California (Central Coast)

Monterey Peninsula

The rocky headlands of the Monterey Peninsula, where gnarled cypress trees amplify the collision between the cliffs and the thundering sea, mark the northern edge of the Big Sur coast, a hundred miles south of San Francisco. The lively harbor town of Monterey was the capital of California under the Spanish and Mexicans, and retains many old adobe houses and places of genuine historic appeal alongside some overstated tourist traps. Carmel, on the other hand, three miles to the south, is a self-consciously quaint village of million-dollar holiday homes.

Eating
There are many excellent places to eat all over the peninsula. If you’re on a tight budget, the best cheap eats are on the north side of Monterey, along Fremont Street and just south of Cannery Row on and around Lighthouse Avenue.
  • Bookworks, 667 Lighthouse Ave, Monterey (tel 831/372-2242). Cafe frequented by locals, serving light lunch fare at reasonable prices.
  • Fishwife Restaurant, 1996 Sunset Drive at Asilomar, Pacific Grove (tel 831/375-7107). Longstanding local favorite, serving great food at reasonable prices – about $10 a plate – in cozy surroundings.
  • Old Monterey Cafe, 489 Alvarado St, Monterey (tel 831/646-1021). More-than-you-can-eat breakfasts, plus tasty sandwiches. Closed Mon.
  • Paolina’s, San Carlos between Ocean & 7th, Carmel (tel 831/624-5599). Fresh homemade pastas in a casual courtyard setting.
  • Papa Chano’s Taqueria, 462 Alvarado St, Monterey (tel 831/646-9587). Delicious and cheap Mexican food, featuring burritos.
  • Pasta Mia Trattoria, 481 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove (tel 831/375-7709). Tasty homemade pastas, grilled seafood and veal in a rustic, homey setting.
  • Pepper’s Mexicali Cafe, 170 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove (tel 831/373-6892). Gourmet Mexican seafood Californified into healthy, high-style and reasonably priced dishes.
  • Sardine Factory, 701 Wave St, Monterey (tel 831/373-3775). California seafood cuisine served in French château splendor – costs less then you might expect too.
  • Schooners, in the Monterey Plaza Hotel, 400 Cannery Row, Monterey (tel 831/372-2628). Colorful California bistro in an historic hotel with views over the bay.

Drinking and nightlife
Monterey has always been better known as a sleepy, romantic getaway than as a hub of hip nightlife, but the Monterey Jazz Festival in mid-September (tel 1-800/307-3378) is the oldest continuous jazz festival in the world and draws crowds from afar.
  • Franco’s Norma Jean Club, 10639 Merritt St, Castroville (tel 831/633-2090). Heading towards Santa Cruz, this disco serves up Latin, house and techno to local trendsters.
  • Lighthouse Bar & Grill, 281 Lighthouse Ave (tel 831/373-4488). Friendly gay pub where the locals hang.
  • The Mucky Duck, 479 Alvarado St (tel 831/655-3031). Sip a 20oz Guinness around the fire, at the bar, or at a table on the patio out back. Occasional live folk, Celtic and rock music; DJ on back patio.
  • Planet Gemini, 625 Cannery Row (tel 831/373-1449). Mixed music and comedy venue usually with a $6–8 cover. Closed Mon.

Accommodation
Hotel and B&B rates average $120 a night, but cheaper motels gather along Fremont Street and Munras Avenue, two miles north of the center. The nearest camping is in Veteran’s Memorial Park, site of Steinbeck’s fictional Tortilla Flat, in the hills above town.
  • Bide-a-Wee Motel, 221 Asilomar Ave, Pacific Grove. Excellent value, no-frills rooms, a few with kitchenettes. A 2min walk to the ocean.
  • Carmel Mission
  • Carmel Resort Inn, Carpenter and 2nd Ave, Carmel. One of the least expensive properties in town; cottage rooms with fireplaces.
  • Del Monte Beach, 1110 Del Monte Ave, Monterey. A bargain B&B close to the center of Monterey. All the usual trappings for half the normal cost.
  • Doubletree Monterey Hotel
  • El Dorado Inn, 900 Munras Ave. Cheap, basic accommodation at budget rates.
  • Green Gables Inn, 104 5th St, Pacific Grove. Plush doubles in one of the prettiest homes in town, on the waterfront just a few blocks from the Aquarium.
  • Hampton Inn
  • Mariposa Inn, 1386 Munras Ave. The best deal in town. Cozy rooms with fireplaces and full amenities at reasonable rates.
  • Monterey Hilton Hotel
  • Pacific Grove Motel, Lighthouse Ave at Grove Acre. Basic, small motel in marvelous setting, 100 yards from the sea.

Arrival, information and getting around
If you’re coming from the south, Greyhound buses will drop you at the Exxon station on the Monterey waterfront, while Amtrak requires you to change in the sprawling agricultural town of Salinas inland, and take a further 55-minute trip on the hourly local bus #21 into Monterey. Getting around the peninsula itself is surprisingly easy, on Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) buses (tel 831/899-2555). The most useful routes are #4 and #5 (Monterey–Carmel), #21 (Monterey–Salinas), and #1 (Monterey–Pacific Grove); there’s also a free shuttle bus from downtown to the Aquarium on Cannery Row. Bus #22 runs along the Big Sur coast to Nepenthe twice a day, in summer only.

Another option is to rent a bike: good-quality mountain bikes are offered by Adventures by the Sea, 201 Alvarado Mall (tel 831/372-1807) and outside the Maritime Museum, or Bay Bikes, 640 Wave St on Cannery Row (tel 831/659-5824).

The Monterey Visitors Center is at Camino El Estero at Franklin St on Lake El Estero (summer Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 9am–5pm; winter Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 10am–4pm; tel 831/649-1770). Both it and the less busy Chamber of Commerce tourist office at 380 Alvarado St (Mon–Fri 8.30am–5pm) can help with accommodation. In Carmel, the Monterey County Visitors Center, 137 Crossroads Blvd (Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11.30am–5.30pm; tel 831/626-1424), has information on the entire peninsula and will help with hotel reservations.

For more regional information on the Monterey Peninsula, go to:

For info on Great Drives in this area, go to: