Monterey Travel Forum

My Finance' and I are arriving for 6 days in Monterey area on Friday, I have no clue what clothes to bring. I was thinking capris, Jeans and a light jacket? Also can anyone recommend resturants? And must see things to do.

We liked the 'Red House Cafe' in Pacific Grove very much.
Excellent food and affordable.

Happy travels
Jaap

It can often be quite chilly in Monterey... and foggy. Bring a lot of layers. I'm assuming you'll have a car. Six days in a long time, so you may want to consider going south to the Hearst Castle if you haven't been there - it's worth the drive. Lunch at Nepenthe at Big Sur is always nice and there's the 17 Mile Drive to explore and also the town of Carmel, which is very close and also full of good restaurants. I've listed some of the places we ate in April on my pages, but they seem hard to find with the new format here. Fisherman's Wharf has some good seafood places and Fandango is a bit upscale and good.

Dametra in Carmel is a great little place that serves Mediterranean food, including Italian, Greek, and Middle Eastern dishes. It's very affordable and delicious.

I agree about the 17-mile drive being a must do.

Must see's:
Carmel, Carmel Mission, Point Lobos State Park, Big Sur with Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (redwoods) and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (McWay Falls).
If you make it till Hearst Castle also take a look at Piedras Balncas with the seal elephants.

Echoing Zuriga. Chilly, foggy, bring layers. Beautiful drives all directions. Great eateries all over. Go to the Aquarium/Cannery Row in addition to all the other attractions listed by others.

Rent bikes at Lovers' Point in Pacific Grove and ride either direction along the coast. If the weather is good, rent kayaks at the place near the pier and paddle out in front of the Aquarium.

Point Lobos is one of my favorite places in the area.

The Monterey area is one of my favorite areas of California, and there is so much to do, especially if you enjoy hiking and love the outdoors. My favorite things to do are: the Monterey Bay Aquarium, located in Cannery Row; Point Lobos State Reserve about 7 miles south of Monterey; take the Monterey Baby Whale Watch located in Fisherman’s Warf. If you enjoy shopping you will also want to take some time to walk around Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Warf. There are also a number of state parks in the area such as Andrew Molera State Park and Julia Pfeiffer Burns just to name two that offer lovely hiking trails. The water falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns is a not to be missed photography opportunity, with a lovely short walk to get to the look out point for these falls. You do have to drive about 41 miles south of Monterey to see it, however. I have one of the top 5 rated pages for Monterey which you can view for more details about my suggestions at

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3d935/b8255

I would highly recommend that you drive highway 1 from Monterey to the Hearst San Simeon State Historic Monument, commonly known as the Hearst Castle. Plan an entire day for this activity. This Big Sur area offers some of the most stunning views of the Pacific ocean, and is my favorite scenic drive in the country. You will see this road in many movies and TV commercials. My caution, however, is that the road is narrow with lots of curves, and a steep drop off into the ocean on the Pacific side. If you can handle that, however, it is a must drive. There are a number of pull offs for taking photos, and a number of state parks along the way for brief stops. There is a fee to get into a state park, but your fee will let you into all of them for that day. This would be a good time to take that short walk to the falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and as mentioned by others the Point Piedras Blanca Elephant Seal Vista Point is well worth the stop. Free of charge, and interesting, it is located about 5.5 miles before you reach the Hearst Castle. I have a top 5 page on the Big Sur drive if you would like more details at

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3d935/b7614

The Hearst Castle was the estate of William R Hearst, and even if you are not interested in looking mansions, this one is well worth the time. My husband is not at all into visiting houses, but he enjoyed this as much as I did. I would recommend you call and find out if you need reservations for one of their tours during the time you are there, as sometimes the tours fill up, and it would be too bad if you did the drive, and could not get a tour. I also have a top 5 page on the Hearst Monument that will describe each of the tours for you.

My link for the Hearst is http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3d935/b7d86

I am sorry that I sound like I am advertising my pages, but I have so much information on all of these places, that I wouldn’t be able to fit it into a forum question, so I decided to give you a general over view, and if you would like more details you can visit my individual pages. There are other members who also have pages, that would highlight some activities that I have not.

The Black Cat in Cambria....fantastic food for anyone staying in that area.