Monterey, Carmel & Capitola Travel Guide! Activities, Reviews & Pricing!
### Monterey Bay and Carmel by the Sea Vlog: A Day of Adventures and Discoveries
#### Introduction
Welcome to another exciting vlog episode! Today, we’re exploring the beautiful regions of Monterey Bay and Carmel by the Sea. If you’re new here, don’t forget to subscribe, give a thumbs-up, and hit the bell icon for more updates. Let’s dive into an unforgettable day filled with Hydro biking, wildlife encounters, historical sites, and stunning coastal views.
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#### **Moss Landing: The Start of Our Adventure**
We kicked off our trip in Moss Landing, where we arrived at 10:30 a.m., ready to explore. The marina was just behind us, and we had already checked in for our Hydro bike adventure. Paddling these bikes was surprisingly easy, and the setup was convenient—complete with cup holders and a storage container.
As we set out on the water, we couldn’t help but marvel at the natural beauty around us. We spotted bat Rays and leopard sharks swimming beneath the surface, and one particularly curious otter even swam up to us, hissing and chasing me away. Despite this unexpected encounter, the sheer number of otters (over 100!) made the experience unforgettable.
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#### **A Memorable Hydro Biking Experience**
Our Hydro biking adventure was booked through Groupon for $45 per person, a great deal for two hours. The volunteers on kayaks were a huge help, providing real-time information about the local wildlife and plant life. We learned that otters have babies year-round and can live up to 30-40 years—a fascinating fact!
The water was calm, and the bikes were surprisingly stable, making it easy to enjoy the ride. The only downside? My tennis shoes got soaked because of my weight—it’s something to keep in mind next time!
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#### **Exploring the Monterey Bay Aquarium**
After our Hydro biking adventure, we made our way to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was an incredible experience, especially since we caught the penguin feeding for the first time. The aquarium is a must-visit for anyone traveling to the area—it’s bright, educational, and full of fascinating marine life.
Pricing had gone up slightly (around $90 for entry), but it was well worth every penny. After spending some time at the aquarium, we headed to Bubble Gump for lunch, where Darren got an appetizer and I had a meal with two drinks. It was pricey, but the food and ambiance made it memorable.
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#### **Carmel by the Sea: A Day of Exploration**
Our next stop was Carmel by the Sea, known for its ritzy vibe and expensive dining options. Finding parking here was a challenge, as we ended up parking five blocks away from our destination. The town’s architecture reminded us of Italy, with cobblestone streets, arched entrances, and hidden courtyards filled with art galleries and shops.
We explored the fairy tale houses, including the Hansel and Gretel cottages, which were absolutely charming. The mission, located nearby, was another highlight. Though much of it had been reconstructed, the historical significance made it worth visiting.
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#### **Lovers Point and Fisherman’s Wharf**
The following day, we returned to Carmel to visit Lovers Point and Peno’s Lighthouse. These spots were stunning, with breathtaking ocean views that made every penny spent on gas feel worthwhile. The Rock Area was particularly fascinating, with its rugged cliffs and hidden coves perfect for exploration.
We also stopped by Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, where we enjoyed a quick picnic on the beach. The white sand and clear waters made it an ideal spot to relax and take in the scenery.
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#### **A Glimpse into History**
During our trip, we stumbled upon an old lighthouse, where we learned about the Coast Guard’s role during World War II. The keeper’s house was a treasure trove of historical artifacts, including old appliances, storage rooms, and even a working kitchen. It was fascinating to see how the keepers lived back in the day, relying on their own gardens and livestock for survival.
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#### **Capitola: A Hidden Gem**
As our day drew to a close, we stopped in Capitola, known for its colorful beachfront homes and charming downtown. We grabbed some snacks from Safeway and set up for a picnic on the beach, enjoying the sunny weather after a morning of mist and fog.
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#### **Conclusion**
This weekend was nothing short of magical, filled with adventure, discovery, and unforgettable experiences. From Hydro biking in Moss Landing to exploring the historical sites of Carmel and Monterey, every moment was worth capturing.
Thank you for joining us on this journey! Don’t forget to subscribe, hit the thumbs-up button, and tune in next time for more exciting travel content. Until then, keep exploring and living life to the fullest!
