insulting, especially as I was actively de-escalating the situation that could have delayed the flight further. • During a lengthy tarmac delay of over 90 minutes, passengers were given conflicting and unreasonable instructions that created unnecessary distress and tension. • Throughout the flight, a visibly intoxicated passenger directly in front of me was disruptive, rude to others, failed to comply with seatbelt and electronic device rules, and yet faced no enforcement from the crew. In stark contrast, I was singled out for repeated compliance checks even though I was following every rule. This unequal treatment was so obvious that multiple passengers around me spoke up in my defense. This pattern of behavior demonstrated a clear lack of professionalism, disregard for passenger safety, and discriminatory treatment. I expect far better from an airline of your stature. As a paying customer subjected to this unacceptable treatment, I am formally requesting: 1. A full investigation into the conduct of the staff on both flights. 2. A written apology acknowledging the discriminatory and unprofessional behavior I endured. 3. Appropriate compensation for the distress, inconvenience, and mishandling of my travel. If this matter is not addressed promptly and thoroughly, I will have no choice but to escalate my complaint further, including filing with the U.S. Department of Transportation and sharing my experience through other channels. I trust [Airline] will take this complaint seriously and provide a timely resolution.

Check in was quick and easy during early hours. Flight was on time, and customer services was a plus.

The flight was comfortable with the exit row and great service

Plane was crowded and even when we hit altitude, the plane was hot, not enough air flow.

1. when we went to check in, our 2 first class seats had been CANCELED and the flight was sold out. This was done without our prior knowledge. It was all we could do to restore one first class seat for my wife and I flew economy. 2, Our flight home was scheduled to leave at 10:30 pm. Due to tsunami warnings, the roads were closed and our flight status was uncertain as to whether it would leave as scheduled. It was announced that it would now leave at 11:20 pm and the roads were now open since the tsunami had come and gone. We made a mad dash to the airport and checked in. Delays were announced at 12:30 pm, 1:30 am, 2:30 am and at 3:30 am it was canceled. Since this was a flight due to natural (tsunami) causes, there was no compensation. We were told to return at 1:00 pm the next day and our baggage would be kept on the plane since the same plane was going to leave at 1:00 pm. We had to return to our hotel for the rest of the night. The same plane did not leave at 1:00 pm and our baggage was gone! All in all, it was a miserable performance by UA. Information was hard to obtain and no one knew what was going on and what was going to happen. Hundreds of passengers slept on the floor, chairs, etc. No food and no water was made available to the passengers. It was a situation where UA could care less what was going on. As a one million mile flyer, I had not experienced anything like this before and it was hugely disappointing!

Boarded plane and then delayed 1.5 hours while on the plane

Horrific. They missed my connecting flight to San Diego. I didn’t get there until Monday at 9am when I had a mandatory court settlement conference scheduled at 6am since we had parties on the east coast. This caused many issues. All because United apparently forgot to hold the doors open until my flight landed that only had a 10 minute delay. This was the last flight to Southern California. So I couldn’t even rent a car to finish the trip. United cannot be trusted when traveling on specific days and times since weather didn’t have anything to do with the delays.

My flight was delayed a very short period of time but they did not hold my connecting flight to San Diego, also through United. So they closed the doors before we got off our plane. They would only have to help the door open for another five to ten minutes. So I missed a court deadline for a manditory mediation settlement conference for my client. I had to get an associate to be there in person and be on the phone with him relaying what he needs to do the entire time. The court was very upset with me and so was my client. United cannot be trusted.

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