What are the best day trips from Los Angeles?

Santa Barbara over everywhere else for a single-day couple's trip from Los Angeles. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner leaves LA's Union Station at 6:55am and pulls into Santa Barbara at 9:40am, round trip $64 in coach. You step off the train onto State Street with 7 hours before the 5pm return. The Funk Zone, a 4-block warehouse district between the tracks and the harbor, has 15 tasting rooms within walking distance. Spend the morning splitting flights at Municipal Winemakers (6 tastes for $20) where the concrete floors stay cool even in July, then walk 3 blocks to the harbor for fish tacos at Brophy Bros, sitting on the upstairs deck where the salt air mixes with deep-fryer smoke and pelicans glide at eye level. The afternoon opens up. One of you might want the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (1130 State Street, $10, strong Monet collection for a town this size) while the other wanders the harbor breakwater. Meet back at the Wine Cask by 4pm for a shared bottle before the train.

Catalina Island works if you book the 6:30am Catalina Express from Long Beach ($82 round trip, 1 hour crossing). The harbor at Avalon is small enough to walk end-to-end in 15 minutes, which means you won't lose each other or need to negotiate an itinerary. The water off Descanso Beach sits at 15-20°C even in summer, cold enough to make you grab each other getting in. Rent a tandem kayak ($40/hour from Descanso Beach Ocean Sports) and paddle along the casino building, a 1929 art-deco cylinder that smells like kelp and dried salt from the water side. The Lobster Trap on the pier does grilled swordfish for $28 with harbor views, but book the 4:30pm table since the 5:30pm gets the last-ferry crowd. Mind you, the crossing gets choppy in spring. If either of you gets seasick, take Dramamine 45 minutes before boarding, not at the dock.

Ojai sits 130 km northwest of Los Angeles in its own valley, and the drive through the 33 highway canyon narrows to a two-lane road lined with sycamores that filter afternoon light into gold bands across the windshield. It's a 90-minute drive with no traffic, closer to 2 hours on a Friday. The town has one main street (Ojai Avenue) with a 1917 Spanish-revival arcade. Spa Ojai at the Ojai Valley Inn runs couples treatments from $350 for 80 minutes, steep but the outdoor treatment rooms face the Topa Topa mountains and the eucalyptus smell carries from the groves below. For the partner who'd rather not spa, Meditation Mount (free, open daily 10am-sunset) sits 3 km above town with 360-degree views across the valley to the Pacific. Dinner at Azu (316 E Ojai Ave, mains $18-34) works for both of you. The Moorish lamb shank satisfies the foodie and the candlelit courtyard satisfies the romantic.

Palm Springs (175 km east of Los Angeles, 2 hours on I-10) appeals if mid-century architecture interests at least one of you. The temperature from June through September sits above 40°C, which makes outdoor walking between the 900+ modernist houses physically miserable. November through April is the window. That said, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway ($30 round trip) lifts you from desert floor at 35°C to Mount San Jacinto's pine forests at 18°C in 10 minutes, and the temperature drop feels like stepping into a walk-in fridge. Laguna Beach (80 km south of Los Angeles, 1 hour on Pacific Coast Highway) is the better warm-weather pick for couples who want coast without the Santa Monica crowds. The 1,000 Steps Beach requires 230 actual steps down a cliff staircase, and the effort filters out casual visitors. You'll share the cove with maybe 30 people on a Tuesday in June.