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 The picturesque city of Monterey offers a plethora of activities, sights and adventurous expeditions all year 'round.
With a population of about 30,000, Monterey resides on California's idyllic central coast amidst a large and unique marine ecosystem. Monterey Bay seems to be the focus of or have an impact on every experience in Monterey.
Fisherman's Wharf and Municipal Wharf II
 Fisherman's Wharf, once a major Pacific port filled to the brim with sardines, today is home to the hustle and bustle of tourist activity. Today the Wharf offers whale watching, fishing trips, glass bottom boats, a theatre, unique stores and excellent dining fare.
 Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf has been in existence for centuries, importing and exporting fish, wine and fine clothing. Monterey officially bought the Wharf in 1916; by 1920 the Wharf was home to 20 fish outlets. The Wharf expanded in 1934 to meet the growing fishing demands, with a breakwater extension.
As the sardines in the area died out in the 1950s, Fisherman's Wharf switched gears. The Wharf found a new life amidst restaurants and stores, boat rental businesses, and fish markets. A small marina was completed in 1960, with an extended protective sea wall.
 The nearby Municipal Wharf II, which was built in 1926, is home to several wholesale fish companies and a commercial abalone farm. There are also restaurants a snack bar and public rest rooms on the Municipal Wharf II. Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club has a private dock here.
 A 700-foot fishing promenade extends from the wharf and anyone may fish from the East side of the Wharf—no licence is required for sport fishing from a public pier or wharf in California. Pods of sea lions gather around the pier and frolic on nearby docks.
Cannery Row
 It's about a half an hour walk or five minute drive from Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey to Cannery Row, the renowned subject of John Steinbeck's book with the same title.
 Once famous for the sardine canning industry with its colorful characters, today historic Cannery Row has gone down the same picturesque tourist road as Fisherman's Wharf. Besides shops, clubs and pubs, there are also sailing and boat rental places, as well as hotels.
The Steinbeck museum in the Wing Chong Building is also a must-see; take a step back in time to Cannery Row's heyday and indulge in the lively atmosphere and rowdy residents. When you step back outside, take notice of the old canneries ruins.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay Aquarium is definitely worth a visit, with 300,000 marine plants and animals.
    
 The aquarium opened in 1984 on the site of the Hovden Cannery which was the largest cannery in Monterey—built by Knut Hovden in 1916. Equipment from the Hovden Cannery is on display on the first floor at the aquarium near the main entrance. The Outer Bay Wing was added in 1996 nearly doubling exhibit space.
 Several elevated exterior decks provide panoramic ocean views and a great vantage point for watching wetsuit clad snorkelers explore the Great Tide Pool Exhibit, but the real action is inside.
 The first museum to exhibit a living kelp forest, Monterey Bay Aquarium pumps two thousand gallons of water per minute, day and night, through over 100 tanks. The kelp forest exhibit holds about a third of a million gallons of sea water and is a favorite of visitors anytime, but especially during feeding times when a diver enters the tank while a speaker provides information and takes questions from the crowd.
 Visitors can also watch mealtime in the Outer Bay, Penguin and Sea Otter exhibits. The Sea Otter tank is one of the only exhibit tanks where you can see both below and above the water which is a great advantage as the otters feed and interact with staff.
 The Outer Bay exhibit includes a one-million-gallon tank and the largest community of open-ocean animals in any aquarium.
Here you will see hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, giant bluefin tuna, dolphinfish—also known as mahi mahi and which grow to over six feet long—stingrays and the most prolific fish in the Outer Bay exhibit, the giant ocean sunfish or Mola mola.
Don't worry, the acrylic window is 13 inches thick to hold all that water pressure.
 The largest permanent collection of jellyfish species in the United States is also housed in the Outer Bay wing. Dramatic lighting enhances the experience of watching these animals that range in size from microscopic to larger than a beach umbrella, many with long tentacles.
Plan to spend a minimum of 2–4 hours if you visit Monterey Bay Aquarium. There is a restaurant, the Portola Cafe, on the premise so you can easily spend a full day with all there is to see. It wouldn't be hard to spend almost as much time on the Monterey Bay aquarium website with all its information about the various creatures and conservation and research programs at the aquarium.
Monterey's top attraction is very popular and a line forms before opening most weekends and many weekdays all year so come early. Near the aquarium, there are murals tracking Monterey's history.
Aquarium of the Pacific, much further south on the California coast—beyond LA—in Long Beach, is also worth a visit for aquarium lovers.
Monterey State Beach and San Carlos Beach Community Park
 San Carlos Beach Community Park, once the site of the old San Carlos Cannery, is now a premier dive-park and community park.
 In the 360° panorama to the right divers prepare their equipment near their cars then enter the water next to the pier as children play on the beach while parents watch from picnic tables and benches.
Monterey State Beach is a favorite amongst fishermen, surfers and tide pool aficionados.
 Monterey and Seaside share the park, which has three separate beaches in total, and is home to beachcombing, kayaking, kite-flying and volleyball. The underwater area is perfect for scuba diving.
The beach is at the Seaside exit off Hwy 218 west of Hwy 1 (the west end of Canyon del Rey Boulevard).
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) was designated in 1992, as a federally protected marine area, spanning from Marin to Cambria. It is the U.S.'s eleventh Marine Sanctuary, as well as the largest protected area with over 5,300 square miles.
 The MBNMS is involved in resource protection, research, education and public use, encouraging partnerships and strong public involvement. With about 33 species of marine mammals, 94 species of seabirds, 345 species of fishes, and numerous invertebrates and plants, Monterey Bay is home to a very diverse aquatic community. Monterey Bay also offices a spectacular coastline, sporty aquatic activities, like kayaking, and an extensive array of hiking trails.
The Sanctuary evaluates the status and health of marine species, habitats and ecosystems, provides information to resource managers, and coordinates activities. The Sanctuary also uses a variety of ways to reduce or prevent detrimental human impacts.
 The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary extends from Rocky Point, 7 miles north of Golden Gate Bridge to Cambria, San Luis Obispo County—276 statute miles of shoreline. The Sanctuary's shoreward boundary is 'mean high tide' and its seaward boundary is an average of 30 miles offshore for a total of 5,322 square statute miles or 4,024 square nautical miles.
This huge area includes numerous historical sites: 1,276 reported shipwrecks and 718 prehistoric sites. The deepest point of the MBNMS is 10,663 feet or 3,250 meters in the Monterey Bay Submarine Canyon, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon. Average ocean surface temperature is 55F (13C).
A good way to see Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pacific Grove and the 17-mile drive and Monterey is with a day trip tour or Luxury SUV Tour from San Francisco. Use our CA Central Coast Hotel Search to book hotel rooms from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara including Monterey.
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