If a weekend away in one of California’s most scenic, romantic, and relaxing towns where everything revolves are the ocean and great food sounds up your alley, then a trip to Monterey and Carmel by the Sea is not to be missed! Whether you take a stroll along the beach, visit one of the world’s most famous aquariums, go for a scenic coastal drive, kayak with sea otters, or just simply stroll around town with a coffee in your hand by day and find a restaurant to indulge your taste buds by night – a trip to Monterey will be one that you never forget.

Note: This Itinerary was built with flying in and out of the San Francisco Airport in mind, so we are including destinations along Highway 1 that you can stop at on your way from or to the Bay area.

Stops Along Highway 1 Between San Francisco and Monterey:

The Worlds Best Taco Bell?

I’m sure that you have all tasted Taco Bell and normally we wouldn’t recommend a fast food chain restaurant on your vacation – but what’s better than Taco Bell on a beach? Even better, a Taco Bell that also serves alcohol! When we heard that there was a Taco Bell on a beach just 20 minutes from the San Francisco Airport, it was a no brainer that we were going to stop here to start our vacation off right!

Devil’s Bunker

While driving along Highway 1 you will see this strange structure known as Devil’s Bunker. Originally built as a lookout point for World War II, it is now owned by a private owner. This unique structure, once used as a lookout for aerial and naval threats in the Bay Area, is now just a bunker that appears to be teetering on top of a crumbling cliff edge with a great view of the Pacific Ocean. This was a fun quick stop with epic views!

Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park

Just 50 miles south of San Fransisco, this lighthouse is a popular, scenic stop on Highway 1. This lighthouse is not only a unique scenic stop, but the surrounding area also features rugged cliffs, ocean vistas, and chances to spot whales and seals! We unfortunately didn’t see any whales or seals during our time here- but we did see a sign warning about the safety tips around elephant seals so this may be a good spot to see them!

Shark Fin Cove:

Located along highway 1 near Davenport, CA you will find this uniquely shaped rock jutting out of the ocean and from certain angles, it definitely looks like a shark fin! This Cove can be extremely easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it, so be sure to pin it on your map to be sure you don’t miss this stop.

We highly suggest walking the upper paths to both the right and left side of the cove to see the shark fin and coast line from different angles. If you are feeling extra brave and up for a challenge, there is also a way down to the beach, but it certainly isn’t the safest of trails!

Things to do in Monterey:

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Situated right on California’s Central Coast, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the most famous aquariums in the world. There is a reason it was featured in the movie Finding Dory after all! The aquarium not only provides beautiful ocean views, but a 3-story tall kelp forest, a 1-million-gallon Open Sea tank, a diverse marine life with over 35,000 animals and plants, a specialized Jellyfish exhibit, and interactive touch pools. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a high focus on conservation. It is definitely pricey to visit – but well worth the high ticket cost for all that you get to see AND touch!

Hours: 10:00am to 5:00pm daily
$65 per adult (ages 18-69)
$50 per child (ages 5-17)
$50 per senior (ages 70+)
Note: People tend to spend between 1.5 to 4 hours here

Kayak the Elkhorn Slough

By far, one of our favorite parts of this trip was taking a guided kayaking tour through the Elkhorn Slough! We booked our tour through the Monterey Bay Kayaks Company and had the best time. We embarked on this kayaking tour hoping to see an otter or two, and we were shocked that we didn’t just see a few, but that we were surrounded by them, as well as seals and birds the entire time. I was in a double kayak with my friend and I know she felt like I wasn’t helping paddle enough because I just couldn’t put my camera away – there was just so much wildlife to see! We recommend booking this early in the morning to avoid any afternoon storms that may roll in, however they have other time slots as well including a sunrise and late night tour to see bioluminescence! We noticed that the early morning and late night tours seemed to be quite a bit more expensive though so we opted for the cheaper time slot – and didn’t feel like we missed a thing!

Important things to note if you decide to Kayak the Elkhorn Slough

• You are going to get wet – bring some water shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting wet! They did provide us with a lifejacket, and also had some wet suits and pants available for those that wanted them. We took them up on the pants as it was a bit chilly the morning we went.
• You need to arrive 30 minutes early for your scheduled tour to complete the check in, waiver, and to get geared up.
• Bring a strap or waterproof case for your phone! You will want to take pictures, but definitely don’t want to lose your phone!
• If you have them, bring binoculars. I kept wishing I had some while we were out on the water. You can’t get too close to the animals, so having the ability to see them a bit better through binoculars would have been great!

