Marinas & Anchorages Reviews Pt. 3 - Marina del Rey, Ventura & Santa Barbara: Spring 2026

Moving further north this week to the next 3 marinas. They all have their plusses & minuses. But we’re pretty happy to stay at any of them.

Marina del Rey - Burton Chace Park Marina

Amenities:

Bathrooms/Showers - N/A We didn’t use them but they’re clean & only open to slip renters. There are separate bathrooms for people hanging out in the park.

Laundry - N/A

Other - There is an actual park there. Very pretty. Lots of people but not usually very noisy. The noise is usually coming from all of the boat traffic coming in & out of the whole harbor. Anyway, the park is great if you have a dog or kids & want to walk or run around.

Docks & slips: It’s funny, last time we were at Marina del Rey there was a ton of bird poop on the docks but this time barely any. I think there’s a little more upkeep than there used to be. The slips are single slips -which is very nice!

Staff: The staff is friendly. -Especially Sam. Very sweet. And very helpful.

Pricing: It was $48 per night for us. Very reasonable.

Location: You can walk to a lot of places from this place. There’s a Trader Joe’s actually in the harbor! About a 10 minute walk from our marina. This harbor has all the amenities for a boat. You can even take a long walk. -Maybe about an hour to get to the Venice Canals -which I recommend. Such a charming area!

Safe Harbor Marina - Ventura

Amenities:

Bathrooms/Showers - Even though we didn’t use them, we checked them out & they’re still beautiful!

Laundry - We washed a ton of laundry here! 4 machines & 4 dryers. You need to download the app. I think around $3 to wash & $3 to dry.

Docks & slips: Very clean & in good condition. They are re-doing some of the older docks. -Which is always a nice sign. Even the trash & recycle bins are stunning! 😄

Staff: Very kind & helpful. They leave a packet in the dock box for you when you arrive in your slip with all the information you need. Very personal touch.

Pricing: $100 per night for a 40’ boat.

Location: It’s a pretty nice harbor. There are a bunch of restaurants there. However, not much else. If you need a market or any boat supplies, you’re going to need a car.

Santa Barbara Harbor

Amenities:

Bathrooms/Showers - N/A. Again, we didn’t use them but they are kept up well & clean.

Laundry - N/A. We have used the laundry room before. It’s pretty sad & the whole place needs to be updated.

Docks & slips: Docks are in good condition & clean. Very secure.

Staff: The staff there is lovely. They are very helpful & have a well organized office.

Pricing: It was $80 per night for us. Not terrible. -But that just might be because I’m looking through the eyes of someone from the Bay Area. 😄 You can’t make reservations here. It’s 1st come 1st serve. -Which I’m sure is tricky during the summer & early autumn. I called the day before to see what are odds were for getting a spot & they did have quite a few slips open.

Location: In terms of groceries. There isn’t anything close. In terms of West Marine, there is no closer West Marine to a harbor than this one. -As far as I know. Pretty much right at the end of the dock. Our favorite restaurant there, Sushi Go Go is right there too! There are a few other restaurants that we have yet to try because, well, Sushi Go Go. There is a beach -which Zephyr loves to run on. If you like long walks, you can go on over to the Pier or Stearns Wharf -which has a bunch of restaurants & shops. Or you can walk downtown. -So nice. One of the nicest downtowns there is. If you appreciate design, you’ll appreciate all that goes into downtown Santa Barbara.

Other things to note: After you tie off to the fuel dock & get things settled with the office. They will come & put a tablet in your holding tank to see if it’s leaking. They are trying to make sure that the water in the harbor is as clean as they can possibly control it to be. And it’s pretty damn clear!

Now for the reviews for those of you who hate words in print:

Click above to watch!

We’re going to let all of you come up with captions for this one:

Thanks for reading & watching! Next week will be part 4 & the last week of the reviews. And then maybe we can start finally getting to our time into Santa Cruz!