Looking for an easy day trip that feels like a complete escape? With a world-class aquarium, family-friendly activities and plenty of fascinating history, Monterey is an obvious — and, OK, popular — choice. But here’s why it’s worth the crowds.
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The Aquarium
No trip to Monterey would be complete without a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This world-class institution celebrating the sea creatures that live in the ocean depths invariably evokes a sense of wonder — not just for the kids, but even for the grumpy, stressed-out grown-ups who walk through its doors.
Start at the kelp forest, a two-story tank where you can easily lose track of time watching fronds of giant kelp undulate in hypnotic patterns as soothing music plays in the background. Once your eyes adjust, you can make an I-spy game out of looking for its inhabitants, like giant sea bass, warty sea cucumbers, sheephead and sharks.
Follow the chorus of happy squeals and exclamations of “Ohmygod they’re so cute!” to the double-decker sea otter exhibit. Below, you can see them slide gracefully through the water, playfully bobbing and weaving around each other. Above, it’s snack time. The otters relish chunks of ice with fish frozen in the middle, holding them up with their paws as they chomp away. Docents dispense fun facts to anyone who’ll listen. Did you know that sea otter fur has up to 1 million hairs per square inch? Neither did we.
Next up is the Open Sea exhibit, where Pacific mackerel circle and meticulously illuminated jellyfish pulsate. There are frilly purple-striped jellies, feathery-threaded moon jellies and spotted-comb jellies, with shimmering rainbow cilia that look like they’re made from LED lights. Sea nettles glow orange against the deep blue background, and it’s easy to forget these critters are from dear old Planet Earth — not outer space. A giant tank with dolphinfish, sea turtles, tuna, rays and a hammerhead shark rounds out this area, where you’re most likely to hear a visitor ask, “Do you think you could beat that fish in a fight?”
Then it’s time to check out the sea birds, especially the puffins, bobbing next to the glass. Each bird can eat up to 20 fish per day. At the Deep Sea exhibit, things get really weird. You’ll find mega-size Japanese spider crabs, an unnamed jelly found by an underwater robot, magnificently vibrant bloody-belly comb jellies and giant isopods, which resemble football-sized pill bugs.
After the haunting stroll past a whale fall, built to showcase the bottom-of-the-sea scavengers who enjoy the feeding bonanza that a whale creates when it dies, it’s time for some lighter exploration. At the touch pools, you’ll get to feel the textures of creatures like bat rays, barnacles, chitons and more.
Visitors view a leopard shark through a round window at the Kelp Forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Sea otters play and their exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Hailey Whitley of Verdi, Nevada, holds her daughter Amalia, 2, as they look at common murres in the Open Sea exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The exhibit also featured puffins and oystercatchers. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
A scalloped hammerhead shark swims in the Open Sea exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
A sea otter enjoys a snack at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
A pelagic stingray swims in the Open Sea exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
A puffin swims in an enclosure in the Open Sea exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The exhibit also featured common murres and oystercatchers. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Visitors gaze at the sea life in the Kelp Forest exhibit as a diver cleans the exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Sea nettle jellyfish float through their exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
A visitor takes a photo of a giant sea bass at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Kelp Forest exhibit. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Food
After your visit to the aquarium, it’s time to eat. The obvious choice here is a chowder, and there are plenty of great seafood spots nearby. For something different, try Cafe Guaraní, one of the only Paraguayan restaurants in the U.S., just up the street from the aquarium. Fresh yerba mate; Paraguayan sopa, a moist, dense cornbread made with cheese and onions; and vori vori, a rich chicken-and-dumpling soup, are among the highlights.
Before you continue on your way, grab a pick-me-up espresso drink from Tidal Coffee, which, in honor of its Cannery Row location, makes a Steinbeck coffee bean blend as well as a Doc’s Decaf option.
Relaxation
Build in some time to relax and make a stop at Refuge, a thermal-cycle spa in nearby Carmel-by-the-Sea. There’s a cedar sauna with a Himalayan salt wall, eucalyptus-infused steam rooms, and six hot and warm pools, with thermal waterfalls, cold plunges maintained at ocean and icy river temperatures, plus indoor and outdoor relaxation zones with hammocks, antigravity chairs and views of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Day passes start at $67 and drop to $57 if you arrive after 4 p.m.
Play
Cannery Row has plenty to keep the whole family — or friend group — occupied. For family-friendly activities, consider mini-golf at Tipsy Putt, arcade games at Oscar’s Playground or renting bikes. Catch live music nightly at Sly McFly’s Refueling Station. Or lean into the touristy fun and go shopping and wine-tasting.
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History
Cannery Row is also a great jumping-off point for diving deeper into the lore of the California Coast. Check out the Cannery Row Monument, then read John Steinbeck’s novella named after the waterfront street. Or learn about how this historic canning hub was shaped by immigrants from China, whalers from Portugal, the elite Bay Area social club known as Bohemian Club, Sicilian sardiners and a whole other cast of fascinating characters and communities, according to Joseph Ogilvy, author of “Tin Can Coast: A History of Industry, Greed, and Fishing in the Golden State,” (Bloomsbury, $32) a new history book released July 21. There’s a ton of gritty history about Monterey in its pages — just look at the chapter titled “Monterey-by-the-Smell.”
Want to learn more? Ogilvy will appear at the Monterey Abalone Festival in Monterey, taking place Aug. 1-2, and will speak about his book at Kepler’s in Menlo Park at 6 p.m. Aug. 12.
If you go
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey; montereybayaquarium.org
Cafe Guaraní: Open 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends, 111 Central Ave., Pacific Grove; cafeguarani.com
Tidal Coffee: Open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, 400 Cannery Row, Monterey; tidalcoffeemonterey.com
Refuge: Open 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Sundays, 27300 Rancho San Carlos Road, Carmel; refuge.com
Tipsy Putt: Open 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1:30 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays (golf course is 21-and-over after 7 p.m. and the restaurant is 21-and-over after 10 p.m.), 95 Prescott Ave., Monterey; tipsyputt.com/tipsy-putt-monterey
Oscar’s Playground: Open 1-9 pm. Mondays-Thursdays, 1-10 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays, 685 Cannery Row, third floor, Monterey; oscarsplayground.com
Sly McFly’s Refueling Station: Open 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Mondays-Fridays and 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturdays-Sundays, 700 Cannery Row, Monterey; slymcflys.com
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