10 Best Group Day Trips from Oxnard, CA (And How to Plan Them by Van)

**Drive:** 12 minutes from Oxnard to Ventura Harbor. **Group vibe:** Adventurous — hiking, kayaking, snorkeling on Santa Cruz Island. **Van tip:** Load coolers, wetsuits, and daypacks into the Transit's rear cargo space. The Island Packers lot fills up on summer weekends, so plan for a 7:30 AM arrival for the 9 AM ferry.

**Drive:** 45 minutes on Highway 33 (curvy, scenic). **Group vibe:** Adult day out — Casa Barranca winery tasting, downtown Ojai lunch, sunset at Meditation Mount. **Van tip:** Assign a designated driver before you leave. The high-roof Transit is perfect for a group of eight to arrive together and split tabs at three tasting rooms.

**Drive:** 45 minutes on 101 North. **Group vibe:** Classic beach town — Stearns Wharf, Funk Zone breweries, Butterfly Beach for sunset. **Van tip:** Park at the Amtrak station or the Chase Bank lot on State Street — both handle full-size vans, unlike the underground lots downtown.

**Drive:** 90 minutes on 101 North. **Group vibe:** Storybook Danish village + wine country crawl (Sanford, Rusack, Kalyra). **Van tip:** This one is genuinely more fun in a van than in three separate cars. The whole group swaps stories between stops instead of texting each other 'where are you now?'

**Drive:** 25 minutes down PCH to Point Mugu, 50 minutes to Malibu. **Group vibe:** Coastal drive with beach stops — La Jolla Canyon hike, Thornhill Broome dunes, Nobu Malibu if you're fancy. **Van tip:** Pack the Transit with beach chairs, umbrella, and a cooler — the wide side doors make loading easy.

**Drive:** 15 minutes on 101 South. **Group vibe:** Shopping day for a bachelorette or extended family in town for the holidays. **Van tip:** With 12 seats folded, you have a full truck bed of cargo space for shopping bags. Perfect for the mother-in-law's Nordstrom Rack strategy.

**Drive:** 10 minutes. **Group vibe:** Local family beach day — calm waters, easy parking, tacos at Casa de Soria after. **Van tip:** Cheapest day out on this list. Under $30 in fuel for the day; the van becomes a de facto shade shelter and gear closet.

**Drive:** 10 minutes. **Group vibe:** Chill afternoon — the pier, the beach volleyball courts, Poinsettia Pavilion, downtown antique shops. **Van tip:** Weekend parking on Main Street is tight for full-size vans. Use the city lot behind The Cave Wine Bar (free after 5 PM).

**Drive:** 30 minutes on 101 South. **Group vibe:** History-buff family day — Air Force One pavilion, replica Oval Office, kids' interactive gallery. **Van tip:** The Library's parking lots accommodate high-roof vans easily. Plan 4 hours minimum to see it all.

**Drive:** 90 minutes on 118 East then 14 North. **Group vibe:** Once-a-year spring bucket-list trip in March/April when the poppies bloom. **Van tip:** Check the state park's bloom cam before committing to the drive. The AWD Transit handles the desert dirt roads to the lesser-known bloom fields off Lancaster Rd.

All ten trips above are one-day outings, so a single-day rental of the Ford Transit or Transit Connect gets you there and back. If you're planning two back-to-back day trips (say, Ojai on Saturday and Santa Barbara on Sunday), our 3-day discount tier kicks in automatically. All rentals include unlimited miles inside California, so route length doesn't affect the price.