$ 60 per person for a Guided Tour
Daily 9:00, 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00pm

Check Out BookWorks

BookWorks is a cute little coffee shop and book store in Pacific Grove, so if you are either a reader or a coffee lover like Brandon and I, then this is the place to visit while you are in the area!

Lovers Point Beach

Is it really a trip to the coast if you don’t visit the beach? Lovers Point is close to Monterey, and you can swim here if you want! We chose to visit here after an afternoon in Pacific Grove and watched the sunset here!

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

Park Hours: 8:00am – 7:00pm (last entry at 6:30pm)
It’s recommended to get here early as the parking areas fill up fast – we ended up getting there around 8:40am and the parking lots were full so we had to park on the street outside of the park and walk in.
$10 fee per day per vehicle | Walk In’s are free.

As Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is known as the “Crown Jewel” of the California State Park system, so it’s a no brainer to see why it’s a must visit spot on your trip to Monterey! Just a short 15 minute drive from Monterey, you will find jagged cliffs that drop into turquoise coves with waves crashing against a dark granite that make you feel like you are at the edge of the world. Between the soundtrack of the powerful waves hitting the cliff sides, the barking sea lions found in the coves, and the smell of the sea salt and pine, you will be in awe of the amazing scenery and the calming feel you get when visiting here. It’s a place where you feel small in the best of ways – reminded just how big and powerful this world is.

Whether you are up for a scenic drive, a scenic hike, snorkeling, scuba diving, or just watching for animals, this park will definitely elevate your entire trip.

Note: We were planning on hiking a 2 mile trail, but ended up hiking nearly 4 miles due to our extra hike in from the street – but our hike gave us the opportunity to see the best this park has to offer – the ocean, sea lions, the cypress filled cliff sides, the sea otters – and Brandon even spotted a whale!

17 Mile Drive

Cost: $12.50
Hot Take: We drove this as it came highly recommended on multiple blogs and sites we had done research on prior to our trip, but honestly felt the drive was pretty disappointing -especially considering the fee to drive it. If you are up for a scenic drive through some fancy neighborhoods looking at multi-million dollar homes with a few stops along the sea side, then by all means – do this drive. It wasn’t not beautiful, however we felt like we would have been better off spending those few hours driving down the coast for free AND that we would have most likely seen some more scenic views along the way. To us, this drive just felt like we were taking a paid tour of a fancy neighborhood we would never be able to afford to live in – and the fee felt like a way to keep up the fancy neighborhood. If you are into golfing though, this drive does take you through some of the world’s most renowned golf courses including the Pebble Beach Golf Course.

Cannery Row

A visit to Monterey isn’t complete without visiting Cannery Row – and if you are visiting the Aquarium then you are most likely already going to be in the area anyways! Cannery Row is now a shopping district, however when it was built, it was created as a canning district for sardines. This areas unique history, proximity to the sea, and the aquarium definitely make it worth visiting. This is also the best place in town for souvenir shopping!

Where to Eat:

Monterey Restaurants:

• Alvarado Street Brewery:
  • For a causal, but still nice lunch or dinner option, we highly recommend Alvarado Street Brewery. We had a pesto chicken sandwich, a steak sandwich, and poutine and all of them were amazing! For us, this gave us the fuel we needed to then spend several hours inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

• El Cantaro Mexican Vegan Restaurant
  • We aren’t vegan’s but, I am lactose intolerant, so whenever I can find a vegan restaurant – I know I’m safe to eat the cheese which is a win in my book! We often try to eat at one vegan restaurant per trip, and it’s rare to see a vegan Mexican restaurant – especially one with such high reviews! We loved the potato tacos and the enchiladas here!

