Santa Cruz Travel Guide

77 miles SE of San Francisco

For a small bayside city, Santa Cruz has a lot to offer. The main show, of course, is the Beach Boardwalk, which attracts millions of visitors each year. But past the arcades and cotton candy is a surprisingly diverse and energetic city with a little something for everyone: Shopping, hiking, mountain biking, sailing, fishing, kayaking, surfing, wine tasting, golfing, whale-watching -- the list of things to do here is almost endless, making Santa Cruz one of the premier family destinations on the California coast.

7 Money Saving Tips for Santa Cruz Tourists

• On Friday nights in summer, head to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Beach Bandstand for free concerts with live music from the '60s, '70s, and '80s -- Greg Kihn, Eddie Money, The Fixx, Survivor -- at 6:30 and 8:30pm.

• On Mondays and Tuesdays after 5pm in summer, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk holds 1907 Nights, celebrating the year it opened by reducing prices to 65? a ride (that's $2.50 off). Hot dogs, sodas, and cotton candy are also just 65?. The special typically runs from late June to the end of August.

• Great Mexican food at cheap prices is served daily from 10am to 9pm at the Las Palmas Taco Bar at 55 Front St. near the wharf (tel. 831/429-1220). This grimy little corner cafe has been a local's favorite since 1955. You can smell the frijoles frying from the beach. Get a couple of beef tongue soft tacos brimming with pico de gallo and salsa verde.

• To skip the entrance fee to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, drive 1 1/2 miles south of the main entrance on Calif. 9 to the Ox Road parking lot. Park for free, then follow the trail into the park, which takes you past a popular swimming hole called the Garden of Eden.

• A far better walk than the boardwalk is along the 2-mile ocean-side paved path on West Cliff Drive (west of the wharf). The scenery is spectacular, particularly at sunset, and it won't cost a cent.

• Carmelita Cottages, 321 Main St. (tel. 831/423-8304; www.hi-santacruz.org), is a hostel in Santa Cruz that will rent you a bunk bed for $21. The gaggle of white-washed Victorian cottages is a few blocks north of the Boardwalk, in a quiet, residential neighborhood. The hostel also reserves a few rooms for couples and families. (It's not exactly Romance Central, but for $52 a night for your own room at such a prime location, it's hard to complain.)

• Don't pay to park in downtown Santa Cruz. Along Cedar and Front streets are three parking garages and 13 surface lots that offer 3 hours of free parking.