Great visit to Monterey Bay Aquarium yesterday with family. When we visit, we typically like to…read morevisit during the weekdays versus the weekends as it can get pretty busy. Our Friday visit was a breeze as we arrived shortly after it opened and the number of visitors was much lower making it easy to move about the aquarium. The aquarium is very well kept and maintained, the staff is very helpful and the volunteers take pride in providing good service in answering questions and providing assistance. The exhibits are top notch and some of the best I have ever seen. Our favorites are the deep sea, jellyfish, and kelp exhibits - phenomenal! So glad this aquarium is close and we can visit every few years and offer it to family and visitors when they attend!

Worth a visit if you're in the area - truly an impressive space, so much to see and do. I love how…read morethis aquarium is set right in the bay, there's both an outdoor and underwater area to view it, and the option to add on experiences to get in the water. That being said, it's quite pricey to visit at $65/adult. That being said, you could spent most of a morning or afternoon here. The most impressive parts for me were the massive open ocean and kelp forest tanks, several jellyfish tanks, the pacific octopus (they have two), and the immersive "diner" exhibit that explicitly discusses seafood - farmed vs wild, what fish to avoid, safecatch options to make better choices, etc. Really I could spend half an hour just gazing into the larger tanks. We timed our visit well to be able to catch the morning otter feeding, and the staff were great about discussing the animals and taking questions - bonus points for having a bilingual format (English and Spanish). Look up their schedules ahead of time if there's anything you know you want to see - and heads up, this place is always busy, expect a long line at opening. You might have a better experience waiting til late morning or early afternoon when families leave for lunch or naptime. There is a cafe/restaurant on site and yes they do serve seafood. As a parent, I do appreciate that we are not required to drag our kids through the gift shop to leave. You can also get your hand stamped to leave and return later in the day!

Took our 2 teen granddaughters here, only 1 wanted to go with me…read more We got stuck so many times, not sure we'd get out! Had a lot of laughs with a couple girls in there. Once we got out, the clerk gave us glasses to go do it again. It made it harder. This was a lot of fun and a break from just the same souvenir shops. The price is higher than we expected. I do wish they offered a senior discount. We really enjoyed it though.

No longer has the mini golf option I wish it was mentioned…read moremore online about that. However, my son did enjoy the mirror maze.

So much fun with beautiful scenery and wildlife. We saw tons of seals and otters and we caught a…read moreperfect weather day to do it. The staff were friendly and helpful especially when we went to the wrong location to meetup for our kayaking trip. I will definitely go again next time I'm in Monterey

We rent kayaks from this company whenever we are in town. They are efficient. They provide us with…read morewater-resistant pants and a waterproof bag for personal items. This past time, a dolphin, an otter, and a sea lion swam close to us! What a treat!!!

Quality animatronics. Good replay value. Just the right amount of corny. Super nice cast members…read more(thanks Jasmine and Sophia!) Highly recommend

This is such a COOL ride! It's so well made and was run very efficiently. Not only do you have the…read morescreens to shoot at, but there are also physical objects that will move when you shoot at them. Some even shoot you with water! There were also a few animatronics that were genuinely impressive. The pre-show is a little long, but it is so well done and I love the commitment to details. $20 seems like a steep price for a dark ride/shooting game, but you can ride as many times as you would like. (It seemed like most participants were not taking advantage of this but I went on a few times). I would definitely go back on a day when I had more time and see how many times I could get on the ride. In my opinion you do not need to pay $3 for the power chip upgrade. The highest score possible is 999,999 points. With the regular shooter we easily got 600,000 and 700,000 points on our second go around.

