This last Memorial Day weekend we decided to take a road trip to Monterey California to take the kids to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Monterey is one of my favorite places and some of my best memories growing up were visiting the area with my family, going to the aquarium, exploring the tide pools and walking around Cannery Row. Since we were only there for a short time, I tried to plan the day at the aquarium where we could maximize their fun because not only is it such a huge place with so much to see, but I knew we had to include time for naps if we wanted to be able to make evening plans as well.
Here are a few of my tips for traveling to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with kids:
Buy tickets ahead of time online and arrive a little early. You can purchase tickets online before you go and they are good for one year from the purchase date. If you have a student ID, you can save $10. We got in the entry line about 30 minutes before opening, and they let us go inside the building where they did a big greeting. The line behind us formed almost instantly and quickly became very long. If you had to stand in the line to buy tickets, it wrapped around the building before opening time so buying ahead of time is going to save you a lot of time, especially when you have antsy toddlers waiting to start their adventure.
Try to stay at a hotel nearby that is within walking distance of the aquarium. Try to book ahead to get the best deals or use the Hotel Tonight app if booking last minute. There is an amazing walking path that runs parallel to Cannery Row called the Monterey Coastal Trail that takes you right to the aquarium and also connects to the beach. We took our double stroller, loaded up the kids and had about a 10-minute walk to the aquarium. Having the hotel nearby was a lifesaver. We left the aquarium around 1:00, went to grab lunch at the Cannery Row Brewing Company, which was very family friendly, then went back for a quick nap. When they woke up, they were ready to roll again and we went back to see a few more exhibits.
Bring snacks and waters. We brought a few snacks to avoid any hunger meltdowns, and they are completely ok with that at the aquarium. You just can’t bring like a full-on picnic. They have lots of water stations to fill up water bottles as well so bring your reusable water bottles. We left for lunch because we expected food to be less expensive outside of the aquarium, but we found that the café inside the aquarium is actually pretty reasonably priced and their food looked good too. They also serve beer which cost $3 less than it was at the brewery. Plus you get a great ocean view!
Get kid’s wristbands at the information desk. They offer wristbands for kids at the information desks that have fun designs on them and they write your phone number on the inside of the band. This way, if your kid wanders off, they can give you a call. I saw one mom lose her 5-year-old in the play area and I just wouldn’t wish that on anyone because that feeling is horrible. There are a lot of people there and a lot of distractions so it’s better to be safe on this one. Luckily, they also have a lot of friendly staff members on every corner who always have their eyes out as well.
Sign up for text alerts. When you get there, they give you a map which also has information on their text alert program. They will send you a text when they are feeding some of the animals or giving some impromptu education on them. We received a text that they were going to feed one of the octopus in the Tentacles exhibit and the kids got a kick out watching it grab its food. These spontaneous feedings draw in a much smaller crowd than the large scheduled feedings, so you get to see it up close without the crowding.
We had a blast and a few weeks later the kids are still talking about all the fun animals they saw. Best of all, they learned so much about the ocean. I hope this helps some of you with kiddos looking to do some exploring at the aquarium! Leave any questions below and also, of course wear comfy shoes!