Bye, guys!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey guys welcome back to my Channel or if you're new here welcome I'm Brooke and today we are kicking off the Monterey Bay and Carmel By the Sea Vlog so right now we are in Moss Landing we just got here you can kind of see um the marina behind me so we just checked in and got our life jackets because we are doing Hydro bike this morning so we are doing the first round of bikes going out it's 10:30 a.m. and we are so excited to get started we're at the elorn Yacht Club right now in MOS Landing they have all kinds of like kaying and paddle boarding adventures and then of course the hydro bike which is what we're doing so I'm about to bring you guys along if you haven't already don't forget subscribe below gives you a big thumbs up and let's get into it bat Rays leopard sharks all kinds of cool stuff it's go time yeah yeah they're surface in that Eel Grass yeah so while you're watching out for that stuff and then you got this little pamphlet too for matching up the wild life okay oh that's exciting yeah okay we are out here I can't even see oh there's Darren Darren's in the background we are on the hydro bikes it's actually really easy to paddle and this is so much fun we're having to keep an eye out for um like sea grass cuz apparently it'll get stuck in the propeller but he showed us how to clean it out and everything thing we also do have a storage container that closes and then we have two cup holders so I feel like they have a pretty good setup here we found the OTS look at them oh my gosh there are so many there're 10 over there they a few randomly you're out but we have definitely found where the otter like to hang out quick review so basically we found this place on Groupon I ended up calling him and being like hey I know a lot of companies um prefer even if you find him on Groupon they'll give you the same price um if you don't go through Groupon you just go through them directly because they don't have to pay group on the fee so he was so appreciative he gave us an additional discount so we ended up paying only $45 per person for 2 hours 10 out of 10 experience yes I the whole time yeah uh really stable surprisingly stable you don't really need a tour guide out there because there's volunteers on kayaks that will come up to you you can go up to them and they'll tell you anything you want to know about the area and the animals and the plant life so yeah we got to talk to like one lady and she was telling us about the otter and I guess they have babies year round um and also they live to be like what she say like 30 to 40 yeah something like that so otter love a long time so that was really cool and I have never seen so many otter in my life life yeah I almost got attacked by one oh my gosh it just started swimming up to me and it had just been like wrestling like a mom and a pub and then it like hissed at me and started chasing me yeah I had to paddle out of there like running away I wasn't even close to those things swim fast yeah no he was coming for you he like wanted to attack you I saw um but other than that one kind of aggressive um otter there were just so many and they were so freaking cute and they were just like everywhere like even um Moro Bay they're also known for their Waters we saw like four or five here it was like over 100 it had to be right oh it had to be yeah yeah and then tons of seals not sea lions we learned the difference so seals also there are so many like harbor seals oh my mistake earn the name Harbor Harbor Sals also you do stay dry like I wore tennis shoes and my shoes are completely dry I didn't it stay dry well I don't know what you were doing if I wore tennis I wore flipflops if I wore tennis shoes my tennis shoes would be soaked cuzz my feet are soaked well what were you doing well because I think of my weight I weigh like over 200 200 so I think the problem is like for me just lower so I kept hitting the water okay we are off to our next uh phase of our adventure we're going to hit the aquarium so I'll see you guys there all right guys we just got to the aquarium area and we just finished parking I'm popping in because I have a significant parking tip for you guys so there are two main major parking lots in this area the first one is the Intercontinental and that one is a $50 flat rate parking now caty corner from there is where we are parked and it's the caner row parking and garages this one is only $20 flat rate let me show you how close it is right there is the $50 parking garage you are literally in the same place on the same street so make sure you guys check per usual the aquarium was amazing amazing we got to see the penguin feeding for the first time we've never gotten to see that we always make it for the otter feeding but we got to go see all the usual spots and always a good time so now we are walking down to bubble gump to finish the next stage of our annual trip and then from there we are going to start branching out and doing things that we haven't done before so excited for you guys Along on that but aquarium is definitely something you can't skip it is so bright outside but bubble gumps obviously amazing per usual I will say pricing has gone up which is $90 literally Darren got an appetizer I got a meal and I got two drink and it was that much so a little wild but always worth it so we were going to go back to the car and change however literally right here is the winery that we're going to go wine tasting at so I think we're we're just going to we're just going to go so this is the winery we're going to and again literally Bubba gums is right here so yeah this is why we're not changing guys all right so just no judgment all right I've got my pack mule thank you I a p you are look at everything I have in carrying look in one hand too in one hand you know that was good it was a warmup shot good morning guys welcome back so the Indian food last night restaurant name was Namaste I would probably rate it maybe like three out of five stars but it was still a very good meal now this morning it's 8:30 and we have just arrived at our first Excursion so this is a handar Excursion so we're going to be going along these like railroad tracks and it's going to be really cool it's going to be really fun we've never done anything like this