Santa Cruz is located at the top of the Monterey Bay in Central California, and is a beach town with an approximate population of about 55,000 people. This number is dramatically increased in the summer months due to the many tourists who come for fun in the sun.

Keep Santa Cruz Local!

Santa Cruzians love their locals. The local vendors stay alive due to this fact - Santa Cruz rejects chainstores like a body's immune system will reject a new implanted body part. If you plan on opening a store in Santa Cruz, make sure you're a local.

Weather

The weather in Santa Cruz is not normal. The temperature doesn't go below 10^oC (50^oF) and doesn't exceed 26.6^oC (80^oF), except for in extreme circumstances.

In the summer, there will usually be fog in the morning until about 10am or 12 noon. The fog will then burn off and the day will be nice and sunny. Then in the late afternoon, between 5 and 7pm, the fog will come rolling back in. It doesn't burn off everyday, but it does the majority of the time.

The hottest months of the year are usually in the autumn (this is sometimes called an 'Indian Summer'). If everybody wasn't going back to school or working, everybody would want to go to Santa Cruz in the autumn because that is when it has the nicest weather.

Winter is usually like most other places, except for the fact that it very rarely snows. It does rain a lot, however. The last time it snowed was in 2001 and it was for about a quarter of a second - it didn't make it all the way to the ground before melting. The last significant snowfall was back in the 1970s, when three feet (about a metre) of snow fell on the beach. Anyway, it does rain. The rain doesn't act in the same way as it does everywhere else, but that you will have to experience that for yourself.

Last but not least, we come to spring. Spring's weather is just about the same as anywhere else.

Waterfront

As mentioned before, Santa Cruz is located right on the top of Monterey Bay. Due to its location on the bay, the waves and geography are great for many waterfront activities. Many tourists come to Santa Cruz purely to visit the ocean.

Beaches

Most people who go to visit Santa Cruz are mainly interested in the beach. What kind of Entry would this be if it didn't have a section on beaches?

• Main Beach - Probably the worst beach you could go to in Santa Cruz. It is located right in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It's always filled with the most 'touristy' tourists and there are often signs along the beach that say something along the lines of 'Don't swim here unless you want to grow an extra toe.' If you want to go to the beach, Main Beach is the wrong one to go to.

• Capitola Beach - The second-worst beach to go to. It's located in the Capitola Village. It's basically bad, for the same reasons as Main Beach. The water is a lot worse, but there are usually a few less tourists.

• Twin Lakes Beach - This is a good beach for bonfires. It is located just south of the harbour, just off Portola Road. During the day it is also a nice beach to hang out at. The waves are usually not too good for surfing, but sometimes you can get a good boogie board session here.

• Sunny Cove - A great beach for boogie-boarding during the day and excellent for bonfires at night. Usually all the beaches in Santa Cruz close at 10 or 11pm, but sometimes the rangers miss this beach, so you can spend more time there.

• Seabright Beach - Another great bonfire beach. This is the beach to go to for fireworks on 4th July - the place just lights up, even though fireworks are illegal in Santa Cruz.

• Seacliff Beach - This is located just south of Capitola. It is the beach with the infamous concrete ship. It floated at some point in time but is now permanently docked on a small wharf on Seacliff beach. No waves really, but it can be a nice beach to lie on.

Surfing Spots

These are the three most popular surfing spots in Santa Cruz:

• Cowell's - Located on the other side of the Wharf from Main beach, Cowell's is the 'nursery slope' of the surfing world. Everybody who starts surfing in Santa Cruz starts here. The waves are really easy to catch and there is a surf shop called Cowell's who offer lessons.

• Steamer's Lane - The most publicly known surf spot in Santa Cruz. It is where all the surfers from far and wide go to be seen. Someone who surfed there once said: When you get up on a wave there its like surfing on a stage... Everybody is watching you.

• Pleasure Point - The locals' little known secret. It is located at the other end of Portola Road from Twin Lakes. Mr O'Neil (the owner of the famous O'Neil's Surf Shop and inventor of the neoprene wetsuit) owns a house right on a cliff overlooking Pleasure Point. He has a staircase that leads to the ocean and a rock garden in his front yard.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The Boardwalk is the place for tourists to go. Locals never bother going to the Boardwalk, but that is usually because they have worked there at some point in their life - many high school students get their first job at the Boardwalk. Anyway, if you choose to go to the Boardwalk, you should know that the park is not a single admission. To get into the park is free, but you do have to pay for the rides individually. Just go to the ticket stands and you can find out all you need to know about how many tickets it takes for each ride and how much the tickets cost. Prices aren't included here because they do change quite often (usually about once every few years). You can find out here. Here is a list of things to do at the boardwalk:

• The Giant Dipper - The most classic of classic rollercoasters. This is the oldest rollercoaster at the Boardwalk. It is still fun, even after you've ridden on it several times. A camera that your picture and you can buy it just as you get off the ride. The camera is located on the second drop to the left, so remember to smile! If you go to the Boardwalk and miss this ride, you will regret it.

• The Hurricane - The other rollercoaster on the Boardwalk. This is a much more modern coaster, and the excitement level is much higher. There is one steep curve that always launches your stomach into your throat. It's not a must-ride, but it is still very fun.

• Logger's Revenge - Another great classic. You sit in a log and float around a 'river' for a few minutes, then you go down the giant slope and get totally soaked. For the most extreme effect, stick the heaviest person in front.

• Haunted House - The only good thing this ride is for is making out in. It's dark and has not-so-scary things in it. If you go on it alone, it is pretty boring.

