Brian is a true waterman and such a patient and encouraging surf coach! His knowledge of the…read moreMonterey bay allows us to explore different breaks based on the weather/swell. I always feel safe with him in the water and leave the lesson feeling accomplished and more confident with the skills he teaches me. He's one of the best teachers this side of the peninsula and booking a lesson with him is as seamless as can be. I highly recommend surf lessons with Brian whether you're a beginner or an advanced surfer he has multitudes to teach anyone at any level!

Whooa what an amazing experience! Never been surfing before and was a bit nervous but it turned out…read moreto be something I want to keep doing. The reason behind it is I had a great first experience overall. Brian (instructor) was awesome from being in contact with him, to having all the equipment on time, providing great instructions before hitting the water and then being in the water and helping me in any way to get me up on my board. Brian was a cool dude and very helpful. He gave off a positive chill vibe and made the experience enjoyable. I would recommend giving surfing a shot along with Brian!

My wife and I are visiting from Miami and came across Shearwater's charter quite fortuitously. We…read moreare with our twin seven year olds and our nine year old; Kevin could not have been more accommodating, engaging and amazing at allowing our kids to ingratiate themselves in the operation of the boat. It is not only a beautiful sailboat, departing from a very convenient location, but also offers a very cool experience to see Monterey from the opposite perspective that we're used to (especially the aquarium). We had an incredible afternoon and can't wait to be on the water with Atalanta again!

Kevin did a wonderful job with our trip! He was so knowledgeable about the entire bay. He provided…read moresnacks and drinks and made it a really fun trip on the water. Would highly recommend for a nice, casual trip with friends of family. Feel free to bring a few bottles of wine to enjoy (just not red wine, since it may stain during rough waters).

I've never done such a long review before but this experience was so amazing I just had to do bare…read morewith me!! I'm doing a solo road trip from Portland to SD and was on my way to Monterey from Santa Cruz when I saw so many people paragliding off the dunes in the bay. I legit immediately pulled off the next exit to try and figure out how I can get on one of them. I'll admit I got lost and spent some time in the parking lot of target before I realized you can't drive directly to the dunes, so when I searched for paragliding in the monterey bay Eric's website showed up!! I actually was supposed to be in Monterey hours earlier but kept getting side tracked in SC from driving past so many cool events, so I wouldn't have driven past the paragliders if I'd stuck to my original schedule. And the past weekish apparently they weren't able to fly because of how dangerous the winds were and the day we flew were the best condition's possible!! It was honestly just good timing after good timing and one of THE best spontaneous things i've ever done and I give all credit to Eric! Not only did he come straight after work, he also gave clear instructions from where to park to how to get to the take off spot, kept up great communication, and got to the dunes pretty quickly. Also His instructions were super clear, was able to give such great knowledge on each step, and answered all my questions through out the process and flight so thoroughly. He honestly is such a great teacher I grasped everything pretty quickly so even let me do a couple turns!! He's been paragliding for around 12 years, so despite the winds being pretty strong, his priority for safety with his experience didn't let any issues happen from take off to landing! If there were any concerns he would immediately vocalize it along with explaining what he was doing to prevent anything dangerous from happening. The community of gliders are such kind and interesting people, we ended up chatting for awhile before I realized it would be too dark to explore Big Sur, but I didn't even mind pushing it to the next day and staying in Monterey longer to get to know them a little more. I recommend everyone to experience this at least once in their life and if possible you absolutely have to book a flight with Eric, you won't regret it I promise!!

Eric, the owner and instructor pilot for FireFlight made my first ever experience with Paragliding…read moreexceptional. He was down to earth, easy-going, punctual and most importantly, serious about safety when flying tandem. Eric performed seven point safety checks every time we connected the harnesses together for tandem flight. Paragliding relies on wind conditions and the weather can always be unpredictable. The first day's wind conditions were lacking. Eric was gracious to meet with me on two separate days in order to provide the full experience of Paragliding flight to the extent possible (20 - 30 minutes). It says a lot to his dedication when Eric goes out of his way to meet on two days due to mother nature's unpredictable wind conditions (despite the weather forecasts). Eric also offers training to prospective student Paraglider pilots.

I am so glad we did this and would do it again as there was probably more to see! My youngest was…read more4'8" (generally 5' recommended), but passed the pedal test when we let her try. If she did not we were planning to send her kayaking with dad. So glad we tried asking. We were on the water long before any kayakers headed out. We did run into mud and sea grass but as long as you paid attention to how to deal with it, it was within the average person/kids' ability to get out. Also easy to take photos/videos compared to kayaking! Pros-Easy to learn to handle, very stable, fast, kids love it, can explore harbor and slough. Cons-Low tide and sea grass limits where the bikes can go, but we found plenty of places to explore despite this. The only way to reserve is by calling the number.

