Santa Cruz is a city on California's central coast. The small town offers beautiful - albeit quite busy by American standards - sandy beaches and is a site of the progressive University of California, which owes it student flair.
By plane
The closest major airport is Norman Y. Mineta San Jose
International Airport (SJC) in San Jose. The journey time from there to
Santa Cruz is 39 minutes by car.
By train
The nearest Amtrak
station is in San Jose.
By bus
Santa Cruz has one Greyhound
station (920 Pacific Ave).
In the street
Santa Cruz is located
at the intersection of the famous Route 1 and Route 17 coast roads,
which lead to San Jose via Scotts Valley and Los Gatos.
By boat
A ferry connection between Santa Cruz and Monterey would be obvious from
a tourist point of view, but unfortunately does not currently exist.
The local transit company, Santa Cruz Metro, operates a number of bus routes in and around Santa Cruz.
Natural Bridges State Beach, on the west end of W Cliff Dr. Protected
sandy beach in the west of Santa Cruz, which is preceded by a natural
rock arch. Price: Parking $10 until 4pm, free thereafter.
Santa Cruz
Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St. Santa Cruz's most famous attraction is
this long sandy beach with adjacent amusement park.
West Cliff Drive.
West of the Boardwalk, this road always runs along the coast until it
ends after 3 miles at Natural Bridges State Beach. The street is flanked
by sidewalks, making it good for walking and cycling.
Capitola Mall, 1855 41st Ave. Smaller shopping mall with around 80
suppliers, including the department stores Sears, Macy's, Kohl's and
Target.
Safeway, 117 Morrissey Blvd; 2111 Mission St. Two branches of
the large supermarket chain.
Trader Joe's, 700 Front St.
Eco-Gourmet-Discounter-Supermarkt.info
It really does exist: fishing in and around Santa Cruz. Today,
however, that is insignificant, and most of the seafood that you get on
your plate in the local restaurants comes from elsewhere.
Cheap
Betty Burgers, 505 Seabright Ave. Considered the best hamburger
restaurant in town.
Santa Cruz Diner, 909 Ocean St. Hamburgers and
salads for lunch, steak, seafood, pasta, chicken and Asian bowls for
dinner. Good value for money.
Zoccoli's Delicatessen, 1534 Pacific
Ave. The best deli in Santa Cruz and accordingly busy. Italian
specialties.
Food Not Bombs (free, vegan/vegetarian), Pacific Ave (at
Post Office, Downtown, across from Clock Tower). Open: Saturday and
Sunday 4-6pm. price: 0
Middle
Laili Restaurant, 101 Cooper St.
The city's most popular restaurant offers Afghan cuisine. Perfect for
lamb lovers.
Mozaic, 110 Church St. Popular restaurant serving
Greek-Mediterranean cuisine. Evening entrees $16-26. Last Modified Jun
2017 (May be out of date)Edit info
Riva Fish House, 31 Municipal
Wharf. Popular seafood restaurant right on the pier.
Stagnaro Bros
Seafood, 59 Municipal Wharf. Popular seafood restaurant right on the
pier. Entrees $17-31.
upscale
Crow's Nest Restaurant, 2218 E
Cliff Dr. The most popular seafood restaurant in Santa Cruz, also
popular because of its waterfront location. Dinner entrees from $18.
Oswald, 121 Soquel Ave. The most popular upscale restaurant offers
creatively prepared and presented American cuisine. Seafood, Meat,
Poultry.
Staying overnight in Santa Cruz is not cheap. Frugal can z. B. switch
to the Motel 6 in the neighboring town of Watsonville. The suburb of
Scotts Valley also has interesting alternatives in the middle price
segment.
Cheap
Hitching Post Studios Inn, 1717 Soquel Ave. One
of the best budget motels in Santa Cruz. outdoor pool. No breakfast.
Torch Lite Inn, 500 Riverside Ave, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 USA. Phone:
+1-831-426-7575.
Middle
Holiday Inn Express, 1410 Ocean St.
Considered the best value hotel in Santa Cruz.
Upscale
Dream
Inn Santa Cruz, 175 W Cliff Dr. One of the livelier hotels in town,
located right on the beach.
Hotel Paradox, 611 Ocean Street, Santa
Cruz , CA 95060, USA (Downtown). Tel: +1-831-425-7100, Email:
info@hotelparadox.com.
After the area around Santa Cruz was first settled by Ohlone Indians,
the Santa Cruz Mission was built by Spaniards in the mid-18th century.
It was named after the Catholic name day of its founding.
The
mission was the 12th of 21 in Upper California. It was founded on August
28, 1791 by Padre Fermín Lasuén. It was originally built near the mouth
of the San Lorenzo, but was moved to a higher location after a flood in
the first winter. Ohlone and later Yokut Indians worked and lived in it
and were converted to the Christian faith. In 1818 the mission was
evacuated for fear of a pirate attack. Spanish farmhands and released
convicts and soldiers, who settled nearby and were actually called to
protect the mission, looted the empty mission. Due to the further
destruction caused by earthquakes, missionary work came to a complete
standstill in the mid-19th century. However, the name Santa Cruz was
adopted for the surrounding settlements. The Ohlon were driven out by
the Spanish settlers, many dying from disease or from hard labor for the
Spanish colonizers.
In the 19th century, the population increased
with immigrants from Scotland, Italy, China and Portugal. The Spanish
settlers were dispossessed and expelled by the white immigrants after
California became a US state.
In the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake,
many buildings were damaged, especially in the center of the city, and
some of the brick buildings collapsed. Five people died in the
earthquake.
university
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) is the
city's most important economic factor and largest employer. The
university's economic impact on the Santa Cruz area is $1.3 billion. The
University of Santa Cruz is also known for its astrophysics and marine
science programs. Furthermore, the university is known for its
liberality. For example, it has one of the highest lesbian quotas of any
university in the USA and is also a playground for hippies and
alternative.
Traditional industry and manufacturing have mostly migrated due to high costs, but the city's culture, which is quite unique in the United States, provides a fertile soil for businesses with innovative products. Well-known sporting goods brands such as O'Neill (surf equipment) or Osprey (backpacks) got their start in Santa Cruz. But small businesses that deal with alternative energy production are also well represented in Santa Cruz.
Many smaller technology companies have settled here as offshoots of the computer industry of nearby Silicon Valley. A well-known example is the company Fullpower owned by Borland founder and multi-millionaire Philippe Kahn.
Santa Cruz, also
known as Surf City USA, was first surfed in California in 1885. To this
day, many international surfing competitions are held in Santa Cruz on
West Cliff Drive.
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, California's
oldest amusement park (worth seeing: Giant Dipper from 1924), still
forms a basis for tourism as an important source of the city's economy.
In addition to the usual chain stores in the USA, there are a large number of shops in Santa Cruz that sell organic products. The numerous surf and sporting goods shops are also a trademark of the city.
The city is connected to the California Thruway System by
Highway 1 and Highway 17. The nearest international airport is in San
Jose and the nearest regional airport is in Watsonville. The Santa
Cruz-Gilroy railroad is closed. The city administration is planning to
expand the route for local public transport. A branch line operated by
tourist trains runs through the redwood forests of Henry Cowell Redwoods
State Park (♁37° 2′ 24.59″ N, 122° 3′ 46.64″ W) to the village of
Felton.
The port of Santa Cruz is only of tourist importance and
is a port of call for sailors from all over the world. The city operates
a small network of city bus routes connecting to neighboring cities and
to San Jose. The bus company Greyhound owns a bus station. The
inner-city road network is also designed to be very pedestrian and
bicycle-friendly. The city has an extensive network of bike lanes and
paths.