Central Coast Gondola / Gianetta & Stefano Anastasia are THE VERY BEST!! Such a Fantastic…read moreexperience... the attention to detail, wonderful communication, great personalities, delightful time on the bay, delicious and top quality food, and all around warm/kind/romantic atmosphere! From 1 to 10... TRULY an ELEVEN!! We can't wait to have another special occasion to bring us back.

Where do I start? The gondola itself it intricate and gorgeous. We got a history of it and…read morethoroughly enjoyed learning about it. The gondola was nicely furnished with pillows to make us comfy and it was a truly romantic experience. Stefano stopped halfway on the bay to serenade us and it was so heartwarming, especially the authentic Italian ukulele songs. I accidentally found his company on the internet and it def charmed us. We will be back and recommend for sure!

Wow. It was awesome trip The whales and dolphins were so…read morebeautiful.. the crew was wonderful. we are going back again soon.

They were organized, on time and very professional with a chill vibe! The best combination! We all…read morelearned a lot about the whales while watching them. We will definitely use them again!

What an exciting experience! We were honestly a little reluctant to purchase whale watching tickets…read moresince there's no guarantee that we would actually see a whale. We found a Groupon deal, which brought the cost down a little. Before buying tickets I figured I should ask if any whales had been spotted recently and I was told that they have been seen almost daily since the whales are in constant migration throughout the year. Still a little reluctant, but bought tickets for 1:30 and I'm so glad I did. The crew was extremely knowledgeable, very friendly and informative. They knew exactly how far out to go (about 3 miles out) and floated us near multiple whales. Closest one was around 20 yds from the boat. This was our first whale watching outing for my whole family and Lost Isle definitely delivered. Well worth the money. Looking forward to doing it again for sure.

Despite experiencing some discomfort, my recent whale watching excursion was thoroughly enjoyable…read more The staff demonstrated exceptional professionalism and dedication, and I believe their contributions warrant recognition. I intend to participate in this activity again in the future. The opportunity to observe dolphins in their natural habitat was particularly captivating.

We had a great experience with Laura and her son, hiking what the locals call "Pregnant Hill" above…read moreCayucos. She was informative telling us stories of the history of the area. It was the home of Native Americans and her son found an arrowhead. She provided water and hiking poles if needed, which my daughter used descending the mountain. Communicating with her prior to our hike, her recommendations of natural sights to see created our afternoon trip in the area including Moonstone Beach Dr, Elephant Seal Vista Point, and Ragged Point in Big Sur. Seeing elephant seals laying on the beach as well as swimming in the water was amazing. After our hike Laura recommended seeing the sunset over the ocean including time and we made it!

We are so happy to have found the Cayucos Experience on our recent trip! The bikes were in great…read morecondition and the pickup and drop off were very easy. Bikes are one of the best ways to experience this beach town. We will be back.

The sailing experience was amazing! Terry was a great captain. He really put us at ease on the open…read moreseas and was very accommodating to our circumstances of our children getting seasick. He was able to make the trip fun despite having to change plans. This is a great social distancing activity because he has his section of the boat and the guests have the rest. We will definitely be sailing with him again!

Our small little excursion with Captain Terry was incredible and so much more fun than I had ever…read moreimagined! The short story: you absolutely will not regret going on a trip with Maya Sailing Adventures! It's personal, private, beautiful, fun, easy, and so relaxing. The long story: my sister in law's wedding was postponed due to COVID-19. So the day of her wedding we planned a surprise sailing excursion with Captain Terry. My first impression was that he was incredibly easy to plan with. Everything was up to me. I could bring anything I wanted to make it a special night. It was so easy to plan and get all set up! So we set up a 4 hour sail around the bay for 4 people. After 2 hours he would drop my husband and I off and let my sister in law and her fiancé sail together for the last 2 hours. My biggest concern was that it wouldn't feel private enough for such a special occasion. No reason to worry at all, actually it was incredibly intimate and romantic and very private. If you'd like to chat with Captain, you can, but otherwise he is manning the boat and you are on our own in the front of the boat. It was so private and felt like we were on the boat by ourselves. I set up a charcuterie board and wine tasting with 5 different types of wines. Then we ordered a steak dinner from Windows on the Water and served it to them before they set sail on their own. That's the awesome thing about Maya - it's completely customizable for YOU. We sailed around the bay and relaxed and saw so many otters - mommas and babies! And even a baby seagull! Seeing the animals was so fun. My sister in law and fiancé then went out of the bay and sailed a little bit and saw A WHALE! I was so jealous. But seriously- how amazing? I CANT WAIT to do another trip with Captain Terry. One day, I would like to do the same thing but with only my husband and I... But my sister in law and her fiancé had a wonderful time and so did we. It was one of the best date nights of my life and I can't wait to do it again! You won't regret a sail with Captain Terry and Maya Sailing Adventure!

Went on a Tuesday and was pleasantly surprised that the entrance fee is discounted every Tuesday!…read more The surrounding area of the lake is beautiful and offers a good amount of scenery. Nice spots for camping, grilling and building a fire. Went on a mini hike and took the glass with and spotted a lot of deer. Love that! Very green right now and although it was wee bit overcast and cold, it cleared up for a great evening there. If you're in the area, check it out!