We've always driven by this place but I wasn't familiar hydrobikes were a thing until my fiancé…read morebooked for the two of us as a surprise. He booked through Groupon for half-price for 2 hours. Though, Marcus, the owner, later told us we could call in also to get better pricing. The parking is a bit confusing- make sure to park in the lot that is at the edge and doesn't have the restroom. You can take any spot but the ones marked for the club parking. To find the place, look for the hydrobike sign on the right side of the building behind the kayaks. There is a table with waivers beside the building where you can wait. We arrived when no one was there yet and ended up wandering around thinking we were in the wrong place. Before sending us off, Marcus greeted us, had us sign the waiver, and explained where to go and what to avoid. He then gave us lifejackets, had us meet at the dock in the other parking lot, and adjusted the seats to the hydrobikes before we went on our way. Some general things to note: avoid eel grass, stay 5 kayak lengths away from wildlife, and to make sure to not do anything that would warrant a rescue ($100 charge if you need it). I'm someone that isn't very comfortable with water and since the bikes are rather high up, I was paddling anxiously to get to the river while avoiding looking down at the marine life. After a while, I felt more comfortable, knowing I wouldn't accidentally fall into the water, and was able to see egg-yolk jelly fish and plenty of otters. My fiancé and I had a great time going around and enjoyed our experience. We did end up heading back a bit early because the seats got uncomfortable after a period of time. Otherwise, we plan on doing this again but with others in the future too. Tips: Wear comfortable clothing for the weather as it can get cold. Your shoes will get a bit wet so feel free to wear sandals/ flip-flops. I'd recommend binoculars so you can see the wildlife more easily. Bring a phone in case you do need to call for help. The bikes have a small storage compartment and cup holders if you need.

We just finished up a sail with Gene. It was amazing. He was so informative and knowledgeable about…read moresailing, the wildlife and the Monterey area (among so many other things)! And bonus to being out on open water was all the whales that happened to be eating in the area. I definitely recommend to anyone!

I booked Carrera Sailing for a private charter in Monterey on Valentine's Day where I proposed to…read moremy now fiance. With such a special event I spent a lot of time researching and was actually debating on booking with Carrera Sailing vs a few other private charters. I can confidently say that I made the right decision. What separated Carrera Sailing from the competition for me was Gene himself and his attention to detail. He is not a large company that churns through customers as quickly as possible. He focuses on quality and providing great customer service. From the start, he was very transparent to me regarding the wind and weather conditions and provided recommendations for the dates we were in town. You could also tell that Gene had decades of experience from the entertaining stories and experiences he shared during the trip. He knows every aspect of sailing and even custom manufactures carbon fiber additions to his boat. Overall, the experience was absolutely perfect and we will definitely be back.

Amazing personable staff, made Monterey chilly waters a little more enjoyable!…read moreAn experience I'll never forget. We will be back Monterey bay scuba!

Tyler (our dive guide) and the staff are so kind! They're good at what they do. Service wise, it'd…read morebe 5 stars. My only complaint is that the wetsuits I rented from them were super old and had holes, and were super leaky. It wasn't just me, I noticed the other woman who also was renting gear had a hole in her wetsuit as well. It felt like the wetsuit didn't do much for me- when I got into the water the cold went right through me- and I've been cold water diving before in Monterey and know how it feels when a wetsuit works and hasn't degraded to this point. Renting gear can be a hit or miss- Monterey bay waters are sooo cold! And comfortability during cold water dives matter a LOT - otherwise you just use up a lot of air and get too cold/shivers. I think it's part of the responsibility of the dive shop to make sure that the wetsuits are still adequate for diving, and to rotate in better condition suits and toss the ones that are ready to go.

Visiting the Monterey area last week, I enjoyed my day trip with Chris as we fished for Rock Cod…read moreout of Moss Landing. New to the area, bottom fishing for these fish was a very fun experiance. The bite was consistent and Chris was very knowledgeable in utilizing his Garmen nav equipment to identify holding fish patterns. Boat and equipment was A +. Caught my limit which included several above average fish. A great day on the water, look forward to any future trip we may encounter.

We went out with Chris on a chilly December day last minute. He moved his day around to accommodate…read moreus. The fishing was slow but he worked his butt off and found us some bites! Our boys aged 9 and 5 had an absolute blast! Chris is a very great guy and truly a good person to be around!

Had a great full 2 hour trail ride with Steve. It was a lot of fun. We covered a lot of…read moredifferent areas, trotted, cantered, (if we wanted to) and had a great ride with his beautiful horses. We did not go to the beach on this outing but that is a possibility and will do so next time near Moss Beach. Highly recommend. Best ride I've had in the area of Monterey Peninsula for sure.