Are you going to the show coming up in March or the fair in July? I might go to the show. I went to the July fair last year and stayed at the Santa Barbara-Goleta Holiday Inn. It was kind of expensive and the accomodations were not very nice. It is on the outskirts of SB so it isn't very close to the fair grounds, but it's very close to SBOE and Cal-Orchids. If I go this year I'm just going to make it a day trip. My only suggestion would be to book a room early. The previously mentioned hotel is already booked solid for the show in March. I think the other SB Holiday Inn still has vacancies for about $200/night. I think there's some $65/night hotels in Carpinteria when I checked Orbitz. Good luck and have fun. I love the $7.50 specials from SBOE.

WOW, as a native CAlifornian I can say that your first visit is to one of the most beautiful towns in our great state. I assume you will be flying into LAX? It's about a 2.5 hour drive from there, so obviously you'll be renting a car.
SBOS is definitely worth it, plan on spending at least a 1/2 day. Depending on your comfort level, there are 2 Motel 6's in town, one right across from the Pacific Ocean. And even THEY are $99/night, so plan on spending some $$$ on lodging that weekend, regardlesss of where you stay. Make sure to leave plenty of time for visiting STATE ST., downtown. Also, if you have some extra time [like a 1/2 day] and are into hiking / outdoors, there is a pretty sweet hike called Tangerine Falls. Oh yeah, and then there is the Mission...I could go on for a while. Let me know if you are interested I can give you all kinds of hints, tips, suggestions. NWG

Wow, i dont know if a half a day is enough!!!
You forgot about the Botanic Garden and that very cool park that sits on the hillside above the mission that gives a viewer a great shot of the area and the islands.
State street??????? Better yet the wharf or Goleta beach is cool.

thanks for all the info! im actually staying at a hotel on state st. it looks like it is pretty close to the showgrounds-hopefully within walking/bus distance. i dont have much time to spend-have to leave saturday. my plan is to arrive thursday, mess around the city, orchid shopping first thing friday, then take plants back to hotel, then mess around some more until i have to leave.

nealzibub-i would love to talk more about the area with you! do you live in santa barbara, and will you be at the show?

By chance, are you staying at the Sandpiper Lodge on State Street?

We stayed there last year for two nights. Great location in proximity to the Fairgrounds and fairly decent accomodation for the price; as Santa Barbara can be very pricey. I will tell you they were fully booked on Friday night and the hotel had terrible water problems on Saturday morning. We had barely a trickle of water coming out of the shower head. I followed up on it after returning home and were given some compensation off the bill for the inconvenience.

I must tell you, if you can swing it... pay a visit to CalOrhid Nursery. I am not sure if they are open to the public on Thursday or Friday. Call and find out. They were open on Saturday last year and I went. Jim and Lauris Rose have a very extensive, eclectic collection. A lot of species. Great deals to be had. And the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate (SBOE)is right across the road from CalOrchid. I believe Jim Rose told me he used to work at SBOE in his late teens or early 20's. At some point in time he then started his own orchid nursery. He's one of those guys who used to travel the world to do collecting. He knows his orchids!

Have a great time!

Lori

Hi lori
actually im staing at the sandman inn lol on state st. its suppposed to be right there next to the showgrounds. im def trying to make it to cal orchid and sboe! thanks for the info! anyone from the forum going to be there? i would love to meet some of you

Hey there, email me at ngrant@venetec.com and we can chat all you want about SB. I do not live there [but I would in a heartbeat if I could afford it!!!] I went to school about 1.5 hours north of there, so I've been there quite a few times. Unfortunately I won't be making it this year, I typically go every other year...talk to you later.
NWG

Be sure to print out a map of the area if you have not done so already!

If you are limited in time to explore then visit the downtown area at Anapamu and State sits the Art Museum,
down Anapamu towards the mountains the Library, and just east of that across the street the city complex with the
tower. Don't know if it is still open to the public but you could get a get bird's eye view of the area from the top of the tower.
This area is at least a mile from your motel going down state towards the beach.
Be sure to be aware of the fact that some streets are one way! The street between the library and the courthouse is one way going north or towards the motel.
The major street running east to west is Carrillo and if you get lost you can intersect it at State and go west to the freeway. It is south or beachward of Anapamu where the Art Museum is.
I think that will orient you in the major part of SB.
Upper State is where you will be and is mostly just drive-in shopping areas not walking areas like downtown State.

Cheers. Enjoy the show.

bump for anyone else attending