Monterey Bay with kids ⋆ Explore California with kids

Nowhere else on Pacific Coast Highway the cypress trees are as dramatic and more fitting into the seascape as they are on the hills of Monterrey Bay. John Steinbeck perfectly depicted this sleepy and easy going town in his “tortilla flats.”

There are tons of activities for everyone on such a small parcel of land. From scuba diving to kayaking; from hiking to horseback riding this Is the most ideal vacation spot in NorCal. I’m attaching a few guides to this post that are worth exploring; and once you think you’ve seen it all there is always something else to discover about this magical place.

Monterrey bay pier, better known as the “Fisherman’s wharf” is one of our favorite destinations in all of California. Always alluring atmosphere of the seafood mixed with sounds of marine animals, hundreds of accents and languages, it is all feels like a time capsule that has been bottled since the day first explorers stepped down on this land.

Alvarado Street Brewery is our favorite cool down stops after another day of walking, which you should definitely include on you California Beer Tour itinerary. This Beer Garden has one of the best IPAs in all of NorCal and a home-like atmosphere. Peter B’s Brewpub being the other.

Monterey – where Californian’s go for vacation.

If you don’t know what to do in Monterey with children and looking for California vacation ideas, we’ve got yet another post with best things to do in Monterey with kids.

Traveling with the little ones should be enjoyable and planning ahead is the key for the best family vacation in California. Presented below are 3 itineraries based on the age of your kids that ranges from infants/toddlers to teenagers to Really Big “Parent level” kids.

Click on some of the internal links to get a better insight of the area. You can always go back to the Main page by clicking on “California Perspective” logo. On the front page explore the visual map of particular California location.

A list of places to check out in Monterey with Little Kids:

#1 Monterey Bay Aquarium
#2 Dennis the Menace Playground
#3 Simply Walk the Ocean Shore from Aquarium to Cannery Row to Old Fisherman’s Wharf
#4 Monterey Historic Park Building & the adjacent Memory Garden
#5 Rent bicycles at the Adventures by the sea
#6 Hang out at the Lover’s point Park / Beach
#7 Venture out to Point Lobos State Park

A list of places to check out in Monterey with Older Kids:

#1 Rent an electric car at the Sea Car Tours
#2 Rent Bikes or Kayak at the Adventures by the sea
#3 Go out on a Fishing Trip at the Fisherman’s wharf
#4 Go on a Whale watching excursion at the Fisherman’s wharf
#5 Rent electric bikes for 17 Mile Drive
#6 Go on Monterey Historic buildings walk (Starting at the Monterey Historic Park Building )
#7 Check out the tide pools
#8 Venture out to Point Lobos State Park

Checking out the lonely cypress tree at the 17 mile drive

A list of places to check out in Monterey with really BIG Kids:

#1 Enjoy amazing locals brews at:
Alvarado Street Brewery
Peter B’s BrewPub
Filedwork Brewing Company
#2 Rent Bikes or Kayak at the Adventures by the sea
#3 Take your roadster down the coast on PCH to McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and go on a little Hike, stop by Nepenthe for a drink and bite
#4 Check out wine tasting at Carmel By The Sea
#5 Visit a healing spa in the evening at Refuge
#6 Venture out to Point Lobos State Park

Tips for exploring City of Monterey

Tip #1 – try parking on the street (most of locations have 10 hour limit) meaning that you can simply leave your car on the street for the entire day not having to worry about feeding the meter.

Tip #2 – check out Fisherman’s Wharf for Lunch – it’s a great place for all the foodies and we never had a bad experience after eating at multiple places – so you simply can’t go wrong.

Annual crab mating ritual by the Fisherman’s wharf

Tip #3 – just a little north of the Monterey is a little adjacent town called Lover’s point – and absolute marvel for the shores of Northern California

Seal chilling on the rock in the marina bay

Tip #4 Although there are several marvelous restaurants located on the Cannery Row overlooking the ocean – Lalla Oceanside Grill, El Torito, Chart House to name a few and a myriad of great seafood shacks at the Fisherman’s wharf we’d highly recommend exploring options at the Caremel-By-The-Sea. There are several culturally oriented kitchens to choose from – the quality of food and service are always amazing !

#3 Walk from Cannery row to Fisherman’s wharf

Vacation in Monterey Bay

Vacation with children should be fun and exciting. Monterey offers plenty of activities for children and parents. It is engaging and encourages parents and children to interact and ultimately bring you guys closer together. In addition to activities listed above you can explore options with going Horseback riding, Yoga, Wine Tasting, dipping into Hot Pools down the coast.

Whether you are travelling around the world with children or simply taking a staycation in California, Monterey should make it on your bucket list. This is where the local Californian’s like to go on vacation. Another Cool staycation spot not very well known in big blogger circles is the Huntington Beach in SoCal. – Perhaps you’d like to explore that area as well.

We’ve been to Monterey , Santa Cruz, and Carmel-By-The-Sea at least a dozen times in the past two years and certainly will be coming back again and again for many more years. This is why the Monterey Bay makes it on our list of places to visit with children in Cali and our personal best family vacation / staycation in California catalog.

If you are planning a perfect family vacation and looking for things to do on the weekend or just things to do in California with kids in general. Please enjoy our site as a resource to get ideas for explorations.