Flight
LAX is the most affordable airport in the LA area. If you fly into LAX, the drive to Santa Barbara is about 1.5 hours. If you drive during rush hour, you should anticipate that it will take 2-3 hours. You'll see the least traffic between 11am-2pm.
Flight
You cannot fly directly into Santa Barbara Airport from many cities, though you can fly directly from NYC. Flights into this airport are more expensive, but the airport is only 15 minutes from the downtown area, so you could skip renting a car and use Uber/Lyft for the weekend.
House Or Rental
Given the price of hotels in Santa Barbara, we are recommending that guests look into Airbnb, but you are welcome to stay wherever you'd like!
Rental Car
If you fly into LAX, we recommend that you rent a car at the airport or you can rent through Turo, which is a more affordable option.