Santa Cruz to Monterey
Self-Guided Inn to Inn Walking Adventure Around the Monterey Bay
This is a 6 day / 5 night inn to inn walking vacation. You will stay at oceanfront (or ocean side) lodging each night from Santa Cruz to Monterey, as you walk the entire coastline of the Monterey Bay. The total distance will range from a minimum of 40 miles to over 50 miles, depending upon your route preference and desire to take optional hikes on your arrival and departure dates.
| DISTANCE | 40-50 miles |
| DEPART | Santa Cruz |
| ARRIVE | Monterey |
| IINCLUDED | Unique coastal lodging each night Daily breakfast – – includes 3 lunches Luggage transfers each day Detailed maps and walking notes Elkhorn Slough Boat tour w/ Monterey Eco Tours |
Day 1
Sunday – Arrive at either the The Dream Inn or The West Cliff Inn in Santa Cruz. Day free for exploring this vibrant beach community with several excellent coastal walks. Many excellent restaurants are nearby for dinner.
Day 2
Monday – Walk begins after breakfast at your hotel. You’ll pick up lunch along the trail at a local cafe/deli or choose an oceanfront restaurant in Capitola right on the route. Walk 10 miles to the Aptos Seascape Resort. You’ll have an ocean view room high on the bluffs with fireplace, deck, and wet bar. Enjoy the many amenities at the resort, including a fine restaurant and bar.
Day 3
Tuesday – Walk begins after breakfast at your hotel. You’ll pick up your lunch along the trail at small market/cafe. Walk 11 miles from Aptos Seascape Resort to Captain’s Inn in Moss Landing. You’ll cross the Pajaro River with the assistance of a local guide, if necessary. You’ll have a room at this historic B&B set in the downtown along the harbor canal with a wide variety of birdlife.
Day 4
Wednesday – Walk begins after breakfast at a local cafe. Then enjoy a 90-minute boat tour in the Elkhorn Slough to enjoy the wildlife, especially those curious otters. When you return, you’ll be met at the dock with lunch delivered for your 6.5-mile walk from Moss Landing to the Marina Best Western or choose an upgrade to the Sanctuary Beach Resort. You’ll cross the Salinas River with the assistance of a local guide, if necessary. You’ll be on the dunes for a quiet night just a short walk to the beach.
Day 5
Thursday – Walk begins after breakfast delivered to your room. A custom ordered lunch will be delivered to the hotel prior to you hitting the trail. Walk 10.5 miles from Marina to Monterey, enjoying California’s newest State Park, Fort Ord Dunes. You’ll finish at Fisherman’s Wharf and walk along the shoreline to your hotel at Cannery Row, The Monterey Bay Inn or The Victorian Inn.
Day 6
Friday – Breakfast at your hotel. Enjoy optional walks to Pacific Grove and/or Pebble Beach or enjoy the many sights of Monterey, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The price for this trip starts at $1,675 per person The trip price includes five nights of lodging, luggage transport each day, breakfast each day, 3 lunches taxes, and service fees. In addition, each walker will be provided an extensive trip dossier with maps, narrative directions, historical notes, and nature guides, a local guide for 24/7 telephone support. The only additional expenses most walkers incur are the cost of lunches on three of the days and dinners each night.
Cancellation Policy
All trips require a $500 deposit per person – $150 of the deposit is non-refundable. Cancellations within 7 days of arrival are subject to hotel penalties. Cancellations within 3 days may be completely non-refundable. We recommend you invest in trip insurance to compensate you for any losses. You may transfer from one trip to another up to 60 days before the departure date without penalty.
Please call 831-332-7923 or email marie@getgone.com with any questions
Leisurely Option
For those that enjoy a slower pace, this trip can be arranged to spread the same walking route over 5 full days, rather than 4. Please ask!
More Challenging
9 day 8 night trip that includes open Pacific Ocean coast walk and redwood forests.
