By car from LA

Expressway way = +- 90 minutes:
Take the 101 north to Garden St. in Santa Barbara. Go 8 blocks north to Figueroa St. Turn right onto Figueroa St.
Halfway down the block, turn left onto asphalt Alta Vista driveway next to a stone wall. Go to the top of the hill and park in the guest lot on the right. The office is behind the American Flag (daytime).

Scenic Coast Highway way = 100 to 120 minutues:
This is a pretty drive along the coast… through famous areas and rural countryside north of Malibu. It goes through agricultural areas in Oxnard and farm and rural areas along Hwy 101. From LAX rental car area ask for directions to PCH/Lincoln Blvd heading north. Go North on Lincoln Blvd. to the Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10) turn Left (west) and drive to the end onto Hwy 1 (Pacific Coast Highway North) (about ½ mile). Take PCH through Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Zuma Beach, Pt. Magu State Park, and into Oxnard (where PCH is called Oxnard Blvd.) Turn right on North Rice Avenue and head north. Turn left on E. Gonzales Road and 4 blocks to Rose Avenue. Turn right on Rose and get on US Highway 101 towards Santa Barbara. Continue to follow US-101 N for 26 miles.

By car from San Francisco (approx. 4.5 - 5.5 hours):
Take the 101 South in San Francisco for 380 miles to Carrillo/Downtown exit in Santa Barbara. Go left at bottom of ramp onto Carrillo St. Go about 7 blocks, through the heart of downtown until there is a Stop sign. At the sign turn left onto Garden St. Go one block and turn right onto Figueroa St. Halfway down the block, turn left onto asphalt Alta Vista driveway next to a stone wall. Go to the top of the hill and park in the guest lot on the right. The office is behind the American Flag (daytime).

Notes:

If anyone is driving you, including a cabbie, you can say Alta Vista is one block past the Police Station, which is one block past the Courthouse, in the center of the city.

Traffic within Santa Barbara is rarely held up.

Don't travel by car south on the 101 from Santa Barbara between 4 and 6 PM: it's slow going.

The cheapest gas statons are on West Carrillo St. (on the way from or to the 101 freeway).