Location

6 with deals

Things to do in Santa Cruz with kids

Museums, tours & cruises and farms & pumpkin patches — 15 places to go with kids in Santa Cruz, California. 1 free to enter · most admission $10 to $45. 6 have a verified saving right now.
Plan my day

Indoor things to do in Santa Cruz →

Museums in Santa Cruz5

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Tours & cruises in Santa Cruz4

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Farms & pumpkin patches in Santa Cruz2

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Theme parks in Santa Cruz1

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Indoor climbing in Santa Cruz1

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Historic sites in Santa Cruz1

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Bowling in Santa Cruz1

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What’s on in Santa Cruz

Within 25 miles of Santa Cruz. Dates and wording are each venue’s own.

Free in Santa Cruz

One attraction in Santa Cruz gets you in for nothing, in the venue’s own words.

All free things to do in California →

Places with deals in Santa Cruz

See each venue's offer wording and ticket conditions before choosing.

Santa Cruz offers a rich mix of seaside attractions and educational venues. The Beach Boardwalk dominates the landscape with free admission to a seaside amusement park featuring the Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster open since 1924 with ocean views, and the hand-carved Looff Carousel from 1911 with antique band organs. For a wet afternoon or quieter indoor time, the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History occupies a historic Carnegie library building in Seabright and offers exhibits and programs exploring natural history and science, while the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History presents rotating exhibitions of contemporary art and local history downtown. Families seeking outdoor education can visit Life Lab, a garden-based education center that cultivates children's love of learning, nourishing food, and nature through hands-on outdoor experiences. The Seymour Marine Discovery Center lets visitors explore live Monterey Bay marine life through hands-on experiences, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center features interactive exhibits about marine ecosystems while overlooking the bay itself.

What this list covers

Santa Cruz has 15 places to go, mostly museums (5), tours & cruises (4), farms & pumpkin patches (2).

11 of them publish an admission price, 15 publish opening hours, 4 have something dated on now, 6 are running a verified saving.

Every figure here was read on the attraction’s own website, most recently on October 17, 2026.

How we know these are real

Savings here are quoted from the attraction’s own website, word for word. This one, for example:

“Adult visitors with disabilities will receive discounted admission at the Senior rate ($3) upon request.”

Quoted from santacruzmuseum.org · checked on

Common questions

How many attractions in Santa Cruz are running a deal?
6 of the 15 attractions in Santa Cruz currently have a verified saving, covering 31 offers in total. Each is quoted from the attraction’s own website. Examples include Boardwalk Bowl, Pacific Edge Climbing Gym, Rodoni Farms. Check each venue’s offer wording and eligibility conditions.
What’s on in Santa Cruz right now?
4 attractions in Santa Cruz have something dated running, 7 listings between them. Each carries its own dates and the venue’s own sentence, and nothing is listed once its dates have passed.
Is there anything free to do in Santa Cruz?
1 attraction in Santa Cruz says on its own website that admission is free. We only say free when the venue does, unqualified — a child rate priced at nothing is not a free attraction. Examples include Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center.
What kinds of attractions are included?
museums (5), tours & cruises (4), farms & pumpkin patches (2), theme parks (1), indoor climbing (1), historic sites (1), bowling (1).
Are these deals guaranteed to still be available?
No. Every deal here carries the date it was last checked on the attraction’s own website and a link straight to the page it came from, so you can confirm it before you travel. Prices and offers change without notice.
What can we do on the water in Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz Whale Watching operates boat cruises from Santa Cruz Harbor focusing on observing marine mammals and sea life in Monterey Bay. Chardonnay Sailing Charters operates the Chardonnay II, a 70-foot luxury sailboat offering public and private sailing experiences on Monterey Bay, while O'Neill Yacht Charters operates the 65-foot Team O'Neill luxury catamaran sailing along the Santa Cruz coastline and Monterey Bay.
What indoor activities work for a rainy day?
Boardwalk Bowl is a bowling alley where visitors bowl on multiple lanes while enjoying food and entertainment. Santa Cruz Roller Palladium is a roller skating rink where visitors of all ages lace up skates and roll around the skating floor. Pacific Edge Climbing Gym offers rock climbing instruction and fitness facilities in a single venue.
Is there anything seasonal we should know about?
The Great Pumpkin Patch, operated by Cuny Farms, is a seasonal pumpkin patch in the Northern California area that invites families to select pumpkins and gourds in various sizes and shapes. The Mystery Spot is a gravitational anomaly located in the redwood forests just outside Santa Cruz and remains accessible throughout the year.