Tour Reviews
Words just cannot properly express the depth of gratitude I have for your expert services throughout my “Walk the Bay” experience. When we first connected, I had no idea how truly life-altering this experience would be and did not understand the importance of your role in it. Now that I’ve been suitably enlightened, I’m in awe of your skills and mastery. I so appreciate everything you did, from the words of wisdom and encouragement, to those lovey apples! Wishing you much continued success.
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our vacation, adventure walking inn-to-inn from Santa Cruz to Monterey. The scenery from the paths, the inns, and the restaurants was gorgeous; the walking was challenging, but not overwhelming; the wildlife was spectacular, especially in the harbor and in Elkhorn Slough; the inns were comfortable with each one of them being unique, and important to my wife, each was clean; the food was good and the wine was plenty; and the owner/operator Marie Henley went out of her way to assure that we enjoyed ourselves, including tours through the strawberry and artichoke fields, driving an extra distance for delicious lunch sandwiches, and taking us back from Marina to Moss Landing to make a boat tour. We definitely recommend this trip, and we look forward to taking the Bay to Bridge trip.
Bret
I haven’t stopped talking about this trip. Marie took such good care of me that I never even questioned that I was walking the miles alone. She was always there to help. Marie and the people of Bay and its nature were spectacular hosts. It was worth every penny and then some.
The beauty of the walks and the interesting insights into these beach communities, along with the history and enthusiasm and information about this part of the coast provided by Marie made for a perfect trip.
Marie suggested an alternate forest hike which was a fantastic addition, and she was flexible and accommodating and knowledgable. The trip was well organized and the walking directions were clear.
Marie was so easy to work with and I would recommend this trip whole heartedly!
Such a fantastic trip! Marie was on top of all the details especially in these ever changing times. Current route situation changed and Marie made sure we could safely get around a river crossing and road repairs. My daughter and I could see her genuine care to ensure a positive experience. She made sure I had gluten free lunches and even snacks. I assure you that you are in good hands! Thanks again Marie!!
Marilyn and Laura
Thank you for your great services during our slow adventure. We had a very nice beach walk. Your attention to all questions, directions, and getting us to our destinations, made for a very enjoyable vacation. It was so nice to meet and get to know you. We especially appreciated your flexibility, the tours of the agricultural areas, histories, and local points of interest. Hopefully we will return in the near future and hope to see you again. Thank you so much. Pat and Amy
We just completed the Walk the Bay hike and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a way to recharge and rejuvenate after this crazy past year. Our local guide Marie gave us the perfect meet and greet, explained the hikes, the unexpected changes, and we appreciated her honesty and flexibility. It was comforting to have her check in with us daily about how we were doing, and we appreciated her telling us to not rush, to enjoy, and that is exactly what we did. We felt pampered when she would surprise us with fresh strawberries, or the warm chocolate chip cookies we hadn’t thought to order for dessert after lunch. She’s so knowledgeable and has a great sense of humor too. The inns were all unique, and it was fun to have a different experience every evening from the resort experience to the quaint bed and breakfast inn to the boutique inn, all with ocean views. We now have unending questions about seabirds, sea life, sand dunes, sea otters, hang gliding, and hope we can take another slow adventure before too much time passes. Thanks Macs Adventure and Slow Adventures for a memorable week from two grateful, not too sore and happy travelers.
From start to finish Marie was an excellent communicator and met all requests and exceeded our expectations! From the moment she picked us up at our rental car return in Santa Cruz to the morning of the last day she was helpful and responsive.
The beach walks were secluded but breathtaking. The option to walk through Fort Ord on the last day but still finish the last 3 miles to Monterey on the beach was a perfect change of pace with some history thrown in.
Each hotel was excellent in quality of rooms and service, despite a few “post COVID” glitches (to be expected as everyone is trying to open safely). Each hotel was aware we celebrating our anniversary on this trip and treated us to “something extra” to celebrate.
Lastly Marie helped us with dinner reservations when needed but went the extra mile to find Domenico’s on Fisherman’s Wharf for our 28th anniversary celebration.
Julie and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
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