THE MAGIC CARPET: Monterey guide

Our first time visiting Monterey County! We stayed at the Monterey Plaza Hotel and they hooked us up! The hotel is literally in the water! Coolest thing ever! We hadn’t done a hotel collab in so long and I’m so glad they reached out because it was one of our favorite trips ever. Our suite was huge. It had a room with one bed, and then another room with a pullout couch, and another room with double beds. But you know we all ended up in the same room haha! It also had multiple balconies overlooking the water. The views were insane! You could see tons of cute sea otters on the daily! Looking out the window made me feel like we were on a cruise ship!

Sea Lions

One of the hotel guys was talking to us and said the nearby beach called San Carlos is super popular for diving. We walked over to that beach area which is by the harbor and we got to see so many sea lions up close and it was so cool! Every day we would walk down by the water to see them lying on the rocks or floating in the water. It was my favorite part of the trip watching them!

I called up the Lit fam to come meet up with us (@sarah_lit and @andy_j_lit) since they’re some of our favs! We had so much fun together! The kids love each other and could hang out every minute of every day together!!!

I didn’t expect to love Monterey as much as I did! I knew it was going to be fun because anywhere we go on a trip is always fun but there was so much to do with the kids and it was so pretty! It was a little chilly when we were there. It was about 60 degrees and that’s pretty cold for us! It never really gets super hot there so keep that in mind when you’re packing!

Where To Eat In Monterey:

Schooners Coastal Kitchen and Bar:

We ate here the night we got in. It’s the restaurant in the hotel! Kolly liked the clam chowder and they had Malibu!

El Toritos:

We were going to do Fiesta Friday at a place called Peppers, but they didn’t have Malibu! I called every Mexican restaurant near the hotel and none of them had it, so we ended up going to El Torito’s! They didn’t answer when I called, but because they were a chain, we hoped for the best. And they did have it! Woohoo! The restaurant is right on the water so it has a great view!

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The Fish Hopper:

This was walking distance from the hotel! Good fresh seafood option! Food was decent and it had an ocean view!

Gianni’s Pizza:

One of the places we went with the Lit fam and it was so good! Recommended by one of you! Walking distance to the hotel too!

Sapporo Sushi and Steakhouse:

Super fun teppanyaki place! This was recommended by a bunch of you!

What To Do In Monterey:

17 Mile Drive:

We did the 17-mile drive and it was so beautiful, but a little rough for the kids. Bryce said we wasted $10.75 to get our kids car sick and hear them argue about who's hot and who's cold hahahahah! But I thought it was so cool because one minute you’re in the woods and the next you’re on the beach and the houses and views are so beautiful to look at. The sand was so white and the ocean was so blue. And by the end, Kolly was even saying how cool it was!

Lover’s Point:

We actually drove a little bit past here, but there was so many purple flowers. They call it the Magic Carpet when the flowers are blooming like that! It was the perfect spot to take pics!

Monterey Bay Aquarium:

There was so much to see! It was so cool and the kids loved it. We saw a HUGE octopus, tons of different fish, sea otters, penguins, and more!

Cannery Row:

Walking distance from the hotel! All of the shops and restaurants here were so cute! We stopped at a small arcade here and the kids had a blast!

If you are ever traveling to or from Monterey, there are a few spots you have got to stop by!! Big Sur is about a 50 minute drive south of Monterey and there are so many fun things to do. They have probably the prettiest sights. Another surrounding city to visit is San Jose, right below the San Francisco Bay. Their seafood restaurants are no joke!

Dennis the Menace Playground:

This was the coolest park ever! It had everything, including paddle boats, but we didn’t have time to do those!

I have all my stories from our trip saved to my highlights on Instagram if ya wanna check out videos on what we did! I would definitely recommend going to visit Monterey! I can’t wait for us to go back!