Today was the day!!! I have been a HUGE fan of the book Cannery Row and John Steinbeck for decades…read more As a lifelong local I always wondered what the inside of this place looked like! They offer free tours the first Saturday of the month. Tour lasts about an hour. I was very lucky and had the entire tour to myself! The docent was very knowledgeable about Monterey history as well as Ed Ricketts, John Steinbeck and all things Cannery Row. It was fascinating to look at the posters on the wall from the Mens club who owned the lab between the early 50's until the late 80's. The downstairs areas where the holding tanks are (visible from the outside) and the inside where the garage was. Along with things that you would know if you had read some of the books. Notably for me was the desk they built to take with them on the trip to the Sea of Cortez, that didn't fit inside the boat- so it was lashed to the outside and virtually never used. There it was! I touched it! If you're a lover of history and Steinbeck I highly recommend it!

I hesitate in writing even this…read more I wrote a lengthy review and deleted it. I don't want to give it away. I don't want it to cheapen it with more [censored] trotting around and trying to steal off of it or from it. But this, this is a holy place of sorts. You can go to the missions for religion. Or you can come here. But please don't.

Fun place. Our kiddo had fun. Good price. Street parking. They have a shop in the front and…read morerestrooms in the back. Something for every kid.

What a great place for kids.Lots of activities to do. They can learn how things work .Place is…read moreclean and friendly

I had not been to this museum in about 20 years but I returned this past weekend and I was so glad…read moreI did. The entire place has been remodeled. It is a small museum but an absolutely beautiful one worth visiting. As a birder, I loved the cases of taxidermied birds, one of the largest collections of this type on the West Coast with over 400 specimens. I was even more enchanted by the jade room full of jade pieces and artwork derived from right here on the Central Coast, the giant Grizzly Bear, the gorgeous nature field guide mural/artwork upstairs, and the imaginative Room of Wonder full of items that had long been stored in the Museum basement and now brought back to viewing public in artistic settings. This room is mesmerizing and hard to describe but you should definitely see it for yourself. Native Americans are included as well as Asian Americans in the different displays, which I appreciate and feel contributes to the holistic and unified way in which the natural history of our state is explained here. One of the highlights, though, was meeting Bill, a volunteer guide at the museum. He gave so many interesting facts, helped with cool photo ops, and conveyed his genuine love for nature and the community. He is the heart of this fine place. We hope to see him again! If you haven't been to the Natural History Museum, I highly recommend a visit. Locals can get in free.

What a cool spot! So glad I went in one day on my trip to the area. Loved the native plant garden…read moreand the massive room full of different birds. The whole place was very cool and I would definitely come back with friends next time to show them around

While visiting Monterey, CA, my friends suggested we do an electric bike tour of the area. This is…read moretheir number 1 spot to go to for electric bikes when guests are in town. It was so easy to rent a bike on this Friday. A QR code is present at the check in area. You fill out the information and provide your credit card data. You then fill out a simple waiver before you get your bike. The staff here are so friendly and helpful. You select your helmet and the staff provides the bike based on your build. You can then get a phone holder or a saddle bag for additional storage,if needed. It's all included in the price. We chose the $55 for 4 hours of biking. (It's $10 extra per hour over the 4 hours.) We were then provided a quick tutorial of the bike process and its functions to allow for a smooth and carefree ride. It was all so easy! Off we went for nearly 4 hours of exploring the area. I highly recommend this business for your an electric bike experience.

Kyle at pacific grove loc helped us! Initially we were here to use the restroom (Ty!!) & ended up…read morerenting a bike to add a perfect ending for our Monterey trip! Super nice employees, super chill, highly informative & helpful! Ty Kyle!

