Excellent for scuba diving, the waters off Monterey are also teeming with game fish. Among the public fishing boats are Chris' Fishing Trips, 48 Fisherman's Wharf (tel. 831/375-5951; www.chrissfishing.com). Cod and salmon are the main catches, with separate boats leaving daily. Call or log on to the website for a price list and departure schedule. Check-in is 45 minutes before departure, and equipment rental costs a bit extra.
Several outfitters rent kayaks for a spin around the bay. Contact Monterey Bay Kayaks, 693 Del Monte Ave. (tel. 800/649-5357 or 831/373-5357; www.montereykayaks.com), on Del Monte Beach north of Fisherman's Wharf, which offers instruction as well as natural-history tours that introduce visitors to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and nearby Elkhorn Slough, one of the last remaining estuaries in California. Prices start at $45 for the tours, from $30 for rentals.
For bike rentals and kayak tours and rentals, contact Adventures by the Sea, 299 Cannery Row (tel. 831/372-1807; www.adventuresbythesea.com). Bikes cost $7 per hour or $24 per day, and kayaks are $30 per person or $50 for a 2 1/2-hour tour. Adventures by the Sea has another location at 201 Alvarado Mall (tel. 831/648-7236), at the Doubletree Hotel.
Experienced scuba divers can contact Monterey Bay Dive Center, 225 Cannery Row (tel. 831/656-0454; www.montereyscubadiving.com), which arranges personal dives with a dive master and has scheduled weekend dives. Aquarius Dive Shop, 2040 Del Monte Ave. (tel. 831/375-1933; www.aquariusdivers.com), also has regularly scheduled trips and dive masters. Certification cards are required.
If the kids need to let off some steam, take them to the Dennis the Menace Playground at Camino El Estero and Del Monte Avenue, near Lake Estero (tel. 831/646-3860), an old-fashioned playground created by Pacific Grove resident and cartoonist Hank Ketcham. It has bridges, tunnels, and an authentic Southern Pacific Railroad engine teeming with wannabe conductors. There's also a hot-dog-and-burger stand, and a big lake where you can rent paddleboats or feed the ducks. The park is open daily from 10am to sunset.
The Otters, Seals & Birds of the Elkhorn Slough
One of my favorite coastal stops is Moss Landing, 25 minutes north of Monterey on Highway 1, home of Captain Yohn Gideon's Elkhorn Slough Safari (tel. 831/633-5555; www.elkhornslough.com). For $32 for adults or $24 for children 3 to 14, friendly Cap'n Gideon loads guests onto a safe, 27-foot pontoon boat and embarks on a 2-hour tour of the Elkhorn Slough Wildlife Reserve. It's not uncommon to see a "raft" of up to 50 otters, feet up and sunning themselves, harbor seals, and hundreds of species of waterfowl and migratory shorebirds. An onboard naturalist answers questions, Cap'n Gideon educates on the surroundings, and binoculars are available.
