Justin L.

Really cool way to do a little wining and dining around Monterey and Carmel. The owner/driver Skipper picked us up directly from our hotel La Playa Carmel at 5:30 pm. The little red cable car on wheels is definitely cool. With 80s party music blasting, Skipper took us over to have a couple tastings at Joyce Vineyards and Chesebro Wines. After these private tastings, we were then navigated over to ROUX for a nice dinner. When we were finally done with our long meal, Skipper safely piloted us back on his party vessel right back to our hotel before the clock struck 12. If you've got a large group and you all want to enjoy the area without anyone needing to stress over being the designated driver...give good old Skipper a ring.

Kathryn Y.

We decided to splurge and take a friend for her birthday on the Monterey wine trolley. The trolley was waiting for us and he even called my friend 10 minutes prior to make sure we were coming. They were only six of us on the trolley. Which was actually very nice, as we have each had room to sit on a bench by ourselves. The man driving the trolley was wearing a mask, and gave us wooden tokens that worked as tickets when we got to Carmel Valley. Each wood token was shaped like a trolley and was to be used for our tasting. He was an interesting character for sure. He said he was called Skippy, I think. I wasn't really listening. The entire drive he was talking and making jokes. We went along with it laughing. He explained the tokens and gave us each a little map of the area. He even drove around and pointed out all the different wineries and told us what they were known for. There was one winery that he flat out told us had horrible wine, and not to waste our time going there. Very unprofessional in my opinion, I'm not gonna name the winery as we did not go there, because it was not included on the wine tour meaning our special wood tokens would not be honored there, and we were there to drink wine. I thought it was very odd that he was so adamantly voicing an opinion against it. Almost like it was something personal. It was a beautiful day and we got off the trolley and were excited to start our tour. We had four tokens that were to we could use for wine flights, and he informed us not all the wineries there would honor the wine trolley tokens. At our first stop, he was like a stalker and startled us through the fence asking how we were doing. At lunch, he was there, apparently he has a wine tasting shops he's going to open, and he was very nice about offering to hold onto our items in the trolley so we did not have to carry them around. But he it was as if he was lurking, so odd. At the end of the day things got sketchy with Skippy. Before we knew it the time had slipped away and we were at the end of our tour. He was texting my friend at 3:50, that he was leaving in 8 minutes. My friend got all stressed out. I was like there's no way he's going to leave us! There's only six people on the trolley. He needs to chill out! But my friends were really worried that he was really gonna leave us, so we drank our last flight of wine really fast. Now, we had a token for a bottle of wine as well. He was not really clearly upfront about that. Because we went back to the first winery to use the token, and the lady in the place was very stern about telling us that NO, only the flight taster was honored not the token for a bottle of wine. He knew that's why we wanted to go to that winery, was to use the token for the bottle of wine. But he did not inform us of that as we all got off the trolley walked into the winery with our tokens and felt so stupid. He should have told us no you cannot use your token in there for a bottle of wine. Super irritated at that! I had used my token for a bottle of wine at Big Sur winery. But my friends were saving theirs to go back to this other spot. And he was just rushing us at the end of the day. Oh, and the woman also told me they don't like doing business with him, not sure what's up with that. Despite the logistics of the day, it was worth it. The drive out to Carmel Valley from Monterey is about 30-40 minutes. The trolley was cute. Just get ready to not be received too well when the winery sees you're part of the trolley tour. If you have the time to drive yourself, I'd recommend it though. It's a charming part of Carmel Valley and the wines are so good. No regrets and cheers!!

Rebecca M.

