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The Monterey Bay Aquarium is paradise on Earth. You can see AND you can touch. Isn’t it amazing for a museum? And there’s something very important you need to know about me: I LOVE FISH!
We were coming from a very bad day at Yosemite and the thought of just calmly meditating looking at fish was really appealing to me. I’m a diver (a very occasional one), but doesn’t it look cool to say it? Hey hi! I’m a diver. I have my card. Blink.
Anyway…The thing is that the most important rule when you dive (except to keep breathing) is to never touch anything ever. And I’m a ”toucher”(This sounds creepy. I’m sorry). I like to touch (Nope… doesn’t sound better).
In the Monterey Aquarium, they have special pools where you can touch some crabs, sea cucumbers, bat rays, and other weird creatures I had never seen before.
Picture from Unsplash
Things you need to know: this place is HUGE. It took me 3 hours to visit all the different sections. And I wasn’t meditating this long in front of each aquarium. Also, even if the visit is long, please bring your kids there! Seriously, they have thought of everything: quests, games, costumes, color everywhere. It’s perfect!
But other people have already thought of that, because there’s so many kids!
I tried to relax and take pictures of fish but I was just constantly pushed by little humans. And even though I like mini-humans, sometimes I can be a bitch.
So I found the best strategy: I went 5 meters far from what I wanted to see, and say very loud ”Oh look! A shark!” And they all came running. ”I wanna see the shark! I wanna see the shark!”
There was no shark. Mehehe.
So I could take the best Finding Nemo casting picture in peace. Paparazzi style.
The best part is definitely the ”Jellies Experience.” An impressive section entirely dedicate to jelly fish.
After an afternoon visiting the Monterey Aquarium, I felt like eating seafood. I guess I’m a bad person. To save my karma, I finally had a burger.
Oh wait, isn’t Karma an Indian thing?
Crap.
At least, I swear I didn’t flash the octopus.
Practical Info
Hotels
Monterey can be quite popular during the summer, make sure to book your room in advance.
I chose to book mine on Airbnb, and I found an old school bus transformed into a room. It was super original and I spend the best night ever.
Not familiar with Airbnb? Take a look at my Beginner’s Guide to Airbnb.
If you prefer, there’s also tons of options for Monterey Hotels.
Cost
The cost to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium is around 50US$/adult but it totally worth it!
To discover more posts about California:
- California – My 10 Days Road Trip Itinerary
- What You Can See in One Day Walking in San Francisco
- Best Road Trip Songs to Drive Down Pacific Highway
- What to Pack For California in Autumn
- Los Angeles is Disney World on Crack
- Photo Essay: Alcatraz Prison
- Why We Had a Terrible Day at Yosemite
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9 Commentaires
NOT FLASH THE OCTOPUS????? mmmmhhhhhh hihi really?? oh ok that kind of flash ;)
I didn’t flash in any ways. ;)
Have you ever seen how cute are baby stingray!!! My heart is melting
http://www.koreus.com/video/bebe-raie.html
Oh wow! this video is so cute! Thanks for sharing.
In fact, there were baby bat rays when I was at Monterey Bay Aquarium. They look like cute aliens. Ahah!
Je trouve que c’est l’article le plus rigolo jusqu’à maintenant :)
Merci Stephen! Contente de t’avoir fait rire! :)
My first ever visit to the States was to California and we went here – it was fantastic! I remember looking at the jelly fish in that big blue tank in your last photo so vividly as it was huge and I’d never seen anything like it before.
Another memory was the Sea Otters, floating around on their backs – do they still have those there?
Great day, totally worth the drive from San Francisco. Thanks for triggering some happy memories :)
Yes the otters are still there, playing around. Very funny to look at :)
Yay, loved those little guys!