You don’t have to be a surfer to enjoy all the beauty and relaxation of Santa Cruz. Seeing just one picture of the golden sand beaches and blue waters of the California paradise is more than enough to have you packing your bags and ready to hop on the next flight to the west coast!
With a unique culture found on its boardwalk, a history still preserved in its museums and amusement parks, and a beach which will have you never wanting to get up from under your parasail, this is one surf town which you could see yourself moving into for good!
The beaches alone will have you dreaming of laying out on the coast, but once you see what hostels are available in Santa Cruz, you may begin to get some second thoughts. With little to no hostels in the city and guesthouses costing an arm and a leg, is this tropical oasis not a backpacker-friendly destination?
Don’t strike Santa Cruz from your itinerary just yet. We put together this list of all the best hostels in Santa Cruz California so you can book with confidence that you will be staying in only the best of what this beach town has to offer!
Slip-on your flip-flops and get ready to hit the beach! You Santa Cruz adventure is just a few clicks away!
The Best Hostels in Santa Cruz
Wax your surfboards and let’s take a dive into our list of all the top hostels in Santa Cruz! Each one of these stays is a little different from the last, so keep your eyes open for that one hostel or guesthouse that best fits how you like to travel!
Best Overall Hostel in Santa Cruz- HI-Santa Cruz Hostel
- $$
- Shared Kitchen
- Lounge
- Garden
As one of the only backpacker’s hostels in Santa Cruz, HI Santa Cruz Hostel packs quite a punch for everything they offer! You will not be staying in a basic concrete building at this hostel, but rather in a renovated victorian style house! With its lush garden and bright lounges, you can not help but feel right at home at HI Santa Cruz! Backpacking through America is not cheap, but one of the best ways to save money is by cooking for yourself at the onsite kitchen! Putting you just a few steps away from the Beach Boardwalk, you could not ask for a better place to call home in Santa Cruz!
HI-Santa Cruz Hostel is one of our favourites in Santa Cruz but they’re not taking guests right now. We’re not sure if they’re closed for good but we hope they’ll come back soon.
Best Hostel for Solo Travelers in Santa Cruz – Sharon’s BnB
- $$$
- Great Views
- Terrace
- Kitchen
Although you won’t exactly get a hostel’s level of social interaction at this Bed and Breakfast, all the guests staying at this luxury yet budget-friendly mountain home will find ample room to kick back and relax on the outdoor terrace and spacious living room! With views looking out over the Santa Cruz Mountains and the ocean in the distance, this BnB makes for the perfect stay for those wanting to live in peace and quiet and soak in all of the beauty of California! Complete with a kitchen, cozy rooms, and homey vibes, this is one BnB that you will never want to check out of!
Sharon’s BnB is one of our favourites in Santa Cruz but they’re not taking guests right now. We’re not sure if they’re closed for good but we hope they’ll come back soon.
Best Cheap Hostel in Santa Cruz – Ed’s BnB
- $$
- Located in Felton
- Breakfast
- Lounge
Finding the cheapest hostel in Santa Cruz is not easy, lucky for you Ed’s BnB will not only have you getting a budget private room for the same price as a dorm room, but you will also be staying in a home nestled right into the Santa Cruz Mountains! With redwood trees, great views of the city, and tons of hiking trails, you won’t have to wander too far to find adventure! If you are wanting to take a break from the mountains and hit up the beach, you will find that a bus stop is waiting just a few minutes away from your door and will take you from the gorgeous forests down to the golden sand beaches! For a price no other hostel or guesthouse can beat, this BnB will be your new home away from home!
Ed’s BnB is one of our favourites in Santa Cruz but they’re not taking guests right now. We’re not sure if they’re closed for good but we hope they’ll come back soon.
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Want more deetz on why these packs are so damn perfect? Then read our comprehensive review for the inside scoop!
View on Osprey View on REIBest Hostel for Couples in Santa Cruz – Donna’s BnB
- $$$
- Garden
- Living Room
- Kitchen
The wonderful thing about Santa Cruz is that you will always have your choice of hitting up the beach or escaping the crowds by heading up to the mountains. This BnB will have you staying right in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains right by the famous redwood trees! Putting you just a few minutes away from the Nisene Marks Park and Aptos Village, you could not ask for a better location! What will really make you fall in love with this BnB is the cozy room, spacious living room, garden, and a kitchen perfect for saving some money and cooking for yourself!
Donna’s BnB is one of our favourites in Santa Cruz but they’re not taking guests right now. We’re not sure if they’re closed for good but we hope they’ll come back soon.
Best Hostel for Digital Nomads in Santa Cruz – Judy & Brian’s BnB
- $$$
- Terrace
- Living Room
- Private Entrance
If you need a place to call home for a few days and get some peace and quiet to catch up on some writing and editing, this BnB will be your perfect base for both exploring all the sites of Santa Cruz and getting down to work! Putting you right next to the Henry Cowell Redwood State Park, you will find that there are tons of hikes and things to do in Santa Cruz waiting right outside your door! If you are a digital nomad and are looking to catch up on some much-needed work, you will find that besides your spacious room, you can also spread out on to the terrace and the living room!
