Santa Cruz is a unique beach city that feels like a town because of its neighborhoods that wind around the coast. Tucked away down dead end streets are few of Santa Cruz, great beaches where surfing and surfers love the look and feel of the sand, coves, waves and great location in the environmentally-significant Monterey Bay. Santa Cruz is home to surfers, college students, thinkers and those who left Silicon Valley over the mountains in San Jose for a different lifestyle at the beach. Located south of San Francisco, Santa Cruz enjoys a beautiful entertainment wharf /pier with lots of dining, great fishing and awesome views of the redwood trees of the nearby state redwood parks. What's special about Santa Cruz is the Santa Cruz Board Walk, an old-fashioned amusement from days gone by. Roller Coaster rides, food shops, game booths and even a beach train ride on an authentic steam train from the Big Trees Roaring Camp Railroad make this city a vacationer's paradise. As far as beach destinations go, you cannot go wrong taking a family vacation with your kids, parents, spouse or by yourself to Santa Cruz. Some beautiful nearby beaches include Capitola and for the Hilton crowd, there's a stately Hilton hotel in Scotts Valley near the Felton beach train station. When you plan your Santa Cruz beach vacation, definitely take your camera. The scenic views, incredible blue skies and large variety of events and cast of characters that include a new crop of college students each year make Santa Cruz  a diverse, colorful and interesting place to explore. There are over 25 hotels with instant online reservations systems to compare. Santa Cruz is well worth a visit with so many great attractions and merits but is also a recommended stop on your road journey if you are visiting San Francisco. There's a transportation system that carries folks daily between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. While it is used primarily during commuter hours, there's nothing preventing you from enjoying the public buses and trains if you are so inclined. While Santa Cruz is somewhat of a trip back in time to a the authentic California beach town, it contains enough infusion of students and businesses to make it also a very modern-thinking destination you'll certainly enjoy. The biggest problem with visiting Santa Cruz is you may want to pack up and move to this lovely beach town.