Capitola, CA

Ireland

Capitola hugs Monterey Bay's shore about 75 miles south of San Francisco via the winding Highway 17 to Highway 1 route. The colorful beachfront village sits just 5 miles from Santa Cruz, connected by Highway 1's coastal stretch. Highway 9 provides an alternate mountain route from Silicon Valley. The town's famous rainbow-colored Venetian Court houses line the beach, originally built as 1920s vacation rentals.