Getting to Santa Cruz

From San Jose International Airport (SJC)

The closest major airport to Santa Cruz is Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC). You may get from SJC to Santa Cruz by car, public transportation, or private shuttle. To get from SJC to Santa Cruz by car, take Route 880 south to Highway 17 south to Route 1 north to Santa Cruz [Yahoo! or Google map].

To get from SJC to Santa Cruz via public transportation, two options are available:

  1. The Highway 17 Express runs between San Jose Diridon Station and Santa Cruz Metro Center. To get to Diridon Station, you have two options:
  2. Greyhound runs from the San Jose Greyhound Station to the Santa Cruz Metro Center. To get to the Greyhound Station, you have two options:

    • Take a taxi.
    • Take the VTA Airport Flyer (Route 10) Eastbound to the Metro/Airport Light Rail Station . Then take the Light Rail (Route 901 or 902) Southbound 5 stops to the Santa Clara Light Rail Station. Finally, walk 4 blocks west on Santa Clara Street, turn left on Almaden Ave, and walk one block to the Greyhound Station [Yahoo! or Google map].

To get from SJC to Santa Cruz via a direct, private shuttle, several options are available.

Other airport shuttle options include:

For a fuller list of shuttle companies providing transportation from SJC, see http://www.sjc.org/travelers/d2d.php. The prices of these vary greatly; the estimated cost of travel from San Jose to Santa Cruz is $70. Be sure to make reservations in advance.


From San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the primary international airport that serves the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are flying internationally, you will most likely find much greater availability and cheaper tickets by flying into SFO. Although SFO is farther from Santa Cruz than San Jose, it is still very easy to get from SFO to Santa Cruz. If you will be travelling by car, take Route 101 south to Route 85 south to Highway 17 south to Route 1 north to Santa Cruz [Yahoo! or Google map].

To get from SFO to Santa Cruz via public transportation, take BART from the SFO BART Station to the Millbrae BART Station. Transfer to Caltrain, and go Southbound to San Jose Diridon Station. Take the Highway 17 Express from Diridon Station to the Santa Cruz Metro Center.

To get from SFO to Santa Cruz via a direct, private shuttle, several options are available.

Other airport shuttle options include:


From Northern California:

If you are travelling by car, take Route 5 south to Route 80 west to Route 680 south to Route 280 north, and then take Highway 17 south to Route 1 north to Santa Cruz. If you prefer to travel by public transportation, take Greyhound or the Amtrak Capitol Corridor service.


From Southern or Central California:

If you are travelling by car, take Route 101 north to Route 156 west to Route 1 north, and then follow Route 1 north to Santa Cruz. If you prefer to travel by public transportation, take Greyhound.

Getting to Santa Cruz