Traveling green is the new trend, and California is nothing if not trendy.

Tourist destinations like Santa Barbara and San Francisco are all planning special promotions to please ecologically-minded travelers. Here's a sampling.

Santa Barbara has a calendar of green events, including sustainable winery tours, monthly "green drink" cocktail parties, film festivals, and open markets. Surf competition, an anual Hemp Festival, art fairs. . . no matter when you're going to Santa Barbara, something is going on there.

Check out the website GreenSantaBarbara.com for details and updates on activities, walking tours, vegan and locavore restaurants, sustainable businesses, and all sorts of tidbits of information.

People come here to see the old mission, or enjoy the coast, the galleries and museums, and the beautiful weather. In recent years, traffic--a lot of it from Los Angeles, 150 miles south--has become a problem. Residents as well as tourists complain about the overcrowded streets. A new program address this problem head-on.

At least 20 hotels, as well as restaurants and other sites, are offering a 50% discount--50%!--to visitors who come to Santa Barbara without a car. Since the city is accessible by bus and train, and since it's a beautiful place to walk, visiting sans auto is not difficult. You can get bike maps, shuttle and train schedules, etc. through this website.

Bringing a car to this city is a major hassle--garaging it overnight will add $25 to your hotel bill. Arrive by train, use the BART and cable cars. You can find tons of information at the city's Visitors website.

While in San Francisco, you can visit the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which actually covers 276 miles of California's coastline. From nearby Santa Cruz, Pacific Life Tours is starting eco-tours of Monterey Bay on a 70-foot yacht, in 2008.

The Orchard Garden Hotel (pictured) in San Francisco is the city's first Green hotel, conforming to LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) specifications. It overlooks the Powell Street cable car, so guests are very well-connected with the rest of the city.

If you're headed to Palm Springs, you might be interested to know that their aerial tramway now uses biodeisel fuel.

In Los Angeles--well, in Santa Monica--you can ride the Pacific Wheel at Pacific Park, the world's first solar-powered ferris wheel. And Pacific Park doesn't charge admission!

San Diego? Voluntours runs voluntourism treks into northern Mexico. Spend an extended weekend helping to build beehives in Mexicali, or laying foundations for a new school in Tijuana. You also get plenty of time to enjoy the cities' restaurants, clubs, etc.