5 Stars Plus!!!!! Tom was informative, interesting, knowledgeable, and entertaining on our tour…read more He made the information personal and within a few minutes we felt like we were old friends sharing information (with Tom being the expert of course). We happened to be the only ones on our tour so he was able to personalize it for us and answer all of our questions. As a former History teacher I thought I knew about California history - but he had great inside information that brought the time period to life and gave us the "back story" to some of our state's most important milestones. Thanks again, Tom! Hope to join you on the Cannery Row tour soon!!!!!

Requested Thom who other reviews suggest focuses a lot on history. We got Shirley. Shirley is…read morelovely and friendly and clearly has a passion for the area but I didn't feel like we got what we were looking for. Shirley talks a good deal about current life in Monterey. About how this person collects cars and that person recently renovated their home. About how this garden has rosemary in it. What history gets discussed is mostly read to us from plaques erected by the city. If you are Looking for a slice of modern life this would work very well, but we were hoping for more history and interesting stories about who did what where.

What we learned today from Gael on our "Carmel Walks" guided walking tour through secret pathways,…read morehidden courtyards, award-winning gardens and enchanting storybook cottages ~~ ALWAYS go off the beaten path instead of just sticking to the sidewalks! In downtown Carmel, LK and LEAP! Go for it when you're wondering what's beyond that courtyard, above or below that staircase, through that overgrown trellis or around that corner! Keep alert, look left and right and embrace that serendipitous beckon to delightful places you'd never expect! Such a charming and delightful two-hour walking tour!! Gael herself was a treasure and kept us entertained with her warm and witty dialogue! SO worth your time and $$!! (Wear your most comfy and stable shoes!)

Our tour guide, Gael, was simply amazing! She is so knowledgeable about the Carmel area, and makes…read morethe tour fun and interesting. We enjoyed that our tour was led by a local that really loves the area, and hopes that you will too! Gael is super funny, and extremely kind, answering all of our questions with passion. Our tour was two hours, but we would have loved hanging with Gael all day!!

It was an ok tour. Tim is definitely knowledgable and passionate about this area. Five stars for…read morethat. There is so much history in Monterey and it was cool to hear it from a local historian. Honestly, for the free short version, you can walk and read all the posted info signs yourself. They are all along Cannery Row! Tim however provides more detail and props to help paint the picture. Thanks Tim for the info! My family and I were happy to learn something new! We purchased a groupon and it was an excellent deal. The souvenir that comes with the tour is an original wrapper from a sardine company and you also get a large business card.

I'm a Groupon addict and so when I saw a deal for Monterey Walking Tours you would think that I…read morewould skim right passed it since I've lived in Monterey on and off for over 30 years. But no not me, I read the fine print and it says you can ask to do a tour of Monterey's Old Japantown aka "Nihon-Machi"... this piqued my interest in so many levels it wasn't funny. I grabbed my sister who was born in Japan and speaks Spanish and Portuguese but not so much in the Japanese department and we frolicked alongside Tim-san after meeting up in front of the JACL Hall next to the Monterey Tennis Center. One look and I realized that I had met Tim-san before at a JACL pancake breakfast where Tim-san was educating us about the small exhibit/mini museum they recently created in the basement of the JACL Hall. I also purchased his book which is packed with photos and stories about the local Japanese many of them whom I've met over the years living in this community. Tim-san is full of knowledge and is passionate about what he does. I read about most of the information he shared but he added a lot of new facts that I didn't know about like how the young Japanese men would play baseball (next to the tennis courts) and some of them would learn Italian before English. Even though I slept only a few hours the night before I didn't yawn once and both of us were so into it we asked a bunch of questions and he was totally engaging during the whole walking tour. When he started talking about Pop Ernest and his brilliant "new" abalone recipe that helped market abalone worldwide which also helped keep the abalone fishing industry alive for a while longer my sister and I started drooling and all we could think about was a freshly pounded abalone, dipped in egg wash and rolled in crackers (I'd personally use gluten free panko) and then pan fried in olive oil with a hint of salt and pepper. I highly recommend a Historic Monterey Walking Tour led by Tim Thomas to anyone, visitors and locals alike. I couldn't figure out why he'd carry a shoulder pack during our walk but when he started busting out vintage scuba diving glasses worn by the divers we got excited and trigger happy. He also carried some other interesting facts and photos he's picked up over the years but I won't ruin the surprises for you so go find out firsthand. Check out his website to see what other types of tours he offers. There is a lot to learn from Tim-san and we are so grateful for our mini morning educational walking adventure today. Arigatogozaimashita!

