I never miss the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is simply awesome and unlike any aquarium you'd ever see...I mean, it's got to be the best in the world, or at least in the top 3. They have a deep ocean... More

I never miss the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is simply awesome and unlike any aquarium you'd ever see...I mean, it's got to be the best in the world, or at least in the top 3. They have a deep ocean tank that's got huge sunfish and sharks in it...they even kept a Great White (juvenile) in it for a bit (released now). It's quite a drive down to Monterey from 'Frisco (about 50 or 60 miles), but I always, always go. I usually grab a bite to eat near the aquarium where you can watch Sea Lions bask from your dinner table (but be prepared for lackluster tourist-trap food), then hit the aquarium. If I leave early enough, I sometimes hit the Santa Cruz boardwalk on my way back to San Francisco, mostly for the nostalgia of my parents taking me as a kid (or because the "Lost Boys" from the 80's film hung out there..in the movie anyway), but it can get kind of scary there lately (population wise). The aquarium is great at feeding time (usually around 1 pm if memory serves). The kelp forest is awesome with two-three story tall tanks (also the sea otters). The Monterey area is beautiful to begin with anyway, so it's nice to visit anyway, especially if you like Steinbeck.
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The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a family friendly Aquarium that has lots of great kids activities. This aquarium is in an old fish cannery. It’s pretty cool and they even left some of the old... More

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a family friendly Aquarium that has lots of great kids activities. This aquarium is in an old fish cannery. It’s pretty cool and they even left some of the old factory equipment in place. Here you will see everything from clown fish to sharks, and even giant sea turtles. They are now featuring a great white shark. They have a lot of touch pools for the kids as well as sand and water play for them. They have a neat walkway that goes tight along the bay that you can get to from the aquarium. We say starfish, birds, sea otters, and a seal in the wild right there. If you go back into the aquarium you will be able to see sea otters and starfish in the tanks. This is very pricy. It was $21.50 for adults and our infant son was free. We got a $5.00 off admission card that was in one of the California Tourism Magazines that are free. It was an orange card that was stuck to the state map. You kids will have a lot of fun. It is made for kids in my opinion.
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This is a very cool place to go for a day. This is an awesome aquarium. They have such a wide array of fish and sea animals. The jellyfish tank is so amazing. I could sit there for hours watching... More

This is a very cool place to go for a day. This is an awesome aquarium. They have such a wide array of fish and sea animals. The jellyfish tank is so amazing. I could sit there for hours watching those beautiful creatures. They also have a huge tank which house some tuna. You need to watch those fish swim.
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When we go to Monterey to visit, this is our first stop. I absolutely love visiting this aquairum. I never feel like I've seen everything there is to see here and that's a great feeling. Even though... More

When we go to Monterey to visit, this is our first stop. I absolutely love visiting this aquairum. I never feel like I've seen everything there is to see here and that's a great feeling. Even though we don't have children my husband and I love going here, it's definetly for adults as well as children. You can just sit and watch the giant Tuna swim around or spend all day walking from one end to the other. I love this place!
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This is an awesome aquarium and it is a neat place to visit whether you are a kid or an adult. It will give you a whole day of entertainment because it is so darn big. Actually, it is a little... More

This is an awesome aquarium and it is a neat place to visit whether you are a kid or an adult. It will give you a whole day of entertainment because it is so darn big. Actually, it is a little overwhelming and it is sometimes a good idea to get your hand stamped and go shop for a little while on Cannery Row and then come back. It gets extremely crowded, especially on the weekend, and the line just to get in and get tickets takes forever. I would highly recommend pre-ordering your tickets online. Also, the parking is really bad. It is very hard to find a place to park. However, once you get past that and get into the aquarium it is really neat. There are so many exhibits that I couldn't even begin to list them all. Some of the best ones are the touch tank for the kids where they can touch starfish and rays. Also, the otter exhibit is really good because it is a huge tank where you can watch the otters play both above and under the water. The most awesome exhibit is the jellyfish exhibit. It is really big and dark and you can see all the beautiful colors of the jellyfish. I would highly recommend just going in and checking it out if you are going to be near Monterey. It is a much more pleasant experience if you can go during the week and not during the summer or Christmas or Spring break, because it just gets way too busy.
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This is worth a visit if you’re in Monterey or the surrounding area. They have an amazing display of jellyfish right now that is fascinating. Other favorites included the Splash Zone and penguins... More

This is worth a visit if you’re in Monterey or the surrounding area. They have an amazing display of jellyfish right now that is fascinating. Other favorites included the Splash Zone and penguins and the sea otters. Make sure you get over to the deep water to see the huge fish! There is a ton of hands-on stuff for the kids, but adults will love checking out the underwater world too. Get to the feeding shows early if you want to watch (a must for the sea otters) because the space to watch fills up quickly. Get tickets from a local hotel because you’ll get two consecutive days admission for the price of one and then you can take your time and see everything.
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We were in Monterey with the kids for three wonderful days. This aquarium isn't what I would call just an acquarium, but a labor of love by one of the scions of the Hewlett-Packard clan. What... More

We were in Monterey with the kids for three wonderful days. This aquarium isn't what I would call just an acquarium, but a labor of love by one of the scions of the Hewlett-Packard clan. What makes it amazing? First, the exhibits are out of this world. For instance, they have a million gallon tank where tuna can really go 40 mph around and around. It is an amazing model of the open ocean. Second is the deep water exhibit. They have creatures that were literally 10,000 feet below sea. Something you can see no where else. The place is vast and it is right next to the Monterey Bay, itself an amazing place. Make sure to take a kayak while you are there. The kelp forests out there are amazing and typically a seal will try to jump onto your kayak and give you a kiss. (I'm not kidding!). Perhaps the best thing about the place though is the advocacy and awareness. This is where the kids learned about overfishing. We still have their awareness card. For instance, it tells you that Chilean Seabass is really Patagonia Toothfish and has been hunted out of existence in a few years. And that essentially all the fish from the Atlantic is endangered and you shouldn't eat most of the shrimp you see because the farmed ones are destroying the environment and the rest are essentially stripmined destroying the seabeds.
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This aquarium is the best around and anyone passing through Monterey should spend a day there. The exhibits are amazing and they often add new ones. There are various hands on exhibits for the kids.... More

This aquarium is the best around and anyone passing through Monterey should spend a day there. The exhibits are amazing and they often add new ones. There are various hands on exhibits for the kids. Located right on the water in Monterey the facilities are very impressive. Don't rush through as there many one-of-a-kind tanks here.
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We stopped by here one day during a tour of California, and I was amazed by everything I saw. This aquarium is amazing. They have everything a kid (and adult) would want to see. All the... More

We stopped by here one day during a tour of California, and I was amazed by everything I saw. This aquarium is amazing. They have everything a kid (and adult) would want to see. All the information that is provided is great, and you always learn something when you're there. I could spend days there and never get bored. I recommend this aquarium for the young, and the young at heart.
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The city of Monterey is a beautiful area in and of itself, but when we're in town we always make a visit to the aquarium. We love to go outside and see the natural tide pools. But it's really the... More

The city of Monterey is a beautiful area in and of itself, but when we're in town we always make a visit to the aquarium. We love to go outside and see the natural tide pools. But it's really the jellyfish are the most amazing. I never could have imagined all the different shapes, sizes and colors that these come in. The whole visit is really an unbelievable experience. The tickets end up being expensive, but last time I think we ended up getting them online at Costco.com before we went and that saved us some money. I think kids would love this because you get to touch the stingray.
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