Judy & Brian’s BnB is one of our favourites in Santa Cruz but they’re not taking guests right now. We’re not sure if they’re closed for good but we hope they’ll come back soon.
Stash your cash safely with this money belt. It will keep your valuables safely concealed, no matter where you go.
It looks exactly like a normal belt except for a SECRET interior pocket perfectly designed to hide a wad of cash, a passport photocopy or anything else you may wish to hide. Never get caught with your pants down again! (Unless you want to…)
Hide Yo’ Money!More of the Best Hostels in Santa Cruz
The Islander Motel
- $$$
- Swimming Pool
- Near Downtown Santa Cruz
- Breakfast
If you are looking to be close to all the action, The Islander Motel is that one stay close to downtown Santa Cruz! Not only will you be minutes away from all the best restaurants and bars in town, but you will also be right next to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk! This budget hotel will reel you in with the cheap rooms, but what will really have you sold on The Islander Motel is the onsite swimming pool and even breakfast served every morning to get the day started off right! For all you beach bums out there, The Islander Motel is one of the closest budget hotels in Santa Cruz you can find to taking a dip in the water every day!
Hitching Post Studios Inn
- $$$
- Dining Room
- Patio
- Central Location
As far as budget hotels go in Santa Cruz, the Hitching Post Studios Inn ditches all of the cliche motel art and puts you up in a boutique-style room for a fraction of the price of the other hotels in town! Not only will you be calling this stylish rooms home while in Santa Cruz, but you will also be staying right smack in the middle of the downtown, right by the Art History Museum and all the restaurants off of Pacific Avenue! Top it off with an onsite dining room and even a patio to hang out on, you can’t find a cheaper stay in Santa Cruz than the Hitching Post!
What to Pack for your Santa Cruz California Hostel
Pants, socks, underwear, soap?! Take it from us, packing for a hostel stay is not always quite as straight forward as it seems. Working out what to bring and what to leave at home is an art we have perfected over many years.
Ear Plugs
Snoring dorm-mates can ruin your nights rest and seriously damage the hostel experience. This is why I always travel with a pack of decent ear plugs.
Hanging Laundry Bag
Trust us, this is an absolute game changer. Super compact, a hanging mesh laundry bag stops your dirty clothes from stinking, you don’t know how much you need one of these… so just get it, thank us later.
Sea To Summit Micro Towel
Hostel towels are scummy and take forever to dry. Microfibre towels dry quickly, are compact, lightweight, and can be used as a blanket or yoga mat if need be.
Monopoly Deal
Forget about Poker! Monopoly Deal is the single best travel card game that we have ever played. Works with 2-5 players and guarantees happy days.
Grayl Geopress Water Bottle
Always travel with a water bottle! They save you money and reduce your plastic footprint on our planet. The Grayl Geopress acts as a purifier AND temperature regulator. Boom!
Check out our definitive Hostel Packing list for our top packing tips!
Why you should travel to Santa Cruz
From your classic backpacker’s hostels to homey BnBs, you have a variety of different stays to choose from when you come to Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, you will not have a long list of youth hostels in Santa Cruz, but that doesn’t mean budget travelers can’t also enjoy the beaches of this California dream!
If you are still a bit unsure about where to stay in Santa Cruz we totally understand. As a backpacker traveling on a shoestring, the best place for you would be HI-Santa Cruz Hostel, our pick for the best hostel in Santa Cruz!
FAQ about Hostels in Santa Cruz, California
Here are some questions backpackers ask about hostels in Santa Cruz, California.
Travel Safety Tips for Santa Cruz
ALWAYS sort out your backpacker insurance before your trip. There’s plenty to choose from in that department, but a good place to start is Safety Wing.
They offer month-to-month payments, no lock-in contracts, and require absolutely no itineraries: that’s the exact kind of insurance long-term travellers and digital nomads need.
SafetyWing is cheap, easy, and admin-free: just sign up lickety-split so you can get back to it!
Click the button below to learn more about SafetyWing’s setup or read our insider review for the full tasty scoop.
Over to you
Everything from the historic boardwalk to the sunny golden beaches will have you experiencing Santa Cruz to the fullest! With coastal hikes that will take you to some unique naturally formed bridges and watching the local surfers catch a wave, Santa Cruz is literally a paradise on earth where you will continually find no things to do and discover! So grab your towel and find a quiet place to lay out on the beach, relaxing is all part of the game in sunny Santa Cruz!
As many tourists as Santa Cruz brings in with its breathtaking beaches and tranquil waters, you would think that the city would have more backpackers hostels. But just because there are not many dorm rooms along the beach just means that you will have to pick one of the homey BnBs and guesthouses found in Santa Cruz!
Oh, if you are headed to Cali, the check out our California Airbnb post to check out some seriously impressive pads.
We would love to hear about your trip to Santa Cruz California! Are there any great backpackers hostels we may have missed? Let us know in the comments below!
And for transparency’s sake, please know that some of the links in our content are affiliate links. That means that if you book your accommodation, buy your gear, or sort your insurance through our link, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). That said, we only link to the gear we trust and never recommend services we don’t believe are up to scratch. Again, thank you!
