<p>Son was admitted and hasn't seen the campus, yet, so we are planning on going to the April 14 Open House. From a quick look at flights, it seems that the Santa Barbara airport is pretty restricted. Any suggestions for the best way to get there from the SF area?</p>
<p>At this point, it looks like driving may be our best bet. Would you take 5 or 101? (I really hate driving, BTW!)</p>
<p>Any suggestions for reasonably priced hotels?</p>
<p>I'd drive and take the 101. It's not a terrible drive (6 hours) and flying into that airport is probably pretty expensive since it's a small regional airport. Plus by the time you leave the house to get to the airport, go through security, arrive, and get to UCSB it will have taken about the same amount of time to drive.</p>
<p>you could take the amtrak train from sf to santa barbara. you would have to switch trains a few times though and the fare would be around $75 a person</p>
<p>From San jose it was about a 4 hour drive on 101( going about 75 when possible), and theres a nice view on the way there so thats a plus.</p>
<p>I've been looking at SB hotels on Expedia because I plan to visit during the first week of April (my dad's going to drive down 101 from SF), and most of the hotels (even the small motels!) are pretty pricey because they all claim to be close to the beach, have great views, and blah blah blah. We're expecting to spend about $150ish after taxes to stay at a moderately priced motel.</p>
<p>I wouldn't fly if you have the time to drive. A flight to SB is like $300 and the 101 isn't a bad drive at all.</p>
<p>About the motels, all the ones I've been to in SB are very nice (big rooms, full cable), if that means anything. You could also stay in Ventura or Carpinteria (50 and 30 mins south of SB) if you want cheaper prices.</p>
<p>Actually, a roundtrip flight from SFO to SBA is around $184 with tax. Check cheaptickets and expedia. You just have to buy the ticket about 2 weeks in advance. But I agree, driving down 101 S is really not a bad drive. Very nice scenery once you hit Pismo.</p>
<p>When I visited SB we stayed at some motel (sry, don't remember the name) for like $80/night or maybe less. We had a nice room with two king sized beds and cable tv etc. You won't have a beach view or whatever but if you do drive down there it won't take you long to get to the beach or UCSB. </p>
<p>Dunno if that helped you at all but I figured it would be good to know that there are cheaper rooms too.</p>