With the surf, boardwalk and redwood forests all packed into 15 square miles, Santa Cruz is the perfect place for a family getaway. Accommodating to kids, these hotels are the top choices for a vacation with the whole family.
Sometimes visitors forget about Santa Cruz’s Eastside if they ever even find out about it at all. This small, affordable motel in Live Oak is away from the hustle and bustle but surrounded by charming local restaurants, quiet beaches and stunning lagoons. Breakfast comes from tasty Gayle’s Bakery just down the road in Capitola.
Just steps from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the Carousel Beach Inn is a newly remodeled boutique property with discount Boardwalk ride packages available. Their fun new remodel includes fresh furniture, stylish bedding, new flooring, updated bathrooms, 42-inch TVs, and new air conditioning units.
Within walking distance of the Santa Cruz Wharf, Boardwalk and Main Beach, this Comfort Inn has quiet, private rooms. The ones on the second floor have calming views of sunsets.
Sometimes after a long day of traveling, the last thing you want to do is meander around Santa Cruz’s confusing streets. For all its strengths, the beach town is about as grid-like as a bowl of spaghetti. This Hampton, which gets high marks for good service, is located on one of the town’s main drags just off the exit from the freeway.
Located on the quiet Westside of town, the affordable Mission Inn has lots of tasty restaurants with flavors from around the world within walking distance. And some of the more beautiful drives in California aren’t much farther.
The perfect place for who never want to grow up, this one-story motel is named after everyone’s favorite flying fantasy character. Seriously, what more could you want from a motel mascot? This motel is one block from the San Lorenzo River and just a three-minute walk from the Boardwalk. It’ll be faster if you fly of course.
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