After a quick breakfast at the Monterey Fisherman's Wharf Market Place Deli & Cafe, the Mona Lisa trolley picked us up right outside in the parking lot at Wharf Market Place - 209 Figueroa St., Monterey. Following a brief intro, we set off down the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH or Hwy 1) to Carmel Valley, looking out at the inspiring views and hearing our charming guide, Gary, talk about local history as we go. When you order your Carmel Valley Village experience online, you can tailor your experience to how many tasting rooms you'd like to visit. Prices include the scenic trolley ride, a lovely lunch at one of the restaurants in the village, and visits to the winery tasting rooms. You also receive a free bottle of wine and can even open and drink it in the way back to the wharf after the tasting day is through. Carmel Valley Village has quite a few tasting rooms such as: Cima Collina, Coastview Vineyards, Marilyn Remark, Jouillian, Joyce Vineyards, Chesebro Wines, Parsonage Vineyards, Bernardus Winery, Boekenoogen Winery, Rombi Estate Wines, Idle Hour, Chock Rock Vineyards, Twisted Roots, Cow Girl Winery, Talbott Vineyards, Myka Cellars/Bunter Springs Winery and Heller Estate Organic Vineyards! Our favorites were Parsonage (oh the reds!!), Jouillian (love many of their whites and some reds), Joyce Vineyards (chateau Christina Cabernet Sauvignon), Talbott (pinot noir), and Chesebro (very interesting whites that went great with tapas back at our hotel). We liked the wine so much that we signed up for the wine clubs At Jouillian and Parsonage! Wine is liquid art and sometimes the winemaker/artist is visiting the tasting room. Hearing the winemakers' passion for their art and all the subtle elements that come together in the glass just makes each sip more complex and delicious. Most were very friendly and eager to share about their terroir, varietals, even the names of their vintages! Don't worry if you get palate fatigue and can't use all your wine tasting coupons--just drive back the next day (or week) and cash them in!! (If you've joined any of the wine clubs who pour in the Carmel Valley Village, you can return and taste for free any day.) we bought tickets for 4 tasting rooms but had one left over to use the next day. At the end of the day, Gary returned us to the Wharf and we Ubered to our hotel happy, tipsy, and full, with great memories of a fun day. Monterey Wine Trolley was money well spent and I highly recommend the experience.

Eugenia W.

Oooooookay, at first, i was skeptical about this wine trolley and how it worked... you buy your tickets online and pick How many wineries you wanna hit up, SO got 4 wineries which included lunch and a free bottle of wine. Perks!!! We check in the trolley and sit and wait, the driver takes off and there's a guide talking and sometimes music would play and maybe some trivial questions. Then we get there and it's from 11 to 4. We can go anywhere as long as we are back by the trolley at 330, and they will take us back to our cars. We got up the wineries on the map and the back of the coasters, it was a cute town with wineries and food. Going there was mellow, it's the going back to the parking lot was a different story.... The stranger guys and girls were tipsy and did stuff that should stay in the trolley...... one chick flashed her boobs 3 or 4 times... lots of dancing and twerking. It was fun all in all!

Cait F.

Two years ago we did the wine trolley after getting engaged. Today we came back for our first wedding anniversary! This is an incredible way to celebrate any special occasion. Would highly recommend to anyone who wants good wine and great experiences.

Donna S.

Definitely a good way to enjoy the Carmel Valley wineries if you are visiting Monterey. It's quite a drive along a long winding road. Wouldn't want to do that after 5 wineries. The driver gives lots of fun facts and info about Monterey and Carmel on the drive over. Then you are let loose in the little town to use your free tasting passes at certain wineries. You are free to visit any of the wineries on your own also, you just have to make sure to be back at the bus on time when it leaves. I found many of the wines to be a bit fruit forward. Typical for the area, suppose, but there were a couple gems, I enjoyed. The included box lunch isn't really lunch. More like a snacks. Some cheeses and nuts and olives. If you ask for gluten free, they basically just leave out the bread, crackers, cookies and brownie with no substitutes. Thankfully I had a bag of gluten free crackers in my purse, because I was hungry. Eat a big breakfast, or bring your own extra food. The driver's dog Nugget is SOOOO cute! Loved that little furry friend. A great day to enjoy on the trolley tour, just make sure you use your time wisely to fit in as much wine as you can!

Adam L.

Great wine tour in Monterey/Carmel ... Fun and informative and DEFINITELY a good money to entertainment/booze value... Highly recommended!!! I'm a lightweight so the 3 tasting was more than enough for me... Bigger drinkers may want to go for 4... Either way I loved it...

Jerico O.

CHEERS TO THAT! this was amazing! we were celebrating our 2.5 year anniversary with a weekend getaway to monterey and this was a definite highlight to the weekend. the tour was the responsible way to go! it took us to 5 different stops and the wine tasting fees were included in the price. so we smiled, listened and learned, replied with yes please, and let the wine flow. the tour was unexpectedly private- everyone else on our batch canceled- sad for the company- lucky for us- we had the whole trolley/van to ourselves for the day. the driver was very nice- informative and funny at parts. he called ahead to check which places were busy and made sure that they had bottles opened for us to try. We started at the award winning Ventana with ribbons and awards covering their walls and ended with a full tour of how wine is made at Chateau Julien. by the end of the tour we were both pleasant from the tastings and had a few bottles to take back with us for the rest of the weekend. until next time cheers!