Located along the Central Coast, Santa Cruz County is approximately 70 miles/113 km south of San Francisco. Santa Cruz County’s small-town charm and idyllic beach communities of Soquel, Aptos, and Capitola offer the quintessential California vacation. For more details, visit www.santacruz.org.

Here is a map of our favorite places in the area and the wedding event locations: Laura & Peter's Santa Cruz County Wedding Map.

Here are the most important locations for you to know - the welcome party and wedding venue!

Welcome party:

Humble Sea Brewing Co.

820 Swift St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Note: Humble Sea has two locations in Santa Cruz

Wedding venue:

Home Soquel

3101 N Main St, Soquel, CA 95073

For reference, these two venues are 7 miles apart.

We recommend staying on the eastside of Santa Cruz County in the beach communities of Aptos, Capitola or Soquel. These areas are close together and they are the most convenient for getting to the wedding venue, especially considering afternoon traffic patterns.

Click here to view hotels near our wedding venue with specially negotiated group rates.

Seascape Resort is a great place to stay in Aptos, and some family have already booked rooms here. There are also good Airbnb options in this area. We will be staying in an Airbnb in Aptos close to Rio del Mar beach.

Santa Cruz County is accessible by car via Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz Mountains, or via California’s scenic Highway 1. The nearest major airport is San Jose Mineta International Airport, 30 miles/48 km northeast of Santa Cruz. San Francisco International Airport is approximately 60 miles/96 km north of Santa Cruz, and Oakland International Airport is approximately 65 miles/104 km north of Santa Cruz.

If you prefer to not rent a car, we recommend taking a shuttle service from the airport to Santa Cruz County. Ubers are readily available all over the Bay Area and in Santa Cruz County.

Here is an airport shuttle service as listed on santacruz.org:

Early Bird Airport Shuttle

4525 Portola Drive, Santa Cruz

Phone: 831.462.3933

Fax: 831.462.6946

www.earlybirdairportshuttle.com

Private door-to-door airport transportation. Exclusive, reliable, professional and safe. Operates 24 hours a day. Internet Wi-fi. Open daily for reservations, 9am – 6pm

Please let us know if you need any additional recommendations!

If you are planning to extend your trip, here is some inspiration for other places to visit along the Pacific Coast Highway.