Santa Cruz Destination Guide

Santa Cruz, California is located south of San Francisco on Monterey Bay.  Santa Cruz is a great place to visit and there are a lot of activities in Santa Cruz suitable for everyone.  Head over to the various beaches, if you are a surfer, Santa Cruz is home to some of the best surfing in the world. Check out the local museums, or stop off at the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk for some rides and fun.  Visit some wineries, or go shopping in between stops.  We hope that this Santa Clara destination guide serves as a starting point to help plan your Santa Clara vacation.

If you like the beach, you will be glad to know that there are many beaches to visit in Santa Clara, 29 miles of beaches to be exact.  Here are few of them to note, we are unable to highlight them all as there are so many of them.  The below are just a few beaches to highlight in our Santa Cruz travel guide. 

Santa Cruz Beaches

Main Beach

At Main Beach is where you will find the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Capitola Beach

At Capitola Beach you will find fantastic views of Monterey Bay and colorful cottages along the water.  There is paid meter parking or free parking available above the railroad tracks in the visitor's lot.  Capitola beach is good for surfing, swimming, fishing off the pier, or volleyball. 

Seacliff Beach

As you might imagine from the name, Seacliff beach is a beach situated between cliffs and the ocean, and the beach is known for its amazing location.  There is a pier that is popular for fishing, there is a touching pool (kids love this) and there is a visitors center.  There is an entrance fee as this is a state park, parking is included.  This beach is NOT safe to swim at because there can be rip currents. 

To get there go about 6 miles south of Santa Cruz, exit CA 1 at State Park Drive and go a short distance toward the water to the park entrance kiosk.

Lighthouse Field State beach

It is here that you will find the Santa Cruz surfing museum and also see some of the waves that make Santa Cruz famous for surfing.  There are also days where the water is extremely calm so surfing is not always an option. 

There is no entrance fee at this beach.

The beaches are great in Santa Cruz but they are not the only thing to do while in Santa Cruz.  You can also visit the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk which is a must have for a Santa Cruz destination guide.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

A perfect fit for any Santa Cruz travel guide is The Santa Cruz Beach boardwalk.  This is an ocean front amusement park originally created as a Coney Island for the West coast.  The Santa Cruz boardwalk itself extends along the coast of the Monterey Bay.  The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is home to the roller coaster the Giant Dipper.  The Giant Dipper is one of the most well known wooden roller coasters in the world and it is a landmark attraction in Santa Cruz.  There are many other things to do at the boardwalk to include, arcade games, miniature golf, and laser tag to name a few.

Shopping