There are so many beautiful places in the Bay Area that I know I don’t take advantage of them enough. I think it had been more than 20 years since I visited the Monterey and Carmel areas so it seemed like the perfect destination for a little mini vacation. And nobody will blame you if you pop into the Gilroy Outlets to pick up a couple of basics on the way there.
I didn’t do a ton of research before I went but ended up picking the Hotel Abrego. It’s a cute boutique hotel at the top of downtown, if you were mainly going for the aquarium I’d shoot for more around that area. It’s walkable to downtown and a longer walkable down to the aquarium but I did Uber back. Also some nice amenities like a complimentary happy hour wine, pool/jacuzzi, and a decent breakfast.
Food and beverage stops overall were tasty. Night one was a stop by the very cool bar Pearl Hour for a fancy cocktail in the courtyard by the fire followed by Passionfish which had a notably good but moderate wine list that paired well. My appetizer of biscuit with Dungeness crab salad was one of the best I’ve had followed by a tasty but not as memorable trout.
The following day started with a breakfast stop at Alta Bakery and Cafe for some extra fancy avocado toast and a seasonal mimosa in a courtyard at the charming Historic Cooper Molera Adobe. A walk through the small and uneventful downtown to the water. The Old Fisherman’s Wharf might be worth a visit if you’re new to touristy wharf locations. And then strolled through the pretty cute Cannery Row, still touristy but a few more charming stores, before heading into the aquarium. The aquarium is still impressive, favorite stops are the otters and the hypnotic jellyfish. But tons of timed events like feeding and activities for the kids as well as of course a fun gift shop.
After so much time on my feet a needed and enjoyable stop for a wine tasting at A Taste of Monterey overlooking the bay for some continued time checking out otters in the wild. Looking for a dinner closer to the hotel I ended up at my one lackluster meal, a random recco Cibo for Italian. The clubby vibe was off and the pasta just wasn’t great though I did have a pretty good shrimp appetizer.
On my final day, I sampled the hotel breakfast before heading over to Carmel starting with the 17-mile scenic drive. Overall it’s beautiful just don’t underestimate the amount of time it will take. Lots of possible stops, you do get an official map when you pay $11.75 for entry. And the twists and turns find cars at points sticking to about 5 miles which on a slight off-season weekday you could eventually maneuver around but I can’t imagine other times.
There are lots of places to sample wines but logistically for this amount of time, it made sense to stick to downtown tastings. There are a bunch of spots and I believe an official tasting pass you can get which might get you something. I ended up via recco at Manzoni Tasting Room which was tasty and lovely. A discussion with the super lovely woman working there and another couple about meh foods (even some of the fancy places recco’d) ended in a recco to Pangea Grill so made that the lunch destination which ended up being quite good. Tons of shopping in the charming downtown area and I might have ended up with a new pair of shoes and a birthday gift for a friend. And maybe a cookie for the road from Carmel Bakery.
I picked a hotel in Monterey because I knew I wanted to do the aquarium but also because it was a little cheaper for what you get. I was very happy with the trip but if I could do it again I’d probably look for another day in Carmel. But I was also glad I timed it so I could be back in time to do some at-home catchup. A relatively short drive is another benefit to local sites.