• Bumper Cars - There are two rides with bumper cars. The one near the Hurricane won't allow you to bump into other people head on. You're supposed to go around in a circle, and it tries to simulate a race. The other bumper cars are on the complete opposite end of the Boardwalk in the pit, which is obvious once you're there. These are the ones where you can do as much head-on bumping as you like. The controls are also really fun on these ones.

• Arcade - It's a fairly decent arcade. The virtual rollercoaster should be avoided though - it looks cool from the outside, but it's not as fun as it looks. The laser tag arena is absolutely awesome. Just watch out for little kids in there; they often like to cheat. If you want to go for prizes, look for the game that has lights spinning around the edge. It is pretty easy to hit the jackpot. You just need to anticipate a little.

• Neptune's Kingdom - Mini-golf, mini-arcade, full-sized pool tables and air hockey tables...what more could you want? There used to be an air hockey table that was free. Only a few people knew about it, but eventually the management caught on and they got a new table in there. The mini-golf is pretty good - it has a pirate theme.

• Marini's - Arguably the greatest sweet shop on the face of the Earth. Marini's once had a customer come all the way from Australia just to get the salt-water taffy¹ that they made. Marini's also has awesome fudge.

Things to Do

Just a list of some activities or places to visit in Santa Cruz that hasn't already been mentioned:

• Mystery Spot - Warning: This is a tourist trap, however it's still worth a look. It is all optical illusions, but they do a rather good job with it.

• UCSC - Stands for University of California, Santa Cruz. It's one of the many branches of the California University System. The University of California System has branches in San Diego, Davis, Berkeley, San Francisco, Riverside, and many others. The University is on a hill, looking out over Santa Cruz. From Cowell College, you can see all of Santa Cruz, except when it is foggy. Then you look over the blanket of fog as if the University is floating above the clouds.

• Hike - There are many trails going through some magnificent scenery. Pogonip is a great trail just outside of UCSC.

• Bike - Santa Cruz welcomes cyclists happily - bikes are very well accepted. The only problem is that there are a lot of hills so it's not the easiest way across town.

• Downtown - Very nice place. Located mainly on Pacific Ave, it is where the homeless live and has many great shopping opportunities.

• Shop - Along with downtown, the Capitola Mall and Village are great places to shop.

• Boating - Santa Cruz has boats of all shapes and sizes. In the harbour you can rent a kayak, or get a ticket for the Chardonnay II, which is a nice sailboat. With the ride, you get a meal and often some wine. The best time to go is the sunset tour. Just remember to bring a jacket.

• Fishing - You don't have to have a licence to fish off of the wharf. Just make sure you have a sea fishing pole.

• Drive-in - The drive-in is great. It uses your car radio as the speaker by putting the soundtrack on an FM station. This is especially good because 1) you don't have to use a little speaker that makes the worst sound ever, and 2) you can have the volume at whatever level you want.

• Geocache - Geocaching is a fantastic way to explore any town. It's like hunting for buried treasure.

Restaurants

People generally have this habit of eating and some really enjoy it. Here are the best places to do this:

• Stagnero's - If you go to Santa Cruz, it is very important to try the seafood. If you have never been to a coastal city and eaten seafood, you don't know what seafood really tastes like. For a very nice seafood dinner, Stagnero's is the way to go. It is located at the end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. It can be a bit pricey, but is well worth it. This is can be a very romantic restaurant (sometimes the view of the sunset is fantastic) and it could also be somewhere nice to take your family to.

• The Crow's Nest - Located at the mouth of the harbour, the Crow's nest is another fine restaurant. During the food hours of operation it is a rather elegant place to dine. In the evening, it turns out to be one of the most rockin' places in town. The bar is said to be fantastic.

• Ristorante Italiano - If you like Italian food, Ristorante Italiano is the place to go. Very good food, again a little pricey. Don't take little kids with finicky tastes. Sometimes even the simple things can be kind of extravagant.

• Shadowbrook - Absolutely, positively the nicest restaurant in the Santa Cruz area. It is actually located not in Santa Cruz, but in Capitola, the town directly to the south. If you can find the place, it is worth it. It is a little pricey and the food is all right, but what you're really paying for is the atmosphere. It has a neat little elevator that goes up and down the hill, but do that part on the way back up from the restaurant. Instead you can walk down through the really nice garden they have. This is a shirt and tie kind of place. It's not mandatory, but you would look like a fool if you didn't even wear a nice shirt.

• Zelda's - Another good restaurant in Capitola is Zelda's. Also, it is another seafood restaurant. This one is marginally priced and is a restaurant where you could go for dinner no matter what the occasion. They often have great deals on lobster in the middle of the week.

• Pizza my Heart - Arguably the best pizza on the face of the earth, or at least in Santa Cruz. It is can be found in Capitola (right next to Zelda's) and also in Downtown Santa Cruz. The prices are really good. For $8 you could buy a T-shirt and get a slice of pizza.

• Little Shanghai – It's just about the greatest Chinese food around. The best time to go here is lunchtime. You get a lot of food very cheaply. Their hot and sour soup is the greatest. It's located downtown on the corner of Cedar and Locust.

• Carpo's - One of the great sandwich-type places. They have a couple other things on the menu as well, but they are mostly known for their sandwiches. Nothing too fancy here, but decently priced.

• Emily's - The best bakery ever. They have good sandwiches as well. Their pastries are to die for. Prices are very low. You can even eat here on the college budget. Although getting your coffee here is not the greatest idea.

• Coffeetopia - This is the place to get your coffee. There is one located just down the street from Emily's and there's another one located in Capitola. Yes, it's better than Starbucks.

• Jalapenos - Very good burrito place, with very good prices. Located at the end of Downtown Santa Cruz.