A visitor has to leap a series of hurdles to touch the shores of these well-preserved gems. Ferries to the islands range from plentiful to nonexistent, but Island Packers has scheduled jet-boat runs from Ventura to the six accessible islands (805-642-1393; www.islandpackers.com; from $24 per person). Its office is next to two other crucial stops in Ventura Harbor: the well-organized Channel Islands Visitors Center and the Channel Islands Kayak Center, which leads tours of the coves and sea caves of Santa Cruz Island (805-984-5995; www.cikayak.com; tours, $169 per person; rental kayak, $25). Poor weather can scrap your plans; waves and winds are calmest from June through October. Except on Catalina, the only lodging is at campsites, which leaves three options: reserving ahead and hauling your own equipment and provisions onto a ferry (800-365-2267; www.reservations.nps.gov), booking a catered trip with the single outfitter licensed to fly to Santa Rosa, Channel Islands Aviation (805-987-1301; www.flycia.com; $130 per person round-trip, with a minimum of six passengers), or touring the islands on a 73-foot schooner courtesy of Horizons West Adventures, in Long Beach (562-799-3880; horizonswestadventures.com; six days, $825 per person; good value for the destination). Everything you need, from dehydrated lasagna to warm fleece, is available at Copelands Outdoor Sports in Santa Barbara (805-963-4474).

Prices quoted are for the current month.

On Land
All of Santa Barbara is a garden, starting with the Upham Hotel, a modernized 1871 Victorian (805-962-0058; www.uphamhotel.com; doubles, $160-$285). Located well above downtown, El Encanto Hotel has sweeping vistas of the ocean and the coast (805-687-5000; www.elencantohotel.com; doubles, $249-$269; handicapped friendly). Bouchon has a superb selection of local wines and the intimate setting missing in so many of the see-and-be-seen restaurants on State Street (805-730-1160; entrées, $24-$30). With 3,500 vintages, the Wine Cask claims to have the area's longest wine list (805-966-9463; entrées, $29-$36). By the water, keep it simple with steamed shrimp ($9 per pound) at the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company (805-966-6676; entrées, $7-$15; good value for the destination). For simply grand, try Citronelle, overlooking the bay from atop the Santa Barbara Inn (805-963-0111; entrées, $20-$36). And make time for the hard-to-spot La Super-Rica taquería, which lives up to the hype as Julia Child's pick for tacos and more (805-963-4940; entrées, $2-$7; good value for the destination). The Melville Winery, housed in a Mediterranean-style villa in the western Santa Ynez Valley, has a tasting room open from March through August (805-735-7030; www.melvillewinery.com).

In Ventura, the ocean views from the Pierpont Inn are great, but some rooms get highway noise (805-643-6144; www.pierpontinn.com; doubles, $145-$185; handicapped friendly). Keeping with its low-hype atmosphere, Ventura is packed with casual restaurants such as the accurately named A Good Thai & Peruvian Restaurant (805-643-0583; entrées, $8-$18).

Ojai is only one mountain range from Los Angeles, but you'd never know it: Tucked away on a dead-end street, the Emerald Iguana Inn is utterly quiet and unhurried (805-646-5277; www.emeraldiguana.com; cottages, $189-$229; good value for the destination; handicapped friendly); its pet-friendly sister property is the southwestern-themed Blue Iguana (same phone; doubles, $95-$145).

On Catalina, the Pavilion Lodge is newly returned to its midcentury swank, in the thick of Avalon's restaurants and nightlife (310-510-1788; doubles, $209-$279; handicapped friendly). The Catalina Country Club, just up the canyon, serves the most distinguished lunch in town (310-510-7404; entrées, $9-$15). Everything on the island, from ferries to happy hours, is explained at www.scico.com.

At Sea
Diving in the Channels is dominated by the big boats berthed in Ventura, which carry up to 40 divers and have hot tubs to take the chill off. Ventura Dive and Sport does day-trips for $75 per person, plus $40 for equipment (805-650-6500). On Catalina the options increase. At Catalina Scuba Luv, a day's dive trip in a small boat is $100, including gear (800-262-3483). Catalina Divers Supply runs a 46-foot Newton to local kelp forests. Two-tank dives are $140, including equipment (800-353-0330). Visibility is normally excellent, but check conditions before you head out. You will need a 7mm wet suit, and a hood in all but the warmest months (August and September).

Gray whales migrate north through the Santa Barbara Channel from about February through May and return in the fall; by June, blue and minke whales arrive to feed all summer. Island Packers has tours to Anacapa, but all of its ferries follow an "I Brake for Whales" schedule (805-642-1393; whale watch, $60).

Reading
The most generally useful guidebook is Hidden Coast of California (Ulysses Press, $19). Fodor's California is particularly good for Avalon, on Catalina ($21). Santa Barbara Secrets and Sidetrips, by Laurie MacMillan, has the best listing of out-of-the-way inns, along with historical oddities (EZ Nature Books, $9).