Monterey Bay Aquarium

886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940, USA

Address:	886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940, USA
Phone:	+1 831-648-4800
Site:	montereybayaquarium.org
Rating:	4.5
Working:	9:30AM–6PM 9:30AM–6PM 9:30AM–6PM 9:30AM–6PM 9:30AM–6PM 9:30AM–6PM 9:30AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Chelsea Madren

Rain or shine, the best place to visit is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Located in Cannery Row, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation started planning phases in 1978 with construction costs of $55 million. David and Lucile Packards one-time personal gift made it happen. On October 20, 1984, Monterey Bay Aquarium opened its doors to 10,681 visitors on opening day. For sci-fi fans, The Aquarium was also featured in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Remember the scene where Spock swims and communicates with whales in a fictional whale tank? * Photography Tip: Non-flash photography is appropriate. Flashes may cause stress to the sea life on display and can ruin guest experience in the darkened corridors. Also, please leave tripods at home or in the car. The legs can cause a tripping hazard for children and/or a high fall for your camera. In the Kelp Forest, Pacific Sardines are expert synchronized swimmers as they move together as one. The sardines in a large school make themselves look larger to predators. The display of twirling movements and shimmering scales make them look almost mechanical, reminiscent of The Matrix Sentinel Squids as they descended upon Zion. One of the biggest attractions at The Aquarium are the cute, playful Sea Otters. In the mornings, they are either floating on their backs and resting, rolling and playing with the toy sea kelp, or on the rocks sunning themselves or crunching on ice. * Tip: Check for Sea Otter Feeding Times and arrive at the exhibit 30 minutes before to stake out a spot. The sea otters will often get really close to the glass for some really cute, up-close and personal photos as the trainers work with them. The Jellies Experience showcases different species of jellies. Interesting facts about jellies: They are more than 95% water. They do not have bones, brains, blood, teeth, or fins. They can also grow and shrink based on their food supply. The Black Sea Nettle lives in the Pacific Ocean and drifts in offshore currents. They can grow to more than 3 feet across with tentacles that can trail over 25 feet in length. Moon Jellies are alien-like and look like small moons swimming around. The great thing about jellies is that they are living art. The Aquarium has created the perfect backdrop and lighting for you to view and photograph these beautiful creatures. Head outside and see Life on the Bay where you can view wildlife in the bay. Watch Southern Sea Otters resting, playing, and eating on the kelp beds. See Pelagic Cormorants fly and dive as they feed in flocks. You may get a top view of a jelly floating in the water. Or spot a Harbor Seal curiously swimming around the jets of rocks near The Aquarium. If you plan on eating outside, be mindful of your food as the Western gull is eyeing your food too. The Splash Zone & Penguins lets you explore where rockfish, sharks, and penguins call their home. The African Blackfooted Penguin are from South Africa. With the cold currents along the South African coast, these birds "fly" through the water to chase squid, anchovy, and other small fish.

Bill McElroy

Something fishy going on here.. Visited in early June 2017 and found that the cost of entry for a Senior {$39.95} was less than the {$7.00} discount for Veterans and others. Lots of fish, displays, and one can spend the entire day here reading the placards and other descriptions. This was a Cannery at one time and thus has limitations to what they could do with the building and the displays. They did a good job, but I have been to much more interesting and complex aquariums in Camden, New Jersey and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that did not cost as much. Most of the visitors did NOT spend the time to actually see and read about the Old Cannery {a separate section of the aquarium} and that is a shame as it is one of the reasons to go there. There is a FREE Trolley from the downtown parking garage, and using it is almost a must as parking near the site is nearly nonexistent. There is a restaurant internal to the site not far from the restrooms, but trying to get a sip of WATER is near impossible {Gee and right next to the ocean at that}. {Corporate greed forces you to purchase drinks like water}. The main tank show was disappointing in that it is NOT closed off during the feeding show and people kept going from room to room in front of much of the audience {Once the show starts, that area should have been blocked off- people with baby carriages, people in wheelchairs, people with luggage, and such did not want to see the show, only move through it} Be prepared for lots of people and children pushing and shoving when the feeding of the otters and penguins is happening. Children do have a hands-on touch me, pet me {says the fishy} area. It was the first week in June 2017 and the weather was not brutal, but was on the chilly side, so wear suitable clothing. All in all a good way to spend four to six hours. Lunch at their restaurant was reasonable, but nothing to write home about.

Michael G

Okay, first of all, how could you not write a four or five star review of this place?! This is definitely a world-class aquarium, and one of the best Ive ever been to (You cant beat Shedd Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium, plus I gotta stay loyal to my local, aquarium, The Florida Aquarium). This is a very unique aquarium, featuring pretty much only animals inhabit Monterey Bay. I HIGHLY recommend that you purchase tickets online ahead of time because I feel thats important to be as efficient as possible when visiting this place. Also, they do have a lot of feedings, trainer talks, and other programs throughout the day which are probably all very good, but I feel that if theres a time constraint, skip them because walking around yourself and seeing all the exhibits at your own speed are more than enough. The best exhibits at the aquarium for me were The Open Sea, featuring the ocean sunfish (A.K.A. Mola mola), hammerhead sharks, and a whole lot more, the Puffins exhibit is also great (I can never get enough of those cute puffins!), and the aviary. For those of you who said in your review that you had trouble viewing exhibits up close because of the large crowd, for my experience, I first of all either waited 60 seconds or less for someone to move over or I just maneuvered my way through the crowd to get as close as possible. Something that I didnt expect was to see so many wild animals outside from the Wildlife Viewing Station. I saw multiple sea otters, seals, could hear sea lions, and I even say a seagull with its chicks. Overall this is a great aquarium and a MUST when youre in the Monterey area.

M Bsd

This is a world class aquarium, make no mistake. The entry fee is high but they are a non-profit and the money goes to good causes. I dont think someone is lining their own pockets, its just really REALLY expensive to keep all that up. The 3 stars is because of the crowds. You basically cannot come here and enjoy anything on a weekend. We have a membership, but probably wont renew because it has just become so unpleasant. The air is hot with peoples breath and sweat and you cannot move in a straight line anywhere because of how dense it is. If I could make a suggestion, I would ask them to consider: A) Have a members only hour from 9am-10am or something like that on certain weekend days B) Have a members only day once a month C) Have a second tier of entrance fees whereby you pay an additional $10 and only members and those paying more get in between 10-11am. D) Limit the number of admissions in a day. Also, why oh why do they have all those video "interactive" displays all over? Who even looks at those? If the place was empty I could see how they could be interesting. But with 50,000 little kids screaming at the top of their lungs and running between your legs, how could you possibly hear a word said in any of those displays? Honestly, I think the people that designed the displays assumed 100 people would be in the whole aquarium at any given time.