My husband and I and 2kids(8 and 10) will be out in CA in end of July. I thought I'd post my itinerary for the Big Sur and Monterrey/Carmel experts here. Would appreciate any comments and any suggestions!!
Day 1. Head south Monterrey. Explore Pacific Grove & Spanish Bay.
Day 2. Visit Monterrey Aquarium. Take walk along Carmel Beach footpath in pm. Continue to explore Carmel Mission.
Day3. Drive to Pt Lobos & spend the morning hiking around coastal region. Drive to Big Sur - stopping along the way to admire the views & take any paths to the coast that interest you. Explore Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur. Explore Julia Pfeiffer Burns State. Take hike there to see waterfall. Dinner at Nepenthe
Day4.Back to SF

Sounds pretty good.

Spanish Bay is at Pebble Beach rather than Pacific Grove, so for Day 1 you might have meant Pebble Beach rather than Pacific Grove.

For Carmel Mission, check the hours available for visitors. You might want to go after the acquarium, but before your wandering. Something tells me it closes around 5, but I am not positive.

Spanish Bay is at Pebble Beach but it is on the Pacific Grove border. Pacific Grove is a fun place to explore. By the way, "Monterrey" is in Mexico. This is how our Monterey is spelled.

Your itinerary looks very good - have fun!

Thank you so much for reviewing my itinerary. Ops, sorry for misspell Monterey.Any suggestions to see anything else?Any recommendations?

Take the kids to explore the tidepools an Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove and you can you can walk along the beach trail to Spanish Bay.

Hey Tess, it's been awhile.

Hi, Lada!

This looks like a good schedule. You're not trying to pack in too much.

As November_Moon noted, Spanish Bay is actually part of Pebble Beach - but depending on when you arrive, you could probably explore both Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach (it doesn't get dark until nearly 9 nowadays).

As November_Moon noted, the Mission closes at 5pm on weekdays, so it is probably worth going to the Mission first.

Depending on how active your children are, you may want to check out the Dennis the Menace Playground in Monterey. It's got play equipment (including climbing walls) that is good for kids in the age range of your children. It's at Lake El Estero, which also has paddle boats, which can be a fun excursion for the family.

In Big Sur, the best places to pull off are any places you see a congregation of cars. Trailheads frequently aren't well marked and don't look like much from the road - but take three steps onto the path and your jaw will drop! The "hike" to the waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns is actually very short (I think only a quarter mile).

Thank you so much for input.We defiantly check out the Dennis the Menace Playground. How far Big Sur and Julia Pfeiffer Burns from Monterey?

Your kids will definitely like Dennis the Menace Playground. About 40-60 minutes from Monterey to Big Sur depending on how long and how often you stop to take in the spectacular scenery.

Hi SAB! Your ideas about Asilomar and walking the path to Spanish Bay were what I had in the back of my mind. Great minds, and all....

It has been a long time. The new format still doesn't appeal to me. I decided to pop in and test the waters once again.

Cheers!

With kids 8 & 10, the Dennis the Menace playground may be a little young for them and will bore them. The younger one may be OK, but the older ..... At least that was our experience.

Thank you so much.Dennis the Menace playground is out.

While in Monterey, you might consider a half day whale watch from the Pier... am is better. we took montereybaywhalewatch.com and it was a lifetime experience...