WAS - SBA

$159 Find Cheap Flights from Washington, D.C. 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 from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara departing on 4/14. 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

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Santa Barbara

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$317
Overall average: $451
American Airlines
Tue 3/24Tue 3/31
DCA - SBA • 1 stop
Cheapest one-way
$159
Overall average: $163
United Airlines
Tue 4/14
DCA - SBA • 1 stop
Top airlines
American Airlines
Cheapest • from $317 (round-trip)
Southwest
Best reviews • 8.0 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
When to travel
August
Cheapest • 16% price drop
March
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
Start a new search
KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Santa Barbara!
Flight Deals
Booking Insights
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara (WAS-SBA)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara

Tue, Mar 24 - Tue, Mar 31
American Airlines Logo
6:30 am - 11:48 am
DCA
-
SBA
8h 18m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
6:55 pm - 7:00 am
SBA
-
DCA
9h 05m
1 stop
$317American Airlines
Wed, Mar 18 - Wed, Mar 25
United Airlines Logo
2:36 pm - 8:06 pm
IAD
-
SBA
8h 30m
1 stop
United Airlines Logo
5:00 am - 4:40 pm
SBA
-
IAD
8h 40m
1 stop
$317United Airlines
Tue, Mar 24 - Tue, Mar 31
American Airlines Logo
6:30 am - 11:48 am
DCA
-
SBA
8h 18m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
12:37 pm - 11:59 pm
SBA
-
DCA
8h 22m
2 stops
$322American Airlines
Tue, Mar 24 - Tue, Mar 31
Delta Logo
6:00 am - 12:00 pm
DCA
-
SBA
9h 00m
2 stops
Delta Logo
5:45 am - 6:59 pm
SBA
-
DCA
10h 14m
2 stops
$327Delta
Tue, Mar 24 - Tue, Mar 31
Delta Logo
12:14 pm - 9:54 pm
IAD
-
SBA
12h 40m
2 stops
Delta Logo
4:50 pm - 9:10 am
SBA
-
IAD
13h 20m
2 stops
$327Delta
Wed, Apr 22 - Wed, Apr 29
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:10 am - 6:19 pm
IAD
-
SBA
14h 09m
1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
2:53 pm - 5:50 am
SBA
-
IAD
11h 57m
2 stops
$345Alaska Airlines
Tue, Apr 7 - Mon, Apr 13
United Airlines Logo
6:30 am - 12:01 pm
IAD
-
SBA
8h 31m
1 stop
United Airlines Logo
2:16 pm - 1:25 am
SBA
-
IAD
8h 09m
1 stop
$350United Airlines
Wed, Apr 29 - Tue, May 5
Southwest Logo
5:05 pm - 9:50 pm
BWI
-
SBA
7h 45m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
2:10 pm - 12:25 am
SBA
-
BWI
7h 15m
1 stop
$351Southwest
Wed, Apr 29 - Tue, May 5
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:04 am - 6:19 pm
BWI
-
SBA
14h 15m
1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
2:53 pm - 5:44 am
SBA
-
BWI
35h 51m
2 stops
$352Alaska Airlines
Wed, Apr 29 - Tue, May 5
Southwest Logo
6:30 am - 1:35 pm
BWI
-
SBA
10h 05m
2 stops
Southwest Logo
6:40 am - 5:40 pm
SBA
-
BWI
8h 00m
2 stops
$361Southwest
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara departing in March.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara is August, where tickets cost $392 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are November and January, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $562 and $540 respectively.

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$159
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 16% increase in price.
Flight from Reagan Washington National Airport to Santa Barbara

When to book flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara

  • What is the cheapest flight from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara was $159 for a one-way ticket and $317 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Washington, D.C. and Santa Barbara?

    No, a passport isn't needed to fly from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara. However, local authorities might ask for an official ID.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara?

