One night stay in Santa Cruz (with kid)
 

Hi!
I was wondering if you could recommend a decent hotel in the range of $100-$150 for a nights trip to Santa Cruz. We'll be there with our 1 year old daughter.

Also, if we have almost a day there, what are somethings you would recommend? Walk along the boardwalk? Anything else we can do with the daughter (she'll be in her stroller or holds our hands and walks)

Thanks!

Hi

Can anyone advice please?

Thanks!

I can't help with hotels - I live too close - but why are you going? Why did you choose Santa Cruz? To me, Santa Cruz is for the boardwalk/beach/rides, or for hiking, and some poking around downtown. None of those seems particularly suitable for a 1-year old, but I'm sure you have your reasons.

Its just a getaway for us from the daily rut. I'll be finishing up a final on Saturday (in the south bay) and so we wanted to take a night off and on Sunday do some walking with the kid (max 1-2 hours hike), get a leisurely lunch and drive back around 4:30-5 pm in the evening.

I like the Hampton Inn, free breakfast and very clean. Don't know what the price would be for a weekend night but it;'s usually $100-$150.
The boardwalk does seem kinda funky for a 1 year 0old - mostly it's rides and crappy food.

I'd probably recommend Carmel/Pacific Grove for a relaxing overnighter instead of Santa Cruz. Great restaurant choices, quaint towns, lovely walking along the water, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, quaint which you'd all enjoy, and lots of hotel choices.

You might want to consider the Roaring Camp Railroad. Here's a link: http://www.roaringcamp.com/. You can catch the train down by the boardwalk and take it up to the mountains above Santa Cruz. Or you can drive up to Felton and catch the train up there and go further up into the mountains. There is also a lovely redwood grove right next to the Felton location, which will be cooler and less hectic than Santa Cruz itself.

Has anyone stayed at or is familiar with Mission Inn in Santa Cruz? SO and his son are going up tomorrow night to check out UCSC. It got a great rating from Trip Advisor.

Thanks!

Most of the hotels are fine -- basic beach town style and laid back. I personally like the Surf & Sand because of the location and it has a funky personality with great views of the bay just outside. But for a one year old, I'd be holding that hand pretty tight.

I second Roaring Camp Railroad unless your daughter cannot stand loud noises. Sometimes the whistle on the steam engine can frighten the really young -- although my son had those issues, and just put his hands over his ears and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

I also like the beach area on the other side of the boardwalk -- the waves aren't huge right there, and the sand is nice, so she'll like that. I personally love the amusement park and the junk food -- I'm especially a sucker for the dippin dots! A stroll along the pier is fun, and even a walk down Pacific Street, stopping in the Santa Cruz bookstore and the little indoor/outdoor restaurant "Chocolate" for a light meal.

@ cat111719 -- Mission Inn is fine, but located on busy Hwy 1. But just a few blocks from Bay Street, which is the street you drive up to UCSB. Don't forget to tell your SO that at the bottom of the UCSB entrance is a place where they need to stop to get a parking pass. They will need it. The campus is very spread out and they'll want to drive and park, drive and park, especially if they want to see some of the further out dorms.

Thanks, surfer. They got back last night and loved it. Looks like UCSC has one more enrollee!

Fwiw, SO thought Mission Inn was great. I'm sure over the next few years we will become quite knowledgeable about Santa Cruz hotels!

We stayed at the Seaway inn, It's very clean and within easy walking distance to the beach and boardwalk. They have afternoon cookies and breakfast is included.

http://www.seawayinn.com/

I can't believe I called it UCSB -- my head was wound too tight! Yeah, 2 of my friends have kids currently attending Santa Cruz and love it. We did 3 separate tours, my son loved that UC so much, two before and one after he got in. It was his second choice after Berkeley, which is where he ended up. But I still have all the UC Santa Cruz stuff, wear the sweatshirt and drink out of the mug.