
Beaches, eats & places to stay in Santa Cruz
4,079 places in Santa Cruz: 536 places to eat and drink, 383 shops, 502 things to do and 103 places to stay. Local spots first, with directions to every one.
What kind of places does Santa Cruz have?
Read from every listing. The page puts what stands out first.
Where Santa Cruz gathers
804 of Santa Cruz’s 4,079 places sit within a five-minute walk of Pacific Ave.
502 things to do
216 parks & outdoors, 115 fitness & sports, 112 arts & culture. Local spots first.
German Cultural Center Santa Cruz - German American Hall
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center
hilltop apartments
Hidden Creek Apartments
Baywood At Northshore
Oceanview Apartments
536 places to eat & drink
334 restaurants, 99 cafés & treats, 80 bars & breweries. Local spots first.
383 shops
72 gifts & boutiques, 60 outdoor gear, 51 clothing. Local spots first.
103 places to stay
94 hotels & inns, 9 camping & rentals. Local spots first.
Cypress Vacation Homes
Beach Vacation Rentals Santa Cruz
Surfside Apartments Vacation Rentals
2,097 errands & services
Groceries, gas, the barber, the vet, the bank.
458 schools, churches & public places
Where Santa Cruz learns, worships and gets things done.
Talk & tips
Favorites, openings and closings from Santa Cruz neighbors.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Some place details from Overture Maps (CDLA-Permissive-2.0), checked against the Census town line. Places added by neighbors go live once a second neighbor confirms them. Spot a mistake? Open the place and tap Edit mode.
How we sort and count
Each list puts neighbor favorites first (ratings and photos), then the most complete listings (a website, a phone number, a note), with local, independent spots ahead of national chains. Categories come from each place’s map category, so a café filed under “Shops” still shows up with the cafés. “A five-minute walk” is a quarter mile from the busiest spot on the map. Per-1,000 figures use the Census population.