so we are very excited and this we also found out about from Groupon so we paid $162 for a two-person handar so that was the total for both of us so uh let's see if it's worth it so they do have their own parking it's not too much but they do have space so you can do these ones or we are opting for actually the easier one by foot this is what we'll be doing W this is really cool I think I prefer the feet the hand ones I mean they're like they're really fun want to hear the hand ones yeah those like uh like a workout and I don't know if I want to work out at 9:00 a.m. on vacation this this is much easier so also it's motor assisted so um you go 7 mes hour as long as the main person which is Darren um he's he's sitting in the captain's seat so the right seat as long as his feet are moving then the um motorized power I guess turns on and it goes yeah 7 m hour but you're able to Pedal faster it's just going to turn off the motor and it's manual at that point so you can work as hard as you want or you don't have to work at all and we are back that was so much fun that was really really fun and a great way to start the morning definitely do it in the morning cuz then it your whole day is going to be good the only bummer was that when we got here it was like not raining but like Mist sprinkling and so you guys saw my hair was cute it was curled um but between the mist and just the little breeze from um doing the carts my hair is destroyed but I mean I still think this was very very worth it something very cool also is that the um one of the owners the like guy's son he made these Hand cards it was his senior project in college and then when he got out they decided to open a business and they built them Mason Clark Mason Clark yep that's his son oh that's his son I nut so Mason Clark yeah so he's the guy that invented him so that makes me feel like this is a really really unique experience so I know it's the only one in Monteray but I'm kind of feeling like it might just be the only one like in general in California so that was that was really cool and you get like a history lesson beforehand too which is pretty cool oh yeah did you take notes yeah so the owner of the original tracks now they only have like a mile of the original tracks but his name was David Jax and he built it he didn't just own it he built it he built it and that's who they named the monter Jack chees after which is pretty cool and he owned in 1850 um the state owed him $11,000 so he ended up setting up an auction to sell some of the land that the state owned but he didn't invite anybody to the auction but him and his brother so they actually bought all of the Monterey Peninsula for $1,000 they just bought it he was like oh yeah government don't worry about it I'll hold an auction tells his brother we're not telling anyone about this the auction then just buys it like what I know scandalous so he owned Monteray she T pressured him like hey you got to name this cheese after me cuz I own he bullied them into it or if like it was like an honor of the cheese maker like we're going to name this cheese after you sir I feel like it happened after he died yeah 18th century so that's when he was around okay so we just went and did a quick pit stop at the hotel I Rec curled my hair look so good let let's see how long it lasts you know it it looked better this morning but it looks better than it did at the end of that Excursion so um it's a come up we'll see how long it lasts the mist and fog all that stuff has since gone away it has retreated hopefully for the day but right now we are on our way to Fisherman's Warf our hotel has just a great location it's just a 7 minute walk to Fisherman's Warf so we are uh going by foot so we just got to the mission so parking is free admission is $13 per adult uh there was different pricing for children we don't entirely know what this is but we are going to figure it out we have no clue no we just we saw yeah we saw it was something to do so uh here we are let's let's learn so we just finished uh walking through the entire mission that was really cool what do you think I mean the silence the silence says it all it wasn't for me but it was cool to see so no okay not you not enjoy it I thought it was really cool but what we did find out is that most of it was destroyed so a lot of this is just like reconstruction of what was it seems like it was destroyed once and then it was abandoned and just kind of fell into ruin so basically it was reconstructed twice so very little of what is here is actually original but nonetheless it is really beautiful and the recreation of everything I mean it looks like the pictures of what was here before so I'd say it was still worth it and for $113 I feel like it's a cool just piece of History we have made it to the first fairy tale house super beautiful I love all of the rounded edges that's super unique and it definitely does give like a fairy tale Vibe this is another one of the fairy tale houses we found storybook Cottage so cute we found the Hansel and Gretel houses look how cute this is so cute so this one's the Hansel house and let's go check out the gredle and here is the gredle house wow these are so unique look at that so cool and then some of the other houses also have a lot of character this whole neighborhood and then um over on the Hansel side there's a cute little patio so what's really cool is that they have stairs that go to both houses and like split off so they like share a front yard and I don't know if they share a backyard but you can see some other cool like like structures back there I don't know what it is they have a bunch of signs saying like private so we're not going to go back there but really really incredible beautiful homes so there are all of these hidden little nooks like you follow this little Stone path and we have an art gallery and over here little fire table and there's wine tasting what are you serious every little little area or something 2021 have that nice of course there are more shops over here look at that everywhere you go there's more it's crazy you just follow one little you've got to be kidding me there's more and another little shop this is crazy and look how beautiful this artwork is wow but literally I'm look a little halfway over there I bet that leads to something