4 Day Itinerary in Monterey Bay
About a year ago, we decided to start going on trips for our birthday presents to each other instead of buying gifts, + that was one of the best decisions we ever made. A’s birthday is early March, but I had to have surgery a couple weeks before his birthday so we had to postpone his celebration trip a few months. I researched 6 places I thought would be fun to go to, presented him with his options (in a fun/cute way of course!), + told him to choose his favorite. He chose Monterey Bay + let me tell you – IT. DID. NOT. DISAPPOINT!
We spent a long weekend in the Monterey Bay Area in the middle of June. Four days was the perfect amount of time to check off most of the must-dos on our list, + still have wiggle room to not feel rushed for time. By the end of our trip we were searching for homes for sale in the area, but Monterey Bay is a little outside our price range so we were brought back to reality pretty quickly when it was time to return to Denver (c’est la vie!).
Day 1
Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to make a 7 figure salary without having to work so we weren’t able to leave until after I got off Friday afternoon. By the time we arrived in San Jose, it was around 3pm local time, + we ended up hitting traffic on our way to Monterey Bay. Nothing says “Welcome to California” quite like a 70 mile trip taking over 3 hours! By the time we arrived at our hotel, we had enough time to watch the sunset over the ocean + grab a late dinner. For dinner we ate at Old Fisherman’s Grotto on the wharf, + it was the BEST meal I had all weekend! The staff + kitchen were knowledgeable + extremely accommodating when it came to my food allergies. I ordered the Seafood Puttanesca (pasta with aaallllll the seafood) + I cannot rave enough about how truly incredible it was! Even more so by the fact they were able to make it gluten free + dairy free! I am now on a mission to recreate this meal so I can eat it on a daily weekly basis!
Day 2
On our second day A drove me around Big Sur + Monterey so that I could take pictures of the beautiful scenery + the Bixby Creek Bridge. My days go much better when they start with coffee, + we stumbled upon the cutest coffee shop – Captain + Stoker. We liked this place so much that we came back every day for the rest of our trip!
If you ever come to the Monterey Bay Area, be prepared to have your breath taken away by the beautiful scenery! There’s a reason we were researching home prices before we left. These views might be second to none in America! I spent the morning capturing the scenery, + then we headed to Cannery Row for lunch. If I’m being honest, I was not impressed with the meal I got on Cannery Row, but that’s the risk you take when you go to the touristy areas. The wine + the views at A Taste of Monterey were amazing though! 10/10 recommend you come here if you’re in the area. They even gave us binoculars so we could watch for animals in the bay. The otters? ADORABLE!
We drove out to Carmel-By-The-Sea to watch the sunset. Peep the surfers! How they were able to get more than their feet in the water is beyond me. Our toes froze off in the water, but the views were worth it!
Day 3
Day 3 was spent whale watching + bike riding! Fun fact about me? I’m legit terrified of whales. Any time I have a stress dream, it usually involves me being in the ocean surrounded by whales (Thanks Pinocchio + Jonah + the Whale!). I wake up all sweaty + panicky. My husband has always wanted to go whale watching though, + it was his birthday trip so I made it happen. The waters were rough, + we were probably 2 of 20 people on the entire boat who didn’t lose our breakfast. We saw several dolphins + several whales so I’d say it was a successful outing!
We rented E-Bikes from Mad Dog & The Englishmen + did the 17 Mile Drive through Pebble Beach. 15/10 recommend this!! We had a blast, + the views were so incredibly gorgeous! This was probably my favorite thing we did while we were in the Monterey Bay Area.
Day 4
We drove to Santa Cruz our last day because it was on our way to the San Jose Airport. We spent the morning/afternoon taking in the sites of the boardwalk + the surrounding beach. If we ever find ourselves back in the area, we want to spend more time in Santa Cruz. We had limited time due to our flight leaving that day, but the beach looked like an iconic beach out of a scene in a movie! There were surfers, beach goers, + lots of beach volleyball!
All-in-all, 4 days was the perfect amount of time for this trip. The only thing we didn’t do that was on our list was visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about it. You can bet we’ll come back to this area for sure! 1. We have to go to the aquarium, + 2. We fell in love with this part of the US!
