Our favorite tasting room in Carmel-by-the-Sea: Albatross Ridge; in Carmel Valley: Albatross Ridge (again!), Cowgirl Winery, Parsonage, and Tira Nanza (a long drive out to a ranch, call Kelly if you want to do this one!); in Monterey: Puma Road.

There are several great trails for easy strolls: Lovers Point Beach is a great starting point to explore the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail; just south of Carmel-by-the-Sea is Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, an extremely beautiful, easy walk (pay to park and it fills up early in the morning); and if you're staying in Carmel-by-the-Sea and just want to stretch your legs, Mission Trail Park is accessible to most of the downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea inns and cottages.

Both are cute areas to walk around, see the shops, eat ice cream, watch some sea lions, and take pictures.

When we lived here, we frequented Carmel Beach the most. But the Asilomar Trail is a series of DG trails and boardwalks following the coastline in Pacific Grove. There is also Lovers Point Beach and Del Monte Beach.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is awesome! Recommended for nature lovers and little kids. Kelly has been here many, many times.

Not that Ari or Kelly has tried any of these yet, but Monterey is known for a variety of outdoor adventures... just Google: kayaking, whale watching, paragliding, bicycle 17-mile drive, or railroad handcar tour (bring a hat!).

https://monterey.gov/leisure/things_to_do.php

Kelly used to run a travel Instagram account when they lived here, and it was called @explorecarmel

Check out the posts and highlights :D