    Washington, D.C. is served by 2 major airports and there is only 1 main airport in Santa Barbara. You will leave Washington, D.C. from one of these airports: Washington, D.C. Reagan-National or Washington, D.C. Dulles Intl. You will be arriving at Santa Barbara.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara?

    SkyTeam, oneworld, and Star Alliance are the airline alliances operating flights between Washington, D.C. and Santa Barbara, with SkyTeam being the most commonly used for this route.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara, Southwest or Delta?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara are Southwest and Delta. With an average price for the route of $527 and an overall rating of 8.0, Southwest is the most popular choice. Delta is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $392 and an overall rating of 7.9.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Santa Barbara from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Reviews of the top 4 airlines serving from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Washington, D.C. 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
SouthwestOverall score based on 4289 reviews
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
8.1Boarding
8.0Comfort
7.0Food
Airline reviews

The charges were ridiculous for an hour flight and the turbulence was very scary.

2.0 MediocreDarcey, Feb 2026
SAN - SJC
Read more Southwest reviews

The charges were ridiculous for an hour flight and the turbulence was very scary.

3 hour delay. Had to change plans and was still delayed.

The flight crew was extremely rude and especially not helpful when our flight was delayed.

Haven’t flown on SW in years. Flight was on time departing and arriving. Served vegan butter onion flavored pretzels which were bad. Coke served was in a tiny paper cup. Crew was not engaging. Felt like they were going through the motions. Old plane, tight seats and no leg room.

The boarding and seat assignment system no longer works for me, but I know it is being replaced. Otherwise, I am good with the overall experience.

The lead steward kept singing about "San Francisco" and hotel California---more annoying than humorous....needs work. Flight was smooth and on time.

Still a fan of open seating. Flight was on schedule and arrived on time. The 737 MAX is very comfortable.

No delays and arrived to destination 30 min early. Staff was super friendly.

San Diego airport is brand new, spacious, airy and very smooth checkin at SW baggage drop.

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.

Delta continues to set the benchmark for traveler-friendly service with minimal disruption and clear communication within the mainland US (coast to coast). I am consistently pleased to be a Delta customer, and this experience once again met my expectations. There was a brief delay departing from MIA due to a technical issue that required the aircraft to return to the gate. However, the situation was handled professionally and transparently. Fortunately, my planned layover allowed ample buffer time, so the adjustment caused no stress. Overall, another smooth and reassuring experience.

Awesome! On time flight, early arrival, and a complimentary upgrade!

Was forced to check in my small carry on, even though I informed the crew it has very fragile items inside

They double booked seats, the gate staff changed my ticket as I was boarding she went over to the computer and changed it without telling me. She messed up an entire three row section for me and others. Other travelers were outraged but the gate staff were so rude, so condescending saying it wasn't their problem to solve. I would rate this a zero if I could. Will not fly Delta again I'll stick with United and American.

I usually get upgraded so my experience is usually amazing. I did not get upgraded this time - which was fine - but the wifi had issues, the monitors were going in & out, & (though not Delta's fault) one of the gentlemen next to me desperately needed a shower.

I really liked the legroom. I am 6’4”.a at For some reason our seats were not together and using the app to fix it didn’t work. Passengers were nice enough to move for us but you should absolutely ensure a parent sits with their child.

This flight was no comparison to our prior flight. I'm thinking it all has to do with the age of the aircraft.

2 of the seats in row 31 the entertainment system was not working, and one seat the tray table did not go all the way down. Flight arrived early and departed on time which was great.

Waited at the usual crowded gate at DCA where one ends up standing up because there aren't enough seats.

Staff were friendly and happy. Delta could make sure passengers that don't have the app know of changes. Without Kayak I would not have known about the change of gate or the delay. Kayak was faster to notify me.

Wifi took a while to kick in and we had a maintenance issue that took over 40 mins at the gate in Washington before pulling back

Very good. Because of the delays with my previous flight, I missed my connection, but I was able to book another flight through the United app easily.

