Monterey
Four blocks from Cannery Row and the aquarium, this simple, clean hostel houses single-sex and mixed dorms, as well as private rooms for three to five people. Days start with free make-your-own-pancake breakfasts and might conclude with barbecue parties or story-swapping in the lounge with piano. Check in from 2pm to 10pm
Take MST bus 1 from downtown’s Transit Plaza.
0.23 MILES
Monterey is practically synonymous with its world-class aquarium overlooking Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which protects dense kelp forests and…
26.47 MILES
Pfeiffer Beach is at the heart of what Big Sur is all about – splendid, unusual scenery that's inspired generations of artists, writers, and travelers…
24.88 MILES
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has been an Americana classic like few others for over a century. Now as in 1907 when the amusement park first opened, the…
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
7.09 MILES
They bark, they laze and bathe and they’re fun to watch – sea lions are the stars in this state park some 4 miles south of Carmel, along with the…
14.47 MILES
This museum will interest almost anyone, even if you don't know anything about Salinas’ Nobel Prize–winning native son, John Steinbeck (1902–68), a…
21.11 MILES
A little over 6 miles south of Bixby Bridge, Point Sur rises like a velvety green fortress out of the sea. It looks like an island, but is actually…
Seymour Marine Discovery Center
24.69 MILES
This educational center is part of UCSC’s Long Marine Laboratory. Interactive natural-science exhibits include tidal touch pools and aquariums, while…
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo
5.05 MILES
Carmel's strikingly beautiful mission is an oasis of solemnity with flowering gardens and a thick-walled basilica filled with Spanish Colonial art and…
0.17 MILES
The trio of tiny original one-room cabins where cannery workers shacked up provides a sobering reminder of the hard lives led by Filipino, Japanese,…
0.23 MILES
John Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row immortalized the sardine-canning business that was Monterey’s lifeblood for the first half of the 20th century. A…
0.23 MILES
Monterey is practically synonymous with its world-class aquarium overlooking Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which protects dense kelp forests and…
0.27 MILES
Along Cannery Row, stop at Steinbeck Plaza to soak up bay views and snap a photo of yourself with a bronze bust of the famous writer.
5. Presidio of Monterey Museum
0.74 MILES
On the grounds of the original Spanish fort, this specialized museum (of interest only to history buffs) looks at Monterey’s history from a military…
6. Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
0.85 MILES
With a gray-whale sculpture out front, this small kid-oriented museum has old-fashioned exhibits about sea otters, coastal bird life, butterflies, the Big…
0.95 MILES
Open to the public, this fine adobe structure was originally built in 1847 by Scottish settler, David Wight.
0.98 MILES
Originally built as a lodging house and tavern in 1847, and used as a theater from 1850, this building is currently closed for renovation.