Coupons for Monterey Bay Aquarium

From LoveToKnow SanFrancisco

It can be very difficult to find coupons for Monterey Bay Aquarium admission. Usually coupons and discounts can only be arranged through agreements with specially-selected hotels, credit unions and corporations.

Slideshow:Things To Do in Monterey California

Gift to the Community

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was opened in 1984 as a gift to the Monterey community by David Packard, a founder of Hewlett Packard, and his wife Lucile. Unlike the for-profit Aquarium by the Bay at Pier 39 in San Francisco, the Monterey Bay Aquarium operates as a non-profit organization, conducting research on a variety of topics including tuna conservation, sea otters and sharks.

By 1996, the size of the Monterey Aquarium had doubled from the original Hovden sardine cannery to a complex of multiple buildings seamlessly connected into an exciting, educational experience. Currently, the Aquarium holds over 550 species in over 100 exhibit tanks. It is a popular attraction, receiving about 1.8 million visitors annually.

Demonstration Exhibits

The Aquarium's exhibits are designed to depict the various sea habits of Monterey Bay. Some of the most popular exhibits include:

Tide Pools - Shallow tide pools ebb and flow with water depicting the tidal action.
Kelp Forest - Common slimy-looking kelp becomes a learning experience through the 28 foot high Kelp Forest exhibit, which lets you can view the full length of the kelp fronds from various levels throughout the Aquarium.
Outer Bay - The main exhibit is the Outer Bay Waters, the 1.2 million gallon home to tuna, sharks, barracuda and sea turtles, where visitors can be seen standing seemingly mesmerized in front of the room-sized, 13-inch thick acrylic window.

Finding Coupons for Monterey Bay Aquarium

The non-profit and research nature of the Monterey Bay Aquarium minimizes the amount of promotional pricing and coupons. Full price of an adult admission (2009 prices) is $29.95, seniors $27.95, children (ages 3 to 12) $17.95 and children under three are free. Students admission is $27.95 with student ID card.

Hotel Ticket Deals

To help promote local tourism, many local hotels are given the opportunity to sell tickets to the Aquarium that are valid for 2 days for the price of one day. Hotels often include these two-for-one tickets as part of a special hotel room package.

Coupons

Enjoy tropical fish exhibits.

Coupons are often available for guests of Monterey hotels. A reservation clerk may not be aware of the coupons, however a call to the front desk of the hotel will get you the details of what they have available.

A quick internet search may also result in coupons for Monterey Bay Aquarium. Sites such as Retail Me Not and Entertainment, the website for the annual coupon-based entertainment book, may have coupons available in local books. Be sure to pay special attention to the expiration date on the coupon, since these coupons tend to only be effective for short periods of time.

Corporate Discounts

Corporate and credit union price reductions are available. Specially-priced tickets are available directly from the corporate or credit union human resources departments. Tickets include an admission price reduction as well as express entry (a particular benefit to avoid long summer lines!)

You can purchase tickets from California AAA offices with small discounts on both adult and children's tickets.

Save on Parking

You may not be able to save much on your admission ticket, however you can save on your parking during the summer months. Parking lots in the Cannery Row area of Monterey can cost (2009 rates) as much as $12 a day. You can save park all day for just $5 in the downtown parking garages and take the free trolley service to the major sites in Monterey including the Aquarium. The trolley runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day..

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