Which Aquarium?
 

Me and my husband are flying in to SFO Airport on 7/15/08 early morning. I had wanted to go to an aquarium that day. We will have a vehicle, so I was trying to choose from either Monterey Bay Aquarium or Aquarium of the Bay in SF. Any suggestions, or other aquariums that would be better?

Well, presumably you don't mean 7/15/08 since that was 10 days ago :)

When will you really be here?

Whoops, 8/15/08. My bad.

The Monterey aquarium is really wonderful. One of the best around anywhere. The Aquarium by the Bay in SF is quite small. It does have a tunnel under a couple tanks, which is neat, but I think Monterey is definitely a better choice.

That said, it is a couple hours to Monterey, so keep that in mind when you decide if you want to make the drive after your flight.

The Monterey Bay Acquarium is a great experience. Usually I would say that the drive to Monterey is worth it. However, depending on where you are flying in from could make for an awfully long day.

Monterey Bay Aquarium is amazing! ***kim*** ((#))

We are flying in from Dallas, TX. So not too far.

What is your itinerary? Where are you staying that night? Monterey is a drive from SF airport so even if you arrive in the morning you probably won't get there until at least noon. You should check the Monterey Aquarium's website and see if you need to buy tickets ahead of time. I don't know about this year, but in years past it gets quite crowded and the line long. That said, there is no comparison between a tube with fish in it and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. One was designed to separate tourists from their money and the other to be educational.

We are staying that Intercontinental San Francisco. Here is what I have so far for an itenerary:
FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2008
- Fly in around 10:30AM
- Go to either SF Aquarium or Monterey Bay

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2008
- Sierra Nevada Brewery; Chico, CA – Day trip

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2008
- San Francisco Zoo 10AM-8PM
- Alcatraz tour 6:50PM-9:30PM

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008
- Lagunitas Brewing; Petaluma, CA 3PM: 707-769-4495
- Pyramid; Berkley, CA
- Thirsty Bear, San Francisco, CA

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2008
- Anchor Brewing; San Francisco, CA; 11AM tour
- San Francisco Brewing Company; San Francisco, CA

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2008
- Fly out early morning around 9AM

Our trip is mainly brewery tours, as my husband loves California beers. We want to fit in time for a few other things as well. I am also looking into a tour around the town. This is not a set itinerary, more or less just options that we can do. Its all pretty flexible except for the Anchor Brewing Tour and Alcatraz tour.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but some parts of your itinerary are downright weird.

Day trip to Chico? (6 hours round trip for a brewery tour? There is nothing else in Chico)

All day at. the SF Zoo? (It's not even a great zoo for a few hours, let alone an entire day)

Arrive and go to "either" Aquarium of the Bay or Monterey Bay Aquarium? The latter is at least a 2-hour drive each way.

My suggestion is to spend your arrival day doing tourist things in San Francisco.

On Saturday, take a day trip to Monterey for the aquarium plus. Maybe stay overnight.

On Sunday, make your way back to San Francisco in time for your Alcatraz tour.

The rest, okay if you can stand that many brewery tours :)

On Monday,

We did the Monterey Bay one and loved it.

Thats why I said it was not set. I realize that it wont be a whole day in Chico, just havent picked out what else to do. No never said whole day for the zoo, I put what hours there are open so I know when i look at it. Thats where I have to plan stuff either in between it and alcatraz or go before it. And lastly that is what this post is, which aquarium...either, not both.

I love beer too, so I can understand the motivation for the trip. I agree that going up to Chico is a long haul just for a brewery tour. There isn't really much else to see in Chico nor is there much to see enroute - once you leave the suburbs east of SF, you've got farmland and some little towns and that is about it.

I'd recommend skipping Chico and spending the day either in SF or perhaps a different day trip - to the north coast or something.

As a native Texan now living in California on the Monterey Peninsula, I applaud your love for beer.

Having said that, one beer making tour is pretty much the same as another beer making tour. I would do the Anchor tour and then just drink the other beers.We live here and have not been to Chico in 20 years. (If you want real beer, go to Germany. Those guys know beer!)

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a special place. I have never been to the one in SF and cannot think of anyone I know that has been there. I think the one you are talking about is at Pier 39. There is another aquarium in Golden Gate park, Steinhart, that is probably better that the Pier 39 deal.

Bottom line: I think you will find that SF has much more to offer than beer tours. It is a long way to fly from DFW to watch beer making. Plan a few other things and you will have a great time.

I have been to both aquariums and if I were you I would take that day that I was planning on going to Chico and go to Monterey and then stay the night, visit Carmel and Half Moon Bay the next day on your way back to the City.

Oh, also I love zoos, and the SF Zoo is nice but I can't think of prioritizing seeing it on a five day trip if I didn't have kids. There is so much more to see in San Francisco than that! The zoo is really where local families go, not tourists.