Caffe Vacanza

This place is a real treat to visit with your pet on a walk. Super friendly staff. They gave my lab a treat and some water so we could continue on our walk. The pumpkin spice latte was excellent. Thanks for the warm welcome.

This place is located steps from the entrance to the Agua Hedonia Discovery Center, in the middle of the parking lot. They have quite a bit to offer: sandwiches, bagels, oatmeal, a couple muffins, and some other various snacks. They use the Italian illy brand coffee here, I’ve had both the vanilla frappé and a café latte. Both were tasty and had good flavor. I tried the blueberry scone and it was really good, the first few bites around the corners had a drier texture, but scones are usually like that. Going in toward the middle, it seemed like it was brushed with butter and some coarse sugar crystals dusted on top. That part was the best part, kinda like a biscuit with butter and blueberries.
10% of all sales are donated to the Agua Hedonia Lagoon Foundation, so you get to help out the coffee shop and the Lagoon at the same time!

Awesome coffee shop off of Canon Road. This place is super convenient and their coffee is very good — they use Illy, an Italian coffee brand. The café is outdoors and they have a few tables and chairs where you can enjoy your coffee. The baristas are also very nice!
FYI — they close kind of early, at 4pm.

This café is a stand erected in the parking lot of the Agua Hedionia Lagoon Discovery Center. I visited on a warm day, but it spite of being on blacktop it was quite pleasant under the umbrellas they had set up. Six small tile or metalwork tables were set up. The café is between the Discovery Center and Canon, so my view of the lagoon was obstructed and in addition to wind chimes I also heard a lot of passing traffic. I was also privy to the NPR radio station the barista had tuned in.
Service was quick and professional. I ordered a large americano. I did not find the Illy coffee to be to my taste. I’m no expert, but it tasted to me as though the beans had been roasted quite some time ago. I forgot to mention my preference for a ceramic coffee cup when ordering, but the barista cheerfully supplied one when I asked as the coffee was served in a paper cup. I thought the sizing was on the small side compared to other cafes these days, more like more traditional expresso sizing.
What bumps this café up for me from «Meh» to «A-​OK» for me is the Discovery Center and the nearby lagoon. I enjoyed a stroll along the trail and a leisurely perusal of the Center’s exhibits. The restrooms were convenient and clean.
I won’t be coming back just for the coffee, but I’m looking forward to bringing my granddaughter to the Discovery Center and a treat at Café Vacanza afterwards. This would also make a nice stop when traveling along Interstate 5.

My newest and greatest discovery! I only wish I found this on day 1 of my week long biz trip rather than day 4! Wonderful, friendly service. Fabulous Illy brand coffee. I will absolutely make this a daily morning stop when I head to Carlsbad on biz!

Great local coffee. Met with an associate at Caffe Vacanza and was very pleased not just with the excellent coffee but with the incredible customer service as well.

I was visiting Carlsbad over the weekend and tried this place. I will definitely be back, great coffee and very friendly environment. A must if you live or travel in the area.

Great cozy café in Carlsbad serving the best coffee I have ever had! Good food quiet and serene atmosphere and excellent service.

I’m always on the lookout for good coffee so this was the perfect place for it! The very friendly owner recommended the iced latte and I was very pleased with it! My daughter craved a smoothie and was very happy with her fresh mango pineapple! I highly recommend this place to anyone coming through Carlsbad. Great service and delicious coffee!

We came late in the afternoon, like 30 mins after closing. But the barista was still nice enough to offer to make us drinks.
Was mostly there to enjoy the view a little and to get a break from the discovery center for the kids.
Will try to come again to enjoy the coffee aspect of it, instead of a quick snack status.

First visit and this cool coffee joint has good coffee with a unique feel. Definitely not Starbucks which is good for them. Good Italian coffee.

Wow! I’m so happy that I came across this place using the Unilocal app.
I’ll be travelling out to Carlsbad for work quite a bit over the next 6 – 8 months and I know this is going to be my go-​to spot for coffee each morning before work.
Not only is the coffee (illy brand) delicious, the owners (Robin and Kevin) and extremely friendly, warm, and outgoing individuals. The first time I stopped here, they kindly gave me a blueberry scone to try. It would have been perfect on its own, but it was even better with my cup of coffee.
If you’re looking for an alternative to chain coffee, then head over to Caffe Vacanza for a delicious caffeine jolt.

I’ve been here twice now and on my second visit … well my cup of coffee with cream was like a religious experience it was so rich and good. It’s how delicious simple coffee should taste and may I say great buzz too?!? Really great coffee. Stop and treat yourself some morning soon.

The best little coffee stop I know of! Starbucks can’t compete with it’s beautiful view of the valley and beach. Being able to sit back and relax outdoors with a delicious drink and snack while reading a book or just enjoying the scenery. Everyone here is so sweet and the place itself is adorable. I tell everyone I know about it!

Great little coffee shop and then some! It is located on the grounds of the Discovery Center on Cannon/​Faraday. I live in the apartment community across the street and was overjoyed once this place set up shop. Before Vacanza, if I wanted a fancy coffee, I would have to drive nearly two miles to the nearest Starbucks (at the outlet mall) which is ALWAYS packed. Vacanza, walking distance from me, offers premium coffees, teas, snacks and oftentimes sandwiches. Do yourself a favor and head over to Vacanza for coffee and then walk around the Discovery center to learn about the Carlsbad Lagoon wildlife. Win win situation!

This is such a cute little spot. We really enjoyed walking around the lagoon discovery center after grabbing our coffees-​it is truly gorgeous and very informative. I love that both the center and the coffee shop are run on solar power!
Anyhow, get the chai tea latte cuz it was absolutely delicious!

I felt compelled to write a review. This place is in a great location, serving coffee in an area where there are no coffeeshops. Being a former barista through college, I always try to buy from local independently owned shops. The first time I went, the owner or manager was instructing the barista on how to make a cappuccino. Needless to say it was delish. I went back a second time and the barista was different. I ordered a cappuccino and was served a latte (zero foam). When I mentioned to her that I had ordered a cappuccino she seemed to know and apologized and threw some foam on top missing the point. I ended up throwing the drink out:/ One reason why people go to Starbucks is for consistency as that’s hard with independent places. I’ll try here again and hope their baristas are trained and that the drinks are more consistent.

Amazing illy coffee. They’re Macchiatos are authentic Italian Macchiatos and the level of customer service is amazing.

Love this place! I stop here as often as I can when I’m near Carlsbad. It’s right in front of the Aqua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center, which is also a great place! The lattes are amazing, they use Illy! Everyone is super friendly, Highly recommend! They have a great rewards program called MOGL, you earn cash back and feed the hungry!

Café Vacanza rocks!!!
If you live or work in Carlsbad, you better come check this place out.
Have an Illy coffee or a SOUL iced tea. It will blow your mind.