Information about accommodation for UCSB visitors

Short-term

There are a few hotels in Goleta very close to campus. Some even shuttle you for free to the campus and have a special UCSB rate. Take a look at the following website for a list of hotels in Goleta.

            http://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/LocalLodging.asp?section=visitucsb

Staying downtown Santa Barbara is another option. You are further from campus (approx. 10miles), but you are in the middle of a beautiful and fun town. For lodging in Santa Barbara, you may check one of the standard lodging web sites (hotels.com, expedia, etc.). The following Santa Barbara website also contains several options:

            http://www.santabarbara.com/

Longer-term

Finding a place to rent in Santa Barbara for less than one academic year generally requires some work, but eventually everybody finds a place.

Where?

If you want to be close to the university, you should aim for an apartment in Goleta or Isla Vista (the latter will be less quiet). If you do not plan to buy/rent a car, make sure that you inquire about how to get to the university and supermarkets (bicycle, bus?)

Use http://maps.google.com/ to find the distance from any apartment to UCSB. Use the following address for UCSB:

            Harold Frank Hall UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 @34.414,-119.841

Google maps has a pretty good resolution in the Santa Barbara area so you may actually be able to see the apartments. Click on the link above so see a satellite image of my building.

URLs

http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/hhh/ In the last few years, Craig’s list has become the tool of choice to find rentals.

http://www.santabarbara.com/lodging/apartments/ This web site keeps a list of apartments for rent.

http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/hchoices/cho-rental-home.htm UCSB also maintains a lists rental listings (registration required).

Other

Word of mouth is often the best way to find a place. If you know people at UCSB, you may want to send a few emails inquiring if they know of any good place to stay.