We set out to do an afternoon in Carmel, and I was searching on Yelp to find something other than…read morejust walk on the beach, shop and eat. An ad popped up for Saunter Tours, so I called the number. Lee graciously answered my questions and described her tour, where we would meet and what we would see. We have done tours (like in Tahoe City) and found out things we never would have known, so we immediately decided we wanted to change our destination and set out to learn about Pacific Grove. Lee gave us ideas for a lunch spot and was able to rendez-vous with us earlier for our convenience. We had a delightful and comfortable walk - we learned about architecture, culture, and history, with plenty of time to ask questions and interact with her. We enjoyed the beautiful views from Lover's Point and the many colorful homes and gardens. We have already given Saunter Tours information to our friends and recommend this as an educational and delightful time in a stunningly beautiful community.

From the owner: Experience the varied architecture and rich history of "America's Last Hometown." We'll stroll the…read moreresidential streets enjoying the delights of fairy gardens, little libraries, colorfully painted homes and occasional roaming deer. Bring your sense of wonder and prepare to be delighted!

Yessssss! How fun! Believe in ghosts or not... you need to do this!…read moreGary has so much history and interesting stories to tell. It's so fascinating! He's obviously done this for a long time. Very capable of answering lots and lots of questions and very clearly knows the history of Monterey. It was actually amazing! You are picked up at the dustbowl brewery which is the old train station in Monterey. Much of the tour is done inside the bus, which is modern and clean. Then, when you get to a number of different destinations, you get out and you can walk around and explore. It's very well organized. I think it was about two hours. I was surprised I was able to get reservations on the same day, but we did. I would totally do this again and highly recommend it!

Be advised that this tour is no longer being offered. We found this out about an hour after it was…read moresupposed to begin last Saturday, July 20th, 2024. Though Skip was very apologetic and did refund our money, this really ruined things as we arranged our plans around this tour since it's only offered on Saturdays. We could have done a number of other things in the area, like visit the aquarium, Cannery Row, or Carmel by the Sea. Instead, after waiting outside in the cold for a tour that would never happen, we just drove by the other areas as it was too late to enjoy anything. This option to purchase tickets should be removed online.

The goats have moved on to greener pastures and I'm ecstatic with the results! There is not a…read moresingle square inch of green less than 6 feet off the ground anywhere. We thought this would take a week but it took 3 days - those goats take their work seriously. The good: -Billie and the goats and dogs (and emu) are all delightful. Billie was extremely accommodating and hard working. The goats and dogs are absolute sweethearts and all come running when they see you for pets. -Poison oak is now extinct on my property. -The ground is fertilized and there is nothing to clean up other than sticks. The bad: -Noise. The "baaa"-ing was one thing, but the guard dogs were pretty brutal through the night. We had some coyotes hanging around so there was lots of barking. So that's it, thanks for following. I'm really happy to finally be able to present this and I'm actively brainstorming on how we can get a goat co-op going in our neighborhood.

Lost Emu Farms run by Billie was one of the best decisions we had made. She came out to the…read moreproperty promptly on time to meet with us for an estimate. Her assessment was spot on and we decided to go with her services. She was kind, compassionate, extremely thorough and just plain fun to be around. The result of her services left our property so much safer and useable. We are so grateful for Billie and will have to have her back sooner than later! Thank you again!!! To anyone in the market for her services, we have recommended her to all of our close friends, if appropriate for your needs, you will be beyond satisfied! Best value ever!!!

We did this with our teenage kids and we had a great time exploring and discovering things that we…read morenever would have paid attention to. Simple to use and just the right length to keep the attention of everyone. Will definitely do again.

My family and I bought the groupon, because the tour of Monterey list price is $50 and you can get…read morethe Groupon for $25. HOWEVER, I would not recommend paying this amount. Monterey is beautiful but a $50 tour is just a money grab. The website you use to do the tour is poor on mobile. Trust me if you're touring Monterey it is smarter just to walk along the trails or Cannery Row, which is beautiful and completely free. The questions on this scavenger hunt are just "read this sign and type what it says." Very underwhelming will not use puzzling adventures again.

Claire is great and very knowledgeable. She organized everything perfectly well. This was our first…read moremeet up experience and it was a hit!

Had an awesome experience with Claire as my guide along Big Sur. Loved seeing the remarkable…read morevariety and out-of-the-way places that she knew about during our day together. She is a great guide for the area and especially helpful if you have only a limited amount of time to spend in this gorgeous party of the country!