Travel Information

CSF and its affiliated workshops will be held at the UCSB campus. CSF will be held in the MCC Theater (by the lagoon) and the workshops in the University Center. (map1, map2).

The UCSB campus is located approximately two miles from the Santa Barbara airport (code: SBA), which is served by several airlines including American, United, US Airways and Alaska. All major rental car agencies are represented in Santa Barbara. AMTRAK also has rail connections from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Santa Barbara is approximately 100 miles (160 km) north of the Los Angeles airport and 350 miles (560 km) south of San Francisco.

How to get to Santa Barbara

By Air: For your convenience, we recommend making flight reservations with Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) as your final destination. UCSB campus is a ten-minute drive from the airport.
If you fly to Los Angeles, LAX, you may use Santa Barbara Airbus (bus shuttle from LAX). This service provides several daily bus trips from Los Angeles International Airport to Santa Barbara. Reservations are strongly recommended (see www.sbairbus.com). The closest stop to campus is the GOLETA stop. Those staying on campus may call the UCSB free shuttle after getting off at Goleta.

By Train: Santa Barbara is served by Amtrak Train Service. Amtrak terminals are located in Santa Barbara (12–15 miles from campus) and Goleta (5 miles from campus). UCSB does NOT provide free shuttle service to/from the train stations; you will need to take a taxi.

By Car:See below the driving directions to campus and instructions on how to get a parking permit.

Driving Directions for those Staying Off-Campus

The following instructions apply only to those staying off-campus. If you are staying on campus, you should have received an e-mail with the driving directions and the instructions on how to obtain a parking permit.

Driving directions from the South: Take US-101 northbound to the Airport/UCSB/Hwy 217 exit (appx. 8 mi. north of downtown Santa Barbara). This expressway will take you directly into campus. As you enter campus, stay in the right lane and proceed on Mesa Road (do not enter the roundabout). Turn left at the second traffic light into University Plaza, then make the first right and proceed into the MESA/18 PARKING STRUCTURE.

Driving directions from the North: Take US-101 to the Storke/Glen Annie Rd. exit. Turn right on Storke Road and proceed 2 miles to El Colegio Road. Turn left on El Colegio Road and proceed through the campus West Gate. After entering campus, turn left at the second traffic light onto Ocean Road. Proceed on Ocean Road, make a sharp left turn at the stop sign, get in the right lane and turn right at the first traffic light after the stop sign (at the Recreation Center) and into the MESA/18 PARKING STRUCTURE.

Parking in MESA/18 PARKING STRUCTURE. You will need to buy a “pay and display” permit ($8 per day weekdays) from the machine in the parking structure. If you look for Crypto/CSF on the permit machine, you can pay for the total number of days that you will be parking in the lot and be issued a permit for that period of time. Note that after 5pm on Tuesday, you may use the same permit for Lot 9 for the catered CSF dinner in the back of the Anacapa Residence Hall.

Further information about parking and travelling can be found here.

Climate

Summer weather in Santa Barbara is usually quite pleasant; the days are warm (75ºF) and the nights are cool (55ºF) with occasional fog or overcast skies. We recommend a sweater or light coat for evenings. UCSB is a walking campus, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes.

Bring a sweater and/or jacket. Santa Barbara can be cold at night. (This is crucial for the beach BBQ!)

Maps

You can find UCSB Campus Maps here.