Our Recommendations

Our Favorites: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and In Between

Local Wine Tasting

I made a collection on Yelp that shows you these wonderful wineries all on the West End for a wonderful tasting tour.

Santa Cruz Brews

I made a collection on Yelp that shows you some tasty brewery spots.

Black's Beach

This is the beach located at the end of the block from our vacation rental house (where Erin & Crystal are staying along with Mindy, Meg & Jan).

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains and is most famous for the 40-acre grove of towering old-growth redwood trees. Its historical significance and spectacular scenery draw travelers from around the world. Visitors can enjoy hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, swimming, and camping on more than 4,650 acres of forested and open land. These skyscraping redwoods were admired by explorer John C. Frémont, President Theodore Roosevelt, and inspired some of California’s earliest redwood preservation efforts. Take a walk beyond the redwood grove and you’ll find four diverse habitats that this park preserves: grasslands, river/riparian, sandhills, and redwoods. The tallest tree in the park is approximately 277 feet tall, about 16 feet wide, and around 1,500 years old. Keen-eyed visitors may spot banana slugs, black-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, or steelhead trout.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is recognized as the best seaside park in the world. Our vibrant, bustling amusement park is renowned for its great rides, remarkable history, spectacular beach setting, and friendly attitude. The Boardwalk has been operating since 1907, and it hasn’t missed a beat! We believe in affordable family fun - that’s why admission is free, summer entertainment is included, and ride tickets are affordable. Two of our rides are National Historic Landmarks, but don’t let that fool you. The 1924 Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster still thrills riders with its hair-raising dips and turns and the Looff Carousel's unique ring toss provides a surprising challenge. Our indoor arcades offer the largest selection of games in Northern California with the latest video and redemption games, pinball machines, a vintage game collection, two-story miniature golf course, and laser tag arena. There's also a family bowling center right across the street.

West Cliff Drive

West Cliff Drive is a scenic, 3 mile walking and biking path along the Pacific Ocean in Santa Cruz. Watch surfers, observe wildlife or just admire the incredible ocean views. Start your walk at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf and head past the iconic Santa Cruz Dream Inn to watch some of the best surfers in the world catch a wave at world-renown Steamer Lane. Stop in for a little surfing history at the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum or watch for whales and dolphins at Lighthouse Point. West Cliff Drive ends at Natural Bridges State Beach, winter home of the Monarch butterfly. Turn around and head back, for a hike that covers almost 6 miles round-trip.

Twin Lakes State Beach

Well Within Spa

Well Within Spa has been created to provide the community with a quiet sanctuary in which to relax and benefit from spas, saunas, therapeutic massage, facials and body care. All of the services offered at Well Within are designed to relax and rejuvenate the body and soul. Our environment can best be described as “Japanese traditions blended with California lifestyle.” A beautiful garden view and the sound of trickling water are always nearby. We enhance your experience with professional, friendly service in a serene environment.

Downtown Santa Cruz

Wander the shops and experience the Keep Santa Cruz Weird motto. Also known as the Pacific Garden Mall a popular tourist destination where visitors can visit shops and enjoy coffeehouses and cafes in a cheerful and attractive setting.

Santa Cruz Wharf

Park on the wharf then wander the shops and stop to watch the sea lions.

Seymour Marine Discovery Center

Come touch a friendly shark, see how marine scientists work, and take in the spectacular Monterey Bay. Our exhibit hall offers a deeper dive into the adventure of ocean research here in Santa Cruz and around the world. Visit us and explore the fascinating world of marine science and conservation. The Seymour Marine Discovery Center is a community-supported marine science education center of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Chardonnay Sailing Charters

We will sail you across the Monterey Bay Sanctuary, rich with marine life where we can observe otters, sea Lions, dolphins, jellyfish, diverse bird species soaring overhead and occasionally whales! Sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful California coastline as the crew serves you delicious appetizers and beverages.

O'Neill Yacht Charters

Sit back and relax as you sail along the picturesque Santa Cruz coastline for sunset! Once aboard, you can enjoy the sights of the Monterey Bay wildlife and Santa Cruz’s must-see landmarks from the best view in town, all while experiencing the fun of sailing on a smooth, stable catamaran. Keep your eyes open for sea lions hanging on the pillars of the Santa Cruz Wharf or off the Mile Bouy, otters relaxing in the kelp forests, and dolphins or whale tails that just may spring up out of the water at any point during your sail. Bring your camera to capture the beautiful California sunset, as we see the sun dip below the horizon. Often times, we may pair this type of sail with our Local Wine Tasting Sails or Local Beer Tasting Sails that are sometimes also scheduled around sunset.

Bookshop Santa Cruz

Bookshop Santa Cruz is a large independent bookstore located in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz, California since 1966. Owned by the Coonerty family since 1973, Bookshop Santa Cruz is a multi-generational family business. Bookshop Santa Cruz fills over 20,000 square feet with a wide selection of new, used, and sale books along with extensive magazine, cards, gifts, and toys sections. Bookshop is known for its comprehensive children’s and new release sections as well as strong sections in travel, politics, cooking, science, and fiction. For over five decades and has been voted “Best Bookstore” in Santa Cruz County for more than 25 consecutive years.

Berry Creek Falls

An 11-mile loop through Big Basin Redwoods State Park will take you past the towering Berry Creek Falls and a few other massive falls just upstream. This walk also takes hikers along gorgeous creeks, through beautiful sunny clearings and into the county’s impressive old-growth preserve. It’s no secret that most of the county’s redwood forests were logged a little more than a decade ago, so thank goodness for Big Basin, which happens to be California’s original state park.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The mission of the nonprofit Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the ocean. A leader in ocean conservation and education, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is considered by many to be the best in the world. We were the first major public Aquarium in the world with permanent exhibits devoted to the marine life of our home region: the waters of Monterey Bay and California’s Central Coast. The exhibits we created help sparked public interest that led in 1992 to designation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary – the largest in the continental United States.

Land of Medicine Buddha

Land of Medicine Buddha provides classes and space for group and personal retreats, on a forested piece of property at the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, just a mile and a half from Soquel Village, California. We are an active Buddhist community. Through teaching, meditation, prayer, retreat and community service, we engage in preserving and transmitting the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values, specifically in the lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa.