Monterey, CA

Martin @ofriceandcities
Jul 25, 2019
4 min read

Updated: Aug 13, 2019

Monterey is a beautiful coastal town situated South of the San Francisco Bay Area in California's Central Coastline. It is the perfect city destination for any occasion: if you're looking for a spontaneous day trip, a weekend get away or if you're considering a pit-stop before continuing for trip down towards Big Sur! This is what the Of Rice and Cities team found!

We spent a weekend in Monterey, here is our trip itinerary:

Introduction

We love the beach and Monterey quickly came to mind! You can easily spend three to four days exploring this coastal city. The idea to come here was definitely a spontaneous one! It was the middle of Spring and my girlfriend and I were both of worn down from work and I had just completed my last midterm exams of the semester. We needed to reconnect and to enjoy the promising sunny weekend after a few weeks of cloudy skies and rain. The city is within driving distance and we were able to book a hotel room which solidified our weekend plan!

Pro-Tip #1: Be sure to try the Clam Chowder at different locations around Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf. The chowder quality can easily be compared to S.F. and Seattle.

The Shoreline

One of the popular things to do in many of the California coast cities is to stroll along the Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf. If the weather is great, the walk along this street and the coast is so refreshing. This is a perfect activity whether you are with your kids, parents or significant other. In Monterey's Cannery Row, you will find many souvenir shops, restaurants and awesome dessert shops like Ghirardelli Chocolates. During your walk, one of the best views of the beach is by "Schooners Coastal Kitchen" and by "McAbee" Beach.

For us, a trip to the coast is primarily to enjoy the beach and shore line. Being from the Central Valley we look forward to a nice romantic walk and look for new restaurants with spectacular views. If you are looking for a beach getaway or simply a pit-stop, Monterey is definitely a great choice.

Pro-Tip #2: If you will be staying the night, try to get a good deal near the beach so that you may leave your car in the hotel. Walking in this city is a pleasure so don't miss out on that opportunity!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Aquarium is one of the sites you cannot miss during your stay in Monterey! This is the largest Aquarium on the west coast and second largest Aquarium in the United States. Sea life on exhibit includes stingrays, jellyfish, sea otters, and numerous other native marine species, which can be viewed above and below the waterline. It is respected to have been the first aquarium to exhibit a living kelp forest and the only aquarium to successfully care and exhibit a Great White Shark. The prices are a little steep ($50) but sometimes you can find a good deal on Groupon and get a discounted rate as a student ($40) , kids under 3 and senior citizens ($40). We recommend you do not miss the otter, rocky shore and penguin exhibits!

17 Mile Drive and Carmel Beach

The most romantic and inspiring part of our trip occurred during our drive through the various beaches on the 17-Mile Drive. Admission to 17-Mile Drive is $10.50 per vehicle. The gate fee is reimbursed with a purchase of $35 or more at all Pebble Beach Resort restaurants (excluding Pebble Beach Market). We began a Point Pinos Lighthouse and ended in Carmel. We spent the entire afternoon driving and stopping in interest places along the coast line. Even though it was a cloudy day, our favorite part was watching the sunset on the beach, drinking wine from a reusable water container. We spent about an hour here walking barefoot, walking along the soft sand searching for sand-dollars and sea shells. After the sun went down, we headed over to the Carmel's "downtown" area where we had an amazing Mediterranean dinner at Dametra Cafe.

Pro-Tip #3: 17 Mile Drive is one of the few toll roads in California. We paid around $10.50 and it was one of the most beautiful scenic routes we ever done together.

Food Game

My girlfriend has a special place in her heart for Lalla Oceanside Grill. This restaurant is a great social spot for a light snack and delicious cocktails. This restaurant has an amazing view of the ocean. Call ahead of time to reserve perfect seat with a view. We had an amazing dinner at "La Mia Cucina" we had the Burrata Caprese appetizer, Ricotta Cheese Ravioli and the Lobster Ravioli. All the dishes were outstanding and the customer service made our experience feel homey. We purposely had a light breakfast to indulge in an amazing brunch at "Crema." This is probably the best breakfast cafe in the Monterey Bay area! The fried chicken was my favorite and my girlfriend loved the Strawberry Nutella Waffle with a scoop of Ice Cream.

The best latte we ever had can be found at Bright Coffee! We fell in love with the chai-latte with added homemade vanilla flavoring. We were impressed to see that most of their added flavors are homemade which makes this a special cup of coffee. This coffee shop is shared with a boutique, the staff were very friendly and it was nice to shop around while we waited for our drinks!

Last Thoughts

Monterey is one of our favorite spontaneous go-to stops. Here you can find good food, awesome beaches, and fun activities. It is also makes the perfect stop when you're traveling along the California Coast line, perfectly located in between or not far from other popular destinations such as Santa Cruz, Big Sur and Pismo Beach (Click here for our Pismo Article). We come to this city to enjoy the beach and have some relaxing time together. If you haven't made your way to Monterey, I hope this article inspires you to do so!

Email me at ofriceandcities@gmail.com if you enjoyed the article, if you went to Monterey and tried anything I mentioned or if you did something I totally missed!

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