Do You Know the Way to
Monterey--- Carmel Peninsula?
Sightseeing, Food and Lodging Recommendations

If you are part of our society that still has “A Fear of Flying”, has cancelled travel plans and has instead leaped into a new “Zero” interest car purchase, this article is for you.  That new vehicle is just itching to take you away from it all, for a short drive just a few hours away.  Forget the fakery of Las Vegas or oft visited and banal San Diego. Go North to one of the most beautiful, different and truly exciting places in the entire United States.

If you leave at 8 AM, you can have a late lunch in thrilling Monterey or Carmel. If you leave at 9 AM, you can break up the drive with lunch in quaint Pismo Beach at Rosa's Italian Restaurant on Price Street or Paso Robles at The Wine Deli for an espresso and a salad,  or Lolo's for Mexican. Both are on Spring Street.  . Both towns have many other unique luncheon choices. Stay away from the Madonna Inn and The Apple Farm near San Luis Obispo. The first is as depressing and rundown as its sign. The second is an overpriced cutesy joint with mediocre food and incompetent service. 

Try to go during the week when it is less crowded. If you are staying in Monterey-Carmel for the weekend, get there early before the day-trippers come down from the Bay Area. While you can park outside and save the car parking charge, I recommend that you pay the $3 fee and drive in to the main parking lot. There is a lot to see nearby. Then drive South along the shore for other interesting sights until you reach the picnic grounds at the South end of the Park. Picnic there if you choose or hike down to that secluded beach called China Cove. This sojourn will take about 2-3 hours.   There will still be lots more to see but perhaps on another time.

The Monterey Aquarium is also an obvious must. To ensure getting in when you want to, it might be worthwhile to buy tickets ahead of time and then perhaps spend the wait time exploring nearby Cannery Row or Fishermen’s Wharf. Both areas are fun but somewhat touristy and most of the restaurants are expensive for what they offer.  The upscale Sardine Factory in Cannery Row has been around for 30 years and is OK but very pricey. If you must eat at Fisherman’s Wharf, Abalonetti’s may be the best of the bunch. Unfortunately parking near the Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf and even downtown Carmel is an adventure. Look for public pay or metered lots in both towns. Street parking is free in Carmel but tires are marked on a 90-minute basis,

There is an interesting walking tour of Historical Monterey including the home of Robert Louis Stevenson. A map can be obtained at the Monterey Information Center.

If you are adventuresome and have the time, a drive down Highway One to Big Sur is worth doing. You can lunch at funky and now also slightly tourist oriented  Nepenthe. It is somewhat pricey for hamburgers, but fun. Or go upscale to The Ventana Inn for  interesting food and a beautiful hillside view of Big Sur. 

An astounding and very worthwhile scenic and hiking target 5 minutes to the South of Ventana is the beach area of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.  It is free. Reasonable lodging accommodations in the vicinity are at rustic but comfortable Big Sur Lodge in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park which is a also great place to hike. Both parks have camping sites. Reservations should be made 10 days in advance.

But most people, with good reason, choose to stay in the convenience of the Carmel area which has a very wide range of comfortable lodging from under $100 bed and breakfasts, $100+ motels and $200+ Hotels to the  $300- 500 a night golf palaces found in nearby Pebble Beach and Carmel Valley. The latter may be offering deals right now, based on the current deluxe travel downturn.  Quaint Pacific Grove has an abundance of interesting bed and breakfasts, some of which are historic buildings plus the very inexpensive and well reputed Asilomar Conference complex which rents out excess rooms.
 

However, while certainly not inexpensive at $250 + per night, perhaps the most spectacular lodging on the entire West Coast is the world famous deluxe motel with the strange name of “The Tickle Pink Inn ”.  It is located on a bluff 4 miles South of Carmel. next to the tony Highlands Inn which is currently in its second or third reorganization, this time by Hyatt.

The Tickle Pink is superior in almost every category to the Highlands Inn and at a lower price with more amenities. Every room has a heart-stopping unencumbered balcony view of Big Sur, Point Lobos and a turbulent Pacific Ocean at sunset. The price includes a  deluxe continental breakfast served in your room, plus a generous complimentary evening wine and cheese offering on an enclosed patio. If you stay there, it will be one of the unbelievable and romantic experiences of your life and you will agree that it was worth every penny of those few extra dollars.
 

For years, dining on the Monterey Peninsula was generally a disappointing experience  Prices were high, service was condescending and the food was erratic. This was and still is especially  true at the huge hotels in Pebble Beach, Spanish Bay and Carmel Valley.

There is a wide range of less expensive and interesting choices in the relaxed and easily accessible Pacific Grove area West of the Aquarium. If you are sightseeing around Asilomar Beach and the Point Pinos Lighthouse, an inexpensive casual choice for fresh fish is The Fisherman’s Wife.