We stayed at the Portola Inn and Spa, so their location couldn't have been closer! It is directly…read moreacross the Portola Plaza that extends to the original Fishermans wharf. The bike selection was decent, and the rates were relatively reasonable. $30 for four hours, or $40 for a full day (meaning up till 5:30 PM of that day). The particular person at this location was not very customer-service centric, and was scarcely helpful in explaining anything. We wouldn't put this place down because of him but, for such a high visibility and somewhat affluent location, he is not a good fit. I did a full day bike rental, and ended up returning it under the four-hour window, so I opted for the $30 (4-hr) rental and called them ahead of time. Communication was poor between the two locations, something that could definitely be improved especially with tourist season ramping up. I discovered upon returning the bike that I was obliged to go to their main location by the Monterey Plaza Hotel to collect a voucher for the difference, so we had to make another trip. Monterey is so beautiful this time of year, so we didn't mind but would've preferred to know ahead of time. The main location is very large and has an abundance of rentals - from kayaks to cruisers, cute lorry-style pedal bikes for families and everything in between. They also have deeply discounted sales from time to time on used bicycles and kayaks at this location. We saw an awesome 2-person kayak for under $100, and would have bought it if we had a way to bring it back! Adventures By the Sea has numerous locations across the US, so I've got my fingers crossed that the voucher is good for Maui too.

Kayaking Monterey is a must. Relatively calm waters and abundant wildlife. At the time of this…read morewriting, this is the only location they are launching from for the season (Cannery Row). Easy launch site across the street adjacent to M. Plaza Hotel. I believe there are discounts and relationships with surrounding hotels so ask your concierge. I felt comfortable renting versus a tour as the bay is generally calm and easy to navigate with landmarks. Here's the skinny. All transactions take place through the side of the building, a few steps down from the bike trail. I recommend going earlier than later as the sun can get intense even in the fall. Pleasant staff but they need more help. One person helped launch while the woman help process. When I arrived, I could not find staff for five minutes. You will also have to wait as they take small parties out to the shore at a time. Get ready to view curious otters and seals. An abundant aviary species. You can paddle to the Aquarium to the harbor. I took a leisurely three hours, but most folks are done unter two.

The current exhibition is Salvador Dalí. It's a fantastic menagerie of art and history. I truly…read morethought I knew so much about his work until my recent visit. The stories of his work and inspirations had me reading every last tidbit. The black and white photos of Dalí preparing his own work were mesmerizing. I could've spent the whole day here. The whimsical arrangements throughout the rooms gave me the notion that I had stepped into a secret space that made me think differently. It's hard to describe. It was beautiful.

I found this little museum quite interesting. I love learning new things about places I visit. On…read morethe lower level, the museum focuses mostly on early settlement in the Monterey area with wide coverage of the World War II era and the entire Pacific fleet not exclusive to Monterey. On its upper level more exhibits can be found directly related to Monterey's fishing industry and the history of Cannery Row. There are two exhibits that caught my eye. The first one can be seen as soon as you walk through the doors as it is situated on the open floor between the museum's entrance and the Monterey County Visitor Information Center. The Bixby Bridge is located in nearby Carmel, CA but you can see a masterful sculpture carved out of old growth redwood by artist Michael Miller (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/8FhwlcREHuMFeNISkhSz0A?select=C8WBeFH2NGi9JdxTfwQsjQ). Take the time to observe the fine detail that the artist puts into the sculpture. It's truly a masterpiece. The second exhibit is probably the biggest item inside the museum and can be seen to the left of the museum's entrance doors and that is the huge historic Fresnel lens once housed at the Point Sur Light Station (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/8FhwlcREHuMFeNISkhSz0A?select=TvlZXZSWAjVb7Bz9ej2ICg). The highlight of the exhibit is the 580 glass prisms which makes up the lens. There is a nice assortment of information surrounding the exhibit as well as some interactive stations. The museum's collection is worthy of 5 stars, but I found some serious design flaws on several of the exhibits which detracted from my viewing experience. Simple things like accent lighting pointed directly at a glossy painting whereas the viewer can not experience the artwork but simply a burst of yellow light on glossy canvas. Several of the exhibits had a sheet of clear plexiglass protecting them which is wonderful for prolonging the life of the exhibit but it doesn't work when accent lighting and direct sunlight hits it from different directions causing a triple image because of shadowing. I found a lot of simple things just like that on both levels which were just distracting. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 AM to 5 PM. There is no admission fee, but donations are accepted and appreciated.