Fun Things to See in Monterey and Carmel
In my last post, I shared some of my favorite places to see in the Big Sur area. Now let’s move up north and explore the Monterey and Carmel area.
If you’re driving down from San Francisco or the Peninsula you can take either 280 to 17 to 1 or drive down Highway One the entire way. The latter is longer, but of course, you’ll enjoy ocean views the entire way.
Monterey
While it’s a fairly easy day trip from the Bay Area to visit Monterey and Carmel, it’s a lot more fun if you can stay overnight. We love to stay at the Monterey Bay Plaza Hotel. It’s right on the ocean, even the “partial ocean view” rooms have great views of the Monterey Bay, and you can often get good discounts on the room rates if you sign up for their loyalty program. The required resort fee includes access to the outdoor spa, so make sure to use it!
For dining on the weekend we generally have an outdoor meal at the hotel’s Schooners restaurant one night and then do a short walk to the Intercontinental’s The C Restaurant the other night. The C Restaurant is particularly vegetarian-friendly, while Schooners has tables right above ocean waves breaking on the shore. I generally don’t like to go out for a formal breakfast on a weekend trip and that’s why I appreciate the Monterey Plaza’s Tidal Coffee shop so much.
Ok, with all of that eating it’s time to burn some calories. Whether you bring your own bike down to Monterey or rent one, biking along the coast both north and south of Monterey is a total blast. If you go north you can pick up the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail. It’s a relatively easy and flat ride, with fantastic views of the Monterey Bay the entire way. I recommend a mountain bike over a road bike for trails along the ocean.
One of the major tourist attractions in the area is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I’ve probably been there over a dozen times and never tire of it. There’s a lot to see there, so if you’re going the first time plan to stay at least two to three hours, maybe more. And bring your camera, so you can take shots like the one below.
If you’re down in Monterey for a couple of days there are plenty of great options for getting out on the water. You can rent a kayak and get up close an personal with sea otters and other wildlife. You can also go on a chartered sailboat. We did this a few years ago with Bella Monterey Bay and had a fabulous time. Christian, the owner/captain, was a total character.
Pacific Grove
Just south of Monterey is Pacific Grove. We have some friends who live there, a 5-minute walk to the ocean, and are lucky to be able to stay at their house every year. The coastline along Pacific Grove is fabulous. The Beach House restaurant at Lover’s Point has a very affordable sunset menu and is right on the water. Great bar too, it’s a total chill vibe. Lover’s Point is a fun place to hang out all day when the weather is nice. You can watch people do scuba diving lessons, do Stand Up Paddleboards, and there is the occasional outdoor wedding you can photobomb. :)
You can walk or bike south along the water and soon you’ll be at Asilomar State Beach, which has gorgeous white sand. Asilomar means “refuge by the sea” and it’s quite an appropriate name for the area.
If you go further north past Asilomar you will be at the south entrance to the 17 Mile Drive. While you are entering a private, gated community, and they charge a fee for cars, you just have to do this drive — and once is not enough! The best way to experience the 17 Mile Drive is by bike, and you are not charged an entrance fee if you enter on a bike instead of a car. It’s a very safe bike ride, with wide shoulders, and I just can’t recommend enough how fun it is, and all of the interesting places to stop.
After all of that biking, you’ve worked up a big appetite. Inside of the 17 Mile Drive there are several restaurant choices. We once dined at Roy’s, which had excellent, albeit expensive food. But the place was full of affluent golfers, so not really my kind of place. Good vegetarian options though! And if your bill at Roy’s is over $35 (which means two glasses of wine) you will get reimbursed for the gate fee to enter the 17 Mile Drive.
My favorite place to dine in the area is Passionfish, which is, fortunately, a 5-minute walk from where our friends live. While Passionfish has exceptional seafood entrees, it’s more famous for its wine. Unlike most restaurants that have 100 — 200% markup on wine, at Passionfish they keep to a 50–80% markup. My wine friends go nuts over this place. Some of them call ahead and reserve their favorite bottles of wine to ensure they don’t sell out by the time they get there.
Carmel
Although Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel border on each other, they all have very unique personalities. I’ve always been fascinated by Carmel, from my very first visit there. Carmel is a quirky place. There are no street addresses — every house has a name instead. There has been a law on the books since 1963 requiring a permit to wear high heel shoes over 2 inches in height. Clint Eastwood was once the mayor and owns the Hog’s Breath Inn, as well as the Mission Ranch hotel.
The 1 square mile village of Carmel-by-the-Sea is a really interesting place to walk around, with plenty of interesting shops and restaurants. But I always head down Ocean Avenue to the beach. The water is aqua blue, the sand is really white, and it’s a great place to spend a day when the weather is warm.
That’s a quick tour of Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel. Next up we’ll head to Santa Cruz and the Slow Coast!
