Santa Cruz · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
A surf town with a student population and a boardwalk that charges nothing to walk into.
Beach Hill
The hostel occupies a cluster of restored cottages on Beach Hill, a block from Cowell Beach and five minutes from the boardwalk and the wharf.
What a day costs
Bed 40–65 USD, food 15–35 with taquerias on the low end, and a Metro day pass at around 6 for the whole county.
Getting around cheap
Santa Cruz Metro sells a county-wide day pass, and the Highway 17 Express runs over the hill to San Jose and Caltrain for about 7. West Cliff is a cycle path.
Free by day
The boardwalk is free to enter, West Cliff Drive runs three miles above the surf breaks, and the monarch grove at Natural Bridges fills from October to February.
Where travellers meet
Pacific Avenue downtown for bars and buskers, plus free concerts on the boardwalk beach on Friday evenings through the summer.