A 3-Day-Itinerary of Santa Cruz

22 in Santa Cruz!

For my 22nd birthday, we headed to Santa Cruz for a fun filled weekend with gorgeous views and amazing food! If you have a weekend to spend in Santa Cruz here is our 3 day Itinerary with links to picture spots, hidden stops, restaurants, and our resort!

3PM: We were heading to Santa Cruz from San Francisco, so we started off our day by stopping at the Memorial Church at Stanford University which is about a 50 minute drive from Santa Cruz. The architecture at this church was gorgeous. Unfortunately it was closed for guests to come inside due to COVID-19 restrictions, but there was still excellent photo opportunities! We took photos in three locations around the church, in the outdoor arched hallways, in front of a side entrance door, and (my personal favorite) the garden! Scroll through to see the shots we got!

4:30:

Our next stop was near Davenport for the most gorgeous Coastal walk from Davenport to Panther Beach. You will want to take pictures of every inch along this 2 mile walk! This railroad ran along the side of the walking trails and makes for excellent photos.

5:00PM:

There are several areas to stop for picnics along the Coastal Walk, but we stopped at Bonney Doon Beach, and we were not disappointed in the slightest!

On our way to the beach we stopped at The Flower Shack and they had gorgeous bouquet's, as shown below, and they have the sweetest florist. I definitely recommend them if you need some florals for your photoshoots! My color palette for this shoot consisted of different blush tones and the red in the tulips added the perfect pop of vibrance that I was lacking. These were the photos that I had planned for my actual birthday post so there are quite a few, but this location was absolutely priceless!

8:00pm: CHECK IN.

We stayed at The Chaminade Resort in Santa Cruz. The resort sits on 300 acres overlooking the bay and it is gorgeous! The lobby, restaurant, and lounging areas have been newly renovated and the mission style of the resort was uniquely beautiful! The resort and spa could keep you relaxed and busy for the whole weekend if you're looking for a relaxing weekend. There are also several trails on the resort that include gorgeous views of the forest while overlooking the bay. We spent the rest of our evening relaxing in the hot tub and making friends with other guests! Below are all the photos of the resort!

10:00AM:

We started off our slow morning with coffee at The Verve Coffee Roasters. Their coffee was hands-down AMAZING! They have unique coffee and tea flavors that you wouldn't find anywhere else, H's favorite was the Iced jamaica Cascara which was made of hibiscus flowers! Also, this location had a great wood wall that was perfect for a backdrop for coffee photos.

11:00AM:

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, it was filled with rides, food and of course, gorgeous coast views!

4:00PM: After a fun afternoon on the boardwalk and relaxing on the beach, we headed to the Santa Cruz Wharf which is the longest pier along the West Coast. It is known for fishing, shopping, and delicious seafood restaurants! We perused the shops down the pier and at the end was the most unexpected surprise, Sea Lions, hundreds of them! There are square cut outs at the end of the pier where people gather around to watch the Sea Lions underneath and boy they love to try to talk to you... they are very vocal! ;)

My favorite was being able to watch the babies, they were so stinking cute!

6:30PM:

We had walked up and down the Wharf peaking at the different restaurants menus and atmospheres until we found one that we had to try! We ate at Makai Island Kitchen, had their poké bowls, and they were so fresh! (They were definitely large enough to share for two, if you want a light dinner).

10:00AM

It was our last day in Santa Cruz, so we took the morning slow. We ate Brunch at the Chaminade Restaurant and the views were spectacular! We recommend the Eggs Benedict!

1:00PM:

After checking out of our resort, we drove about 15 minutes to the Mystery Spot and took an hour tour through an attraction that... you honestly have to see for your own eyes! At the center of the Mystery Spot, gravity pulls at a 17 degree angle, so while you're standing up straight and planted, you are actually leaning at a 17 degree tilt. Your perceptions of the laws of physics and gravity will be questioned if you visit this gravitational anomaly! After our tour we explored the area, they have a few different hiking trails right off the parking lot that are scattered with huge redwoods, (which we were wanting to see) so this stop knocked two things off our list!

5:00PM:

We headed back to the Coastal Walk that we visited on Day 1 to catch the sunset at Shark Fin Cove! It clearly got its name by the large rock in the center of the cove that is shaped like a shark fin! This spot was gorgeous!

7:00PM:

We set up a little picnic and watched as the sky displayed it's magically sunset show of colors before heading home. We took so many photos at this spot because the lighting was priceless!

This trip was packed full with great locations and picture spots, and yet it still was a relaxing, romantic getaway! If you stop at any of these spots, we would love to see your photos, email them to us on the collaboration page! :)