Californian Road Trip
I flew into San Francisco on one of the double-daily British Airways flights from London Heathrow and within an hour of landing I had passed through security, taken the transit train and was ready to collect my Alamo rental car.
I decided to head out of San Francisco and just an hour and a half from San Francisco airport, is the seaside town of Santa Cruz. The road into town is lined with motels and hotel chains, and then you hit the sea front. Turn left for the marina, and right for the beach and pier. Straight ahead is Santa Cruz Beach boardwalk, with all the thrills of a fun fair with an eye-catching vintage looking Big Dipper.
I stayed at the Paradox hotel, which is part of the Marriott Hotel family and is a great, quirky-looking 4-star hotel with a great pool area with fire pits and cool cabanas.
Later that evening I headed over to the harbour and had dinner at Johnny’s which is in a great spot overlooking the festively lit up boats. Johnny's serves a great selection of local and imported seafood.
The next morning, I headed over to the Boardwalk area to watch the early morning surfers and was delighted to find a large group of sea lions still snoozing under the pier! Breakfast at the Dolphin restaurant at the end of the pier was great with fabulous views.
Santa Cruz still has the feel of an underdeveloped seaside town, the old style fun fair makes it a great family location. In my opinion Santa Cruz is definitely worth considering either as a stopping point as part of a road trip from San Francisco down the coast or even as a stopping point for a few days to chill out and explore the seaside.
Please check out my other blogs to see where I went next!