Monterey Bay Aquarium & Whale Watching

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a scenic two-hour drive from Pacifica down Coast Highway One. It is located at "Cannery Row," where John Steinbeck wrote his famous novel, by the same name. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is home to 35,000 plants and animals and was the first to have a 35-foot tank for viewing sea life and giant kelp. A young Great White Shark was released from the Aquarium in January 2007 and traveled all the way from the southern point of Monterey Bay to the tip of Baja, California - a journey of 2,200 miles! The journey took him 700 miles offshore and to depths of more than 1,000 feet.

Six African Spotted-Necked Otters and four Asian Small-Clawed Otters arrived at the aquarium on March 31, 2007. Other sea life on exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium include stingrays, jellyfish, hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, giant bluefin tunas, dolphins, and penguins. Across the street from the Monterey Bay Aquarium are several outlet stores. Just a short drive from the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the famous 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach Golf Course, Point Lobos State Reserve, the Big Sur Coastline, and the Village of Carmel by the Sea. Carmel is famous for having Clint Eastwood as a former Mayor and for its many art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and the Carmel Mission.

Whale Watching

Whales are much too large to house at the Monterey Bay Aquarium; however, whale watching, led by marine biologists, is available at the Monterey Fisherman’s Wharf. Your whale watching tour will bring you face to face with Gray Whales, Humpback Whales, and Blue Whales. Whale watching occurs in the winter and the spring as the entire Gray Whale population migrates past the Monterey coastline. Blue Whales are the largest animals on earth, reaching over 90 feet and weighing 200 tons. The best whale watching for Humpbacks and Blue Whales is late spring, summer, and fall. Killer Whales can be sighted on your whale watching excursions year round, but are unpredictable in occurrence. Your whale watching tour will range from 3 to 5 hours. Please remember whale watching is a privilege. Be careful not to disturb them.