Was happy we finally got upgraded in 1st class. The seat getting old. The cushiness need some improvement.

Ineffective communication with United resulted in lost baggage. Their Baggage Tracing counter at MUC was shut down from 11:00-14:15 on my arrival. Undertrained, underinformed staff had me Running all over MUC to find someone to help me to no avail. Staff was rude, unhelpful, and unable to effectively use the systems they did have operational. They refused to contact United in any way or provide any accommodation or other resources while I waited for my luggage. This has destroyed my downstream itinerary. If they had even the slightest visibility I may have been able to reschedule/plan, but again, their staff provided nothing, and did nothing more than their website, which doesn’t even work on a standard phone browser. Miserable failure at all levels that weren’t associated with the operation of the aircraft.

Sat next to a one year old. She crawled all over the place and made me laugh.

The Crew and the food was the worst I ever had in Business Class. First they told us there were no space for carry on. It was plenty of space over our 2 row seats, we had to ask to let us travel with it which was accepted. They were aware that we had to run for the connection due to the previous flight delay. Have us one hour waiting for more customers and not even offer a glass of water. Then started the service and they started to serve other passengers drinks in business and did not offer any drinks until they serve our pre ordered meal and I ask for something to drink. I had to wait until they finished to serve all passengers until Inget something. The crew was the worts I ever had for Business Class in my life.

Not great experience - we were super late boarding due to issues with aircraft. Then when we finally all got onboard and seated and they started taxiing out to the runway they just stopped then turned around and went back to the airport. Apparently the crew “ran out of time” to legally fly us. They mentioned that they were about 2 minutes away from taking off. I understand the rules and safety but kinda wonder why they would have bothered boarding us in the first place? Had to go all the way back and de plane and then wait in a HUGE line to get a hotel (this is somewhere around 2:30am) finally got to hotel by Uber (no shuttle after 20min so gave up) and they ended up putting us all back on the same aircraft at 10am next morning so got about 2.5 hours sleep. They did give us. $250 credit, but it was a São Paulo Brazil flight out of Dulles. The flight and everything was fine.

Starlink wifi on the Embraer E175 is an excellent experience. I was able to connect and work from IAD all the way to approach into BTV.

7 hours delayed due to operational issues on United’s end. Basically laziness.

Short flight but an "eager to help" crew made the journey more enjoyable!

The flight was significantly delayed for 6.5 hours because of snow. There was no communication once the plane returned to the gate regarding when the flight would resume. Other flights were departing while our flight was being unloaded for reasons unknown. Our flight also seemed out of the queue regarding further deicing, refueling, and waiting to Taxi to the runway.

They are always late and seats was also not having working charger

did not have enough meal for first class passengers so offer us snack

This was one of the most frustrating travel experiences I've had to date. I had changed my flight day of to this one as it was slated to depart on time. It ended up being so delayed that my original flight took off before this one did. The boarding process began but eventually stopped and everyone had to get off the plane as a problem was identified. The person at the front desk just tried to laugh it off as if this wasn't already a huge inconvenience. From there, we eventually got to board only to sit at the gate for an additional hour because of some additional issue. This was extremely frustrating and caused a lot of stress.

It was a little concerning to hear the ground crew arguing with the flight crew over baggage space. Instead of taking them and checking them, they started checking for space in the first class cabin moving items around like the flight crew didn't know what they were doing. I was embarrassed for them.

delayed due to weather. Could not communicate with family since the wifi was broken

I got sick nothing contagious but distressing and the care I received by Kayla? Keighly the flight attendant will be memorable for ever. Thank You

We were told the flight was delayed 5 times, then it was moved to the next day.

Flight delay was communicated before leaving for airport which caused it to be a non-event. Great flight and crew!

The flight attendant, a black woman with curly hair who sat near Row 21, was wonderful and kind.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Washington, D.C. to Santa Barbara

Information on your arrival and departure airports