Outdoor activities in Santa Cruz

THE 5 BEST Santa Cruz Outdoor Activities

Outdoor Activities in Santa Cruz

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    Tours, activities and experiences bookable on Tripadvisor, ranked according to revenue made by Tripadvisor on those bookings, plus the number of page views by Tripadvisor users, and the quantity and quality of reviews
Outdoor Activities
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$0 - $500 +
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E-Bike Tours
2–3 hours
Free cancellation
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Recommended by 98% of travelers
This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher
from
$75.00
per adult
Spring Break
6+ hours
Free cancellation
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Recommended by 91% of travelers
This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher
from
$179.00
per adult

What travelers are saying

  • Craig C
    4 contributions
    We are a family from Sydney Australia and had an amazing time with Pep our tour guide.

    Pep is a fantastic guide and full of local knowledge. We were able to spend extra time at Santa Cruz, Monterey and Pebble Beach. To be honest we could have spend a week seeing this beautiful part of the US.

    I highly recommend contacting Pep and going on a private tour instead of a large bus group. The flexibility was appreciated and we all had a great time.

    We would love to see the places again
    Review of: Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur Private Day Trip from San Francisco
    Written June 3, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Suyan G
    1 contribution
    My God, this is a perfect journey. The tour guide from downtown San Francisco is Ryan, and the tourist train arrives at Red Shirt Park in an hour. After an hour of train travel, I saw that the redwood trees all over the mountains are more than a thousand years old. This tour guide told me that the next two beaches were perfect. We had lunch at the first beach. There was an abalone factory in the middle. We didn't know what it was. The tour guide said it was to experience the life of fishermen. , the tour guide said that it is a place with a history of 140 years. I saw a colorful hotel here with a few friends. It is really great. It is recommended that you take a look! The tour guide is very good and caring. I also asked him about other itineraries of their company. I will definitely participate. It's a perfect journey. Thank you Ryan
    Review of: BEST Redwood Forest Steam Train, Santa Cruz Harbor Day Trip from San Francisco
    Written October 27, 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Anne C
    Lansing, MI90 contributions
    This wildlife tour was a fantastic adventure for our family of 3. James is a very knowledgeable and experienced captain, who treated us like family. He was very flexible with our trip, contacting us the morning of our scheduled tour, and postponing so he could take us out on the best weather day. We found Risso and white-sided dolphins, and a number of humpback whales, as well as sealions and various birds.

    Everything about this trip was top-notch, and highly recommended! We will be taking this tour again when we are out in California.
    Review of: Wildlife Encounters on Monterey Bay private and semi-private tour
    Written May 15, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Alilu007
    Menlo Park, CA314 contributions
    Our company team had a great time in the Santa Cruz mountains at the one-day Survival Skills workshop. We had a group of ten, which was a great size for a private class. We participated in a wide variety of activities with different sized teams so that everyone on our team could interact with everyone else.

    Cliff was an awesome instructor. Coordinating logistics and booking was very easy. They even handled the boxed sandwich lunches (vegetarian options available) and got them delivered from a local restaurant for a reasonable add-on price.

    Would highly recommend for a fun team bonding / family reunion activity idea.
    Review of: Introduction to Wilderness Survival Clinic in Santa Cruz
    Written June 12, 2018
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions about Santa Cruz










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Forum posts were selected by looking for forum titles asking specific questions and taking the top showtopic page by total pageviews as the optimal topic.
So I havent seen this post recently. Debating the merits of staying in Santa Cruz vs Capitola.

We are are a sports team of 15- 16 yr old boys traveling from Orange County ,ca to the area in end of July. Games can range from being in Sc, Aptos, cabrillo and San Lorenzo. We will be in the area for four days with some down time in the evenings.

Hotels are expensive in both areas. Looking into the Fairfield inn in Capitola (rates ave ~$300 but with breakfast & bocci ball court) with some of chain restaurants like chipotle & mall nearby.

The other option to to get a hotel in SC possibly Hotel Paradox in the higher end (~$330 but no breakfast) or Holiday Inn or Hyatt place same price as FI.

Pls lmk your thoughts of what would be a better city SC or C?

Would like a hotel where parents & kids have a nice common area to congregate during down time.

Also would like to have the boys have access to fun things to do during down time & have access to good food options since 16 yrs old boys playing sports are always hungry.

Will the team with 30+ people be frustrated trying to get into a non chain restaurant in Sc?

Hotel P is off the beaten path & expensive but has nicer facilities like pool area with nice lounge area. Is the hotel worth the extra $?

Any appreciate suggestions on the hotel I mentioned or any others that I have may have overlooked.

Thank you for your advice.
Answer: There is not much for boys that age in Capitola. Its core is a small village with boutique shopping. The hotel itself is on busy 41st Avenue, not very near the village. The mall you speak of is considering going out of business and turning into something else. It has a couple of semi-fast food restaurants. It is not something the boys could walk to from the Fairfield Inn, or has anything of interest to them, IMO.

The Holiday Inn Express in Santa Cruz is not near anything for the boys except Denny's :~). It is on Ocean Street as you come into the town. The Paradox is a new remake of a Holiday Inn and it screams 'businessmen'. It is also on Ocean Avenue, but further down and just across San Lorenzo Park (about two or three blocks) from the main street of town, Pacific Avenue, with lots of restaurants of various kinds, two movie theaters, ice cream parlors, a cookie company, pizza, etc.

Have you looked into the Dream Inn? This is of the same quality as, or better than, the others but near the Wharf and a block from the Boardwalk, an old fashioned historic amusement park with no admission charge.

The hotel has a pool and faces a beach. Surfing lessons happen there. There are volleyball nets set up on part of the beach near the Boardwalk. During the summer there are free movies and concerts and aerial acts at various times on the main beach there. Of your choices, I really think this is the best. It is not inexpensive, but I think it might be in the same ballpark as the Paradox. The boys *could* walk to Pacific Avenue from here, but it is about 8 or 9 blocks to the main area .

The Hyatt is new and I know nothing about it except its location. It is on the west side and not really convenient to activities for the boys.

I am going to give you a link to a traveler article on Santa Cruz. Trip Advisor has stopped supporting these, so there is a disclaimer that the information may be outdated. The information in this article is not outdated. I will be re-writing it to put in my own files.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g33048-c133677/Santa-Cruz:California:Santa.Cruz.Sights.And.Activities.html

Good luck and let me know if I can be of help....

Edit. The Paradox is not in a "shady area of town". Yes, homeless people do hang out in San Lorenzo Park, but there is no reason for the boys to go there. If you should pick that hotel they can walk on city streets, quite safely, to get to Pacific Avenue...
Note that forum content are individual perspectives of forum posters and not the opinion of Tripadvisor

Santa Cruz: Outdoor Recreation Information

Outdoor Activities6
Outdoor Activities Prices From$139
Outdoor Activities Reviews13
Outdoor Activities Photos78