else this place reminds me of Italy so much where you're just walking down the street and you see a random little alley you decide to go down there and it just opens up to a whole new area with more shops and restaurants and businesses it's amazing there are things to explore around every corner I am in love with this place good morning guys and happy Sunday so we just woke up in Monteray we're staying at the same hotel that we did the night before also and I don't remember if I told you guys which one it is but it is the Monterey Marriott and it's a beautiful hotel Hotel what I will say though is that we are facing the street so it is very very noisy um neither of us slept very well either night which was kind of unfortunate but you know it's okay because it has a really great location so we are directly across the street from the um Convention Center we're also right next to downtown and then what we didn't realize when we went to the fisherman's uh Warf yesterday and we took this huge long walk around trying to find it it turns out we were actually only a block and a half away from it we clearly did not look up where we were going because we took ourselves in a real roundabout way of getting there so this hotel is really Central to um a lot of things and it's also really close to the aquarium so location wise I would very much recommend if you guys do stay here though I would ask for a room that does not face the street but let's talk about Carmel yesterday so Carmel absolutely beautiful it was giving like a coastal Rodeo Drive Vibe what we noticed initially is driving in there is so much traffic and finding parking is really difficult there was like I think one parking lot everything else is street parking finding places to park was really really challenging we ended up parking I think like five blocks away um which again we were down to explore and walk around so it wasn't too big of a deal but just something to keep in mind the whole area it did have a lot of bougie stores I mean we did have a Tiffany's we had a coach I think there was a Chanel um I can't remember but there were a few other like designers there and then there were a lot of art galleries and a lot of different like restaurants and coffee shops so um like shopping wise you do have some opportunities also little boutiques and stuff for us we didn't really go there to go shopping we just wanted to explore so some really cool things about that area is that it reminded us so much of Italy where you'll just be on a main road and then you see a little like Alleyway or a little Arch and you're like huh what's in there you walk in and then it opens up to like a little Plaza and there all these different like restaurants and little stores and then you'll notice off to the corner another little alley you walk down there and there is more and so it was just like it felt like an endless like really cute area to explore a lot of the buildings have like flowers and Ivy going up the sides and it was really like visually beautiful um it's also incredibly expensive though um like we got a glass of wine glass of wine was like $ 20 to $30 each um we did check out some restaurants and it was like the cheapest bottle at Several of these restaurants was like 90 there were some at other restaurants that the cheapest was like 45 or something but all the restaurants that had the like good reviews were very very expensive a lot of them also the cheapest dish was like $45 and it was like a small plate of pasta and it was like oh my gosh I'm not even going to be full after I eat that so definitely something to keep in mind um that if you go there you will be spending a pretty penny um we did try to get into a few different restaurants and the weight was really long so we actually did not end up eating dinner there we tried at like I think four or five different restaurants and then after that we ended up calling it a day and we just went to chipot lights today we are going to be going back to Carmel because yesterday we didn't have opportunity to go to Lovers Point or um peno's Lighthouse so we're going to be venturing back over there um something else to note is that we chose to stay in montere versus Carmel because Carmel is such a ritzy area that the hotels were like one and a half to two times the price and it's a 10 to 12 minute drive it is so close so it just made sense we like we can drive the 10 to 12 minutes in and we'd rather you know reallocate the money we'd save towards activities or food so that's how we ended up doing it we just arrived first thing there is quite a bit of parking there's a parking lot and then a bunch of street parking everything is free for up to 2 hours right here there's this beautiful little like well not little it's a big house but they've converted it into a restaurant so you can sit out on the patio or upstairs and have a beautiful view of the water so let me show you what this looks like cuz it's so pretty sand volleyball courts that Overlook it looks like you can um rent some like kayaks and stuff different activities and so you have access to the water right there and then we are over in the Park area so look how beautiful they have all these tables and grills and just overlooking everything oh my gosh this is a beautiful like white sand beach and I'm not sure oh right there so there's a beach entrance right there so you can come down all the beautiful rocks wow this is gorgeous we have some kaying out there they're coming back in I wonder what time they went out they must have been out there with the sunrise we have arrived to the Rock area oh this is cool you can like climb on them and it goes pretty far back if anyone's picnic went missing I think we have found the culprit I think this is him the thief this has got to be one of the most beautiful views and I would definitely say this is worth coming especially because it's literally free get a picnic get a breakfast sandwich and your coffee come enjoy it here the view is so worth it and it took us 8 minutes from our hotel to get here so it's right next to montere it's technically in a different city I think it's Pleasant Grove but it's so close it is definitely worth the stop I always is so fascinated with history and just older things how cool is this also like okay so these two are apparently warming ovens