Keeping up our socially-distanced Thanksgiving theme, we met our kids at the camp ground at Santa…read moreMargarita Lake County Park for a late afternoon BBQ. They ad taken their RV up and spent the four day weekend there with the young kids. This was a last minute reservation, but they got a space in Coyote with plenty of shade, but no lake view. They paid the overnight fees for thir four day stay. We pulled in around 2pm and paid the $10. day use fee at the front gate. They greeted us warmly, and gave us a map with the location of the kids' RV highlighted in marker on it. We followed the roads around past the Osprey camping site and the pool and large restrooms, and up the hill to Coyote. After lots of virtual elbow bumps, we settled down to BBQ at a long table with bench seats that we put under the nearby tree. We ate, drank, and chatted about childhood pets while the little boys bicycled around the campground. The camp site was sheltered by a hill, but the afternoon light was very bright and we were glad that we brought hats! We cuddled up in fleece car blankets as the sun started to set and it got chilly! This was a fun and affordable family party for these times. The kids said that they had reserved a lake view space for next year (a year ahead) and we look forward to another family fun day in the future!

This trail is managed by PG&E as it abuts the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, so there is a…read morecheck-in/out procedure and the trail is not open all the time. However, my wife and I hike this trail every year when we celebrate our anniversary (in October) or our birthdays (in November) nearby and love the return to it. This year we only went as far as Lookout Point before we had to turn back due to a reservation elsewhere (a kayak tour of Morro Bay). But we usually hike all the way to the end. Spectacular views of the coast and the rock formations jutting out into the ocean. Birds galore on the rocks and often seals in the water. Sometimes we have spotted whales far offshore. PG&E maintains the trails nicely and the walk is easy, though several miles long to the end. Along with the many hiking trails in next-door Montana de Oro, this is not to be missed by any hiking enthusiast on the central cost.

Wow. This might be one of my favorite trails I've ever hiked…read morein my life. My cousin and I recently re-visited the Montana De Oro State Park area. Last time, we had hiked Valenica, Oates, and Hazard Peaks, which you can read about here: http://tinyurl.com/8mjdzhha This time, we wanted to hike Point Buchon Trail through Diablo Canyon, which only accepts a limited number of hiking reservations per day. Luckily, we made it on time, and were able to register in person at the kiosk on the trail. (Technically, Point Buchon trail is owned and operated by PG&E, and is not a part of Montana De Oro State Park, but the road is the same, and the parking areas are right next to each other.) My cousin had mentioned some "cool rocks," but that barely even begins to describe what we saw here. There were spectacular geological formations around every single bend in the trail. The views were indescribable. I've never seen anything like this in my life, even though I am originally from Southern California. Most of the "cool rocks" are the remnants of eroded coastlines (the ruins of ancient beaches). There are numerous arches and caves, and even a sinkhole. Watching the waves come in through the sinkhole was one of the most interesting things we saw that day. We had originally planned to go down into some of the caves, but the tide was way too high for that. In fact, the tide was the highest I've ever seen in my life. Once we were nearing the end of the trail, from up on the cliffs near the power plant, we saw some waves that we estimated to be about thirty feet high. Down on the beach, back on the calmer side of the trail, we found all kinds of tide pools and tiny shells. While I was busy taking pictures of sea snails inside of pink abalone shells, my cousin was jumping rope with a giant piece of bull kelp. My cousin said we hiked eight miles, but I swear it only felt like one. Time flies. This trail was pretty easy to hike, but for an added challenge, it would be easy to add on any of the nearby three peaks in Montana De Oro. Point Buchon Trail is a must-see. If you haven't been here yet, I highly recommend checking it out at least once!

Captain Stew's was a fun boat cruise that got our family up close to the resident sea otters…read more Their promotion is $10 bay cruises ( 5 for kids). True to it's name, if you have the cash you have a seat. To begin your voyage you and your group gather outside Captain Stew's office on the wharf. For all intents and purposes his office is really just a door with a grease penned phone number on it. Apparently you call the number and some person tells you to wait for the boat to show up. We just waited outside his door and walked right on board when he landed at the dock. No reservation needed. The tour is about 45 minutes, blankets and binoculars are there for your use. The captain does a good job with facts about the bay while trying his best not to hit the many kayaks that are tootling around. You'll probably see at least fifty sea otters as they're everywhere in the Bay. There's one other stop the boat makes on this trip and that's to pick up more/drop off passengers on the other end of the wharf. - Kids get a free stuffed fish - Yes, that's a Budweiser sign above the Captain's office door.. - There are several negative reviews for this tour, mostly along the lines of cancelled reservations. Look, would you trust a pirate with a reservation? Probably not, so just show up and if he's sailing that day have fun...If not, there are other outfits you can check out.. -Recommended

Captain Stew was wonderful, informative, friendly and humorous! This wasn't a typical canned tour…read morespeech; he was excited to share the beautiful wildlife and interesting historical tid-bits about the bay. He took time to answer questions and made the trip enjoyable and memor. Best $10 we've spent in a while!