"What would you like for Christmas?". "I want you to find a person who we can spend all day in the…read morewoods with and they'll have answers for all the questions." Amazingly enough, this person exists in our own backyard. Christian has passion, knows his stuff, and as a result is an incredible teacher, a cool hang, and propagates a love for nature. I specifically wanted to level up my knowledge of mushrooms, but also hoped to gain a new understanding of plants and birds on the California coast. It was a deluge of info, and explained in a way that sticks. If you love the outdoors and want to spend time with someone who really gets it and has a contagious reverence for it, spend some time with Christian.

Redwood Coast Tours is a fantastic company and I was amazed by the mushroom tour we took with them…read morein Big Basin near Santa Cruz. Our expert guide, Christian, helped us find a multitude of different mushrooms as we meandered thru the Redwood forest. He filled our brains with practically a text book of information about mycology including mycorrhizal fungi. I highly and enthusiastically recommend Redwood Coast Tours for your educational tour on mushrooms!!

Had a great time deep sea fishing on the 7 hour adventure leaving from Santa Cruz on Stagnaro's…read more Came with the scout troop and the staff helped for any snags, and the captain kept putting us on the fish. We all caught our limit, and really enjoyed the day. The staff also were able to clean and fillet our fish on the way back to shore to make it easier on us. Will definitely do it again.

Mind blown. No words. Amazing time with the most knowledgeable naturalists and a Captain who…read moreknows her stuff! Truly an experience I'll never forget.

We had a great time celebrating our anniversary with a sidecar wine tour. Michael showed us a fun…read moretime, and was an all around good dude to hangout with for a couple of hours. Highly recommended for a unique experience along the coast!

Can't go wrong with a scenic tour through Apple and olive orchards, in addition to Vineyards. We…read morepassed through redwood trees, saw incredible valley views, and the picnic was amazing.

This was my first time experiencing the Walk & Sip in Capitola and let me be the first to tell you,…read moreI will be going every year from this point forward. I had the absolute best time, met some really great people, drank some outstanding wine, and enjoyed every single store I went into that participated in the event. The event was very well done, super organized, and there was a ton of selection, which was very impressive. Only two places had something other than wine, that being three different kinds of beer then another place had two different kinds of cider. And yes, I tried all the beer, all the cider and as much wine as I could get my hands on! They had so many vendors that it was literally impossible to make it to all of them in the time frame given for the event. I found it really creative and super helpful that they pinned an orange balloon outside of every single art gallery or store that was participating in the event so we could determine which place to go next by simply by standing on the street. I also loved the commemorative stemless wine glass they gave out with each ticket purchase. The weather was beautiful, the wines were delicious (oh! And some stores even had snacks for us to enjoy, which was a very thoughtful touch). What a fantastic way to spend a Saturday! I absolutely loved it and will be back next year for sure :) 5 Stars ALL THE WAY.

We had a great time at our first sip and stroll in Capitola. The weather was perfect for it. We got…read moreto see some of the cool shops in the area, even picked up a few souvineers. There was a wide variety of wineries and types of wine being served as well as some fun snacks.

Do not miss the John Steinbeck House and Restaurant on your trip to the Central Valley. The food is…read moredelicious and the Volunteer Host staff will treat you like you're their best friend. We learned so much about John Steinbeck, his family and the house. Stop by the gift shop for 1st Editions of his novels. What a lovely experience!

We had such a lovely time at the Steinbeck House Mother's Day Tea. The service was exceptional, and…read moreknowing that the staff are all volunteers made the experience even more special. Everyone was so warm, attentive, and welcoming. The food and tea were absolutely excellent -- beautifully prepared and delicious. And of course, the house itself is charming, with gorgeous table settings that made the afternoon feel elegant and memorable. Everything was done with such care and attention to detail. A wonderful way to celebrate Mother's Day!

Renting Betty Jane, driven by the awesome Annie, for my "Foxy Forty" birthday celebration was the…read morebest decision I could have made! I wanted to do something special and super fun without having to host something myself, and this was perfect! Annie was incredibly helpful and friendly every step of the way. She took care of all my people, making sure they got the drinks they wanted. She even switched up our brewery locations mid-tour when we realized how many of my guests preferred cider to beer. Best birthday ever, thanks Annie!!

Yes! This is a great day to spend the day with friends. If you love beer and even if you have…read morealready been to all the breweries on the cruz this is just plain fun. You get 20% off beers at all the stops so you can try them all! I went with samplers at every stop and most of the places had food offerings as well. We took the public tour on "Slowboy", a 64 VW Split window bus. Neither built for comfort or speed but rather style and that it has plenty of. Being public you sgare tge bus with others that also signed up online up to 8 people. Chris our driver was a local with lots of knowledge about the stops and luckily could drive the manual transmission... There is also a larger school bus available for rent that can be booked privately with a minimum of 8 folks. This tour costs more but I believe they actually pick you up at your house which would be nice. The public tour starts and ends at the Dream Inn so you have to drive home from there... (pro tip: show up early and start with bloody Mary's at the Jack O'Neill lounge) One gripe is the tour promised to meet the brewers at each stop but that never happened. There was the opportunity to take a brewhouse tour at discretion but it was offered to us just as we got our food and beer and sat down to enjoy them. The timing sucked as I would have really enjoyed that. Local or not, this is a good time for sure and I will do it again soon. Book your tour today online!

We planned to kayak in the Harbor today, and we were planning to go to the Sup Shack, where we had…read morerented kayaks last summer. Sup Shack was unexpectedly closed (hours and webpage said they were open, the number listed didn't connect, and there was no note). The Hostess at Crow's Nest recommended Kayak Connection! It turned out to be a phenomenal experience! Milan (sp?) talked us through everything, made sure we all had well-fitted life vests, and the office recognized my step-daughter's 16th birthday with a free Santa Cruz sticker. It's true that the construction impedes the experience to an extent- Milan had to call the foreman to have us escorted through, but they did so promptly ensuring minimal disruption of our experience. We got assistance boarding, and we were especially impressed with Milan's patience with my step-daughter, who has Down Syndrome and needed some extra help. He was super patient and kind! We really appreciated that, unlike with Sup Shack, we were given "free rein" during our hour outing, except for needing to follow common sense safety rules. As soon as we were done, we called the number on the kayak paddles, and Milan was down in a jiffy to assist us back. We saw a seal, quite a few crab, many birds, and friendly boaters. We felt the price of $65 for an hour per double kayak (including life vests, paddles, the kayak, and assistance) was a very fair value. Highly recommend this exceptional and reliable business for your next outing!

Kayak Connections in Santa Cruz was amazing. Reece and Anna were incredibly nice, helpful, and…read morewelcoming from start to finish. They explained everything clearly, were very informative about safety and the area, and made the whole rental process super easy and stress free. Their kindness and great attitude made the experience even better. I would definitely come back and highly recommend them!