• Beach House Restaurant & Bar at Lover’s Point
  • We personally didn’t eat here, but we did have a few drinks after watching the sunset at Lover’s Point Beach and really enjoyed the ambience of this restaurant and how it overlooked the beach. Their drinks were pretty delicious too!
• The Monarch Pub & Restaurant
  • We stopped here for a quick appetizer after visiting the BookWorks bookstore and coffee shop, and boy were their appetizers huge and so filling! We didn’t even end up eating a real dinner that night as we filled up on the apps here!
• Alta Bakery & Cafe
• Ad Astra Bread Co
• Happy Girl Kitchen Co
• Crepes of Brittany

Carmel by the Sea Restaurants:

• Rise + Roam Bakery and Pizzeria
  • This restaurant made for the perfect stop after spending the morning in Point Lobos – and considering they had a vegan pizza option for me – it was even better (although I was quite disappointed to find out that the vegan pizza option didn’t actually have any cheese on it! – It was still delicious though). The bakery section also had several gluten and vegan options as well which I really appreciate as someone with food intolerances.

• JeJu Kitchen
  • We personally didn’t dine here, but our friends that we were with on this trip did and they said the food was fantastic – and that says a lot coming from our friend who thinks most food is just “okay”.
• Dutch Door Donuts

Our Recommended 3 day Monterey & Carmel by the Sea Itinerary:

Please note that is Itinerary was built with the idea of flying in/out of San Francisco however it can still work if you are flying into the Monterey Regional Airport. We personally found the flights to be cheaper when flying into San Francisco so we opted for that.

Day 1:

• Arrive at the San Fransisco Airport in the morning/early afternoon if possible & rent a car.
• Drive to Pacifica for Taco Bell on the Beach!
• Take a quick stop at the Devil’s Bunker just outside of Pacifica along Highway 1 for stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and a unique piece of WW2 history.
• Drive to Shark Fin Cove and explore this area! We highly recommend walking along both sides of the cove as well as going down to the beach if you are brave enough to risk the sketchy trail – if you can even call it that!
• Spend the next hour or so driving to Monterey, check into your hotel, and get dinner somewhere in Monterey (see the list of recommended restaurants above).
• Walk around Fisherman’s Wharf area before heading back to the hotel and resting up for a big day tomorrow!

Day 2:

• Have breakfast at your hotel, or stop by one of the local bakeries Ad Astra or Alta Bakery.
• Go Kayaking at the Elkhorn Slough (about 30 minutes north of Monterey) to see sea otters, seals, and so much wildlife!
• Head back to your hotel and get cleaned up for an afternoon in Monterey!
• Eat lunch in Monterey (see the recommended list of restaurants above)
• Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium! This is definitely a highlight of your trip and takes several hours to go through the entire aquarium. We spent about 2.5 hours here, but it’s recommended to allow for between 2-4 hours for your visit.
• Walk around Cannery Row and do some souvenir shopping. We found Cannery Row to have the best souvenirs in town.
• Drive to Pacific Grove and visit the BookWorks Coffee and Book Shop.
• Just a few blocks from BookWorks you will find the Monarch Pub where you can enjoy drinks or dinner (we opted to just have appetizers here).
• Watch the sunset at Lover’s Point Beach and if you are still hungry then you can grab dinner at the Beach House at Lover’s Point Beach.

Day 3:

• Have breakfast at the hotel for a quick bite before heading out for a hike.
• Drive to Point Lobos State Nature Reserve for a hike along the coastline! This park opens at 8am, but it’s recommended to get here early as the parking lot fills up fast and if you can’t get parking you will be parking along the highway and walking in. We hiked to the Sea Lion Point, but there are multiple trails in the park worth doing if you have the time and energy.
• After your hike you will most likely be hungry, so we recommend heading into the town of Carmel by the Sea for a bite to eat! We stopped by the Carmel Plaza which is a cute little shopping district with several restaurant choices. We ate at Rise & Roam Bakery and Pizzeria and our friends ate at Jeju Kitchen and both options were really good! In this same shopping area, you can also visit the Carmel Visitor Center on the 2nd floor to get a map of all the cute cottage homes in Carmel by the Sea.
• Walk around Carmel by the Sea, go shopping, or just take cute photos by all of the historic cottages. This town has a lot of charm as there are no big box stores or chain restaurants of any kind here.
• If you still have time in your day, we recommend heading back to Highway 1 and heading south the explore more of the Pacific Coastline. We personally were pretty tired and had an early next morning so decided to call it an early night.
  

Check out our Wanderlog map for a full list of recommendations for things to do in/around Monterey and Carmel by the Sea!

Feel free to download our free 3 days in Monterey and Carmel by the Sea Itinerary to make your trip planning easier for you!