they thankfully gave a little guide well I guess we go off of this how cool it be to have warming ovens and cooking ovens and then storage so oh I was thinking actually that was hot food storage that's probably just like pots and pan storage but look how many like gadgets and everything like this thing can do everything that's so cool so apparently this whole section is an expans kitchen so that main room that we were just in when I showed you guys so that main room used to also have the kitchen and then they later expanded and added this whole section so right from the kitchen oh we have a bathroom wow this is actually a really spacious bathroom oh they have the water heater right here wow love the tub love the feet on the tub of course you have beautiful natural light actually really whole ceilings and then we venture a couple steps into what I'm assuming is the living room piano fireplace I mean they really had it all in the front room they also had two closets looks like they have another closet I mean look how big this is I mean these are the type of storage closets we need it's where they stored their water they stor they stor water what do you mean oh so they collected rang oh wait hold on oh this goes down put Chalk in it to make the lead float down to the bottom so cuz of the gide wa okay I'm used to seeing like attics but they have you could just fall through the floor of your closet okay well that's something to uh look out for in older homes apparently um but this is beautiful I love how tall the ceilings are like Darren 61 look how tall the ceiling is house okay there's actually an upstairs I thought this was downstairs okay let's go goes up again obviously military office to honor the relationship between the Coast Guard and the Lighthouse Keeper during World War II because um the Coast Guard built temporary Barracks between here and the water you can see so from that bedroom Lookout room oh there's a golf course here this is beautiful honestly I'd like come have my coffee and like my breakfast here like this this is the setup so we came all the way up and on the fourth floor you can see the lighthouse but we're not allowed to go up there or you can see the light I should say but we're not able to go up there this is this place is huge you can't you can't stand No SI short I feel right at home here I am 53 and 34 and I've got I've got a little bit of clearance here that's really cool Civil War whale oil prices Rose to over $200 a gallon in today's dollars a new technology like for during your tour of the light house take a look at some of the interactive displays cool this is huge okay so it looks like there used to be stairs here to go back up so here's what I've learned about the lighthouse so the keeper would live here and they could live here with their family they didn't have to pay to live here but they didn't get paid very well so room and board were kind of part of it they would get monthly stiens for meat and other groceries because they would have to go find it when the lighthouse was built there wasn't a city around it it was just kind of middle of nowhere so they had their own like Gardens they had cows chickens like everything so the Lighthouse Keeper would also have to maintain all of that because that was their source of food but that does explain why they have so much storage because they had to literally have everything here because there was nothing else you couldn't go out to the market you couldn't go out to a local farm and like get things everything you needed had to be here on site that was so cool so it was $7 entry for adults kids were a little cheaper but I forgot to look at what they cost because we don't have any kids with us um and then free parking on site and down the street so um all in all very affordable and I think this was really cool this is definitely something that I would recommend doing so our day continues we were about 45 minutes into our drive and and the weather started uh turning nice so we flipped around and we just got to Capitola so we had brought beach chairs so we've got our beach chairs we ended up stopping at Safeway and we got some different snacks that we put in the cooler that we brought cuz we did plan to do a beach picnic which we didn't get to do so now that it's beautiful we've stopped in Capitola yeah we're going to check this out we're going to set up shop um enjoy our little picnic on the beach so far our day is turning out to be quite spontaneous I'm really excited about it so right here this is the pup's favorite restaurant when we come here we come and get them different types of sausages so they love that Zelda's also really cute Beach Restaurant right over there are all of the classic CA houses ones are all different colors so I think 2 years ago we came here and stayed there they're very minimal as far as um amenities but you know it's it's cool just getting to stay there cuz they're so well known oh heading back there he is heading back today is the day that Darren finally gets his sweatshirt fixed show them show them what's going on it's been 2 years actually it's been I think it's been three I think it was our 2021 trip we went to the Santa Cruz store they never removed the tag Darren has been wearing this on the regular basis with the freaking tag on so we are going already went to the Santa Cruz store let them know that we're coming they know we're coming and they're going to remove it once a all we're coming they know we're coming and we're going to get it removed once and for all you know it's been a good long time it's been a good long time and we're going to get my phone out of the pocket and we're we're going to we're going to navigate we're going to navigate there all right there he goes there he goes all right he's in there getting it fixed once and for all he got it all right guys it is time for us to head home it has been a wonderful weekend I hope you guys have enjoyed this video if you haven't already please don't forget subscribe below give video a big thumbs up and don't forget to tune in next week for another new video If if you guys like the travel content be sure to head over to my channel check out all the travel videos I have tons of playlists that you guys will love thanks again for watching and I'll see you in the next one bye guys\n"