Family Fun: A Trip To The Monterey Bay Aquarium

Baby C loves reading about fishes, whales and sharks so we decided to take a road trip to Monterey, California and visit the Monterey is a beautiful little town with lots of history and great for walking and biking. We didn’t have a chance to bike while we were there but we did enjoy walking along Cannery Row and seeing the wildlife along the coast. There were seals, otters and pelicans basking in the sun.

We stayed at the Portola Hotel and Spa which was about a 20 minute walk to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were pleasantly surprised that the hotel was so accommodating to pets and young children.  Tip: Most of the hotels sell aquarium tickets. I recommend buying tickets from the hotel directly for two reasons. First, it saves time because the wait time to purchase tickets at the aquarium entrance was anywhere from 30 – 60 minutes. Second, we got two days instead of one for the same price.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was one of the most remarkable places my husband and I have ever visited. The sustainability and conservation efforts are truly amazing and the volunteers are so helpful and knowledgeable. You could tell everyone there really loved their job and cared about the animals.

When you walk into the aquarium on the first floor is a kelp forest with lots of sardines, rock fish, sharks, starfish and a pretty cool wolf eel. We were able to see one of the two daily feedings and it was incredible. A diver hand fed the fish and we were lucky enough to see the wolf eel come out and eat.  The top of the kelp forest tank is open to allow sunlight in – it was beautiful to see the rays shining down through the water. It was a great place to relax and mommy and daddy sat in front of the big tank while Baby C took an afternoon nap.

We didn’t realize it but we went during spring break so it got pretty crowded in the afternoon.  There are a lot of places for stroller parking throughout the aquarium so I recommend bringing a carrier or sling so that it is easier to maneuver and see exhibits.

Jellys, sea horses, sea dragons and more tomorrow!