Monterey Waterfront & Cannery Row Tours

I reserved a tour for two for 4^th of July weekend, and Tim gave my bf and I the okay to bring the pup (as long as he wasn’t yappy).
Tim is an awesome guide and very knowledgeable about the social and cultural history of Cannery Row. If you are looking for an alternative to the aquarium, I would recommend his tour. At the end, he gives you a giant business card and an original packing label from one of the canneries.
My only issue is that there were so many people in the area for 4^th of July weekend, that it was a little hard to hear Tim. But the parts that I did hear, were great stories.

Just completed a great tour with Tim Thomas. He was knowledgable and shared the social side of Monterey’s history. He was friendly and committed. In a tour, its the little things that count and he didn’t disappoint.
More than what was written on all the signs around town, which I’ve rarely read, we learned that Monterey had a diverse workforce and took full advantage of the technology these immigrants brought with them. They were also a tight-​knit community with little of the racial discourse often found in other parts of the country.
Tim is definitely a fountain of information. Not your tourist trap of commercial sponsored sites. If your considering a tour this is a great choice. He is the all-​knowing Monterey guru and he brings props! Yes props! Kids may be enthralled vs a more traditional tour although keep in mind it is still a two-​hour historical tour. Thanks for a great tour Tim!

We were on vacation and scheduled this tour. He no showed on us. We called twice, no answer and no return phone call. Very Unprofessional! What a waste of our time!

It was an ok tour. Tim is definitely knowledgable and passionate about this area. Five stars for that. There is so much history in Monterey and it was cool to hear it from a local historian.
Honestly, for the free short version, you can walk and read all the posted info signs yourself. They are all along Cannery Row! Tim however provides more detail and props to help paint the picture.
Thanks Tim for the info! My family and I were happy to learn something new!
We purchased a groupon and it was an excellent deal.
The souvenir that comes with the tour is an original wrapper from a sardine company and you also get a large business card.

Tim was very knowledgeable about the history of the bay. It was amazing to learn of about the immigrants that came to the area to make a new start in Monterey.

It was a great tour. Rather than just looking at the bay and walking through the shops, this tour gives the buildings and area real meaning. Tim is a great guide! Yes, it is longer than some, but the time went by so quickly. I was totally engaged and interested the entire time. If you are going to visit the Monterey area, this is a wonderful way to understand it. Thanks, Tim.

Tim is a fantastic tour guide and is extremely knowledgeable about local history. The best part of the tour is that he enjoys what he is doing.

Tim is a living, breathing Wiki on Cannery Row. You will enjoy the ‘behind the scenes’ tour.

Tim was a terrific and knowledgeable guide.
His enthusiasm and energy were a perfect combination that made the history of the Monterey cannery area so rich.
It was my sons idea to go and I’m sure glad we did. We were able to book it on short notice and get in for the next afternoon tour.
Thank you, Tim. We will be back!

Tim knows it all about Cannery Row and i feel so fortunate to have met this interesting character :) my boyfriend and i took his 2 hr + tour which takes place @ 1pm on sat (there is also a 10 am tour for the early birds) and the minute you step out of the hotel meeting spot you are transported to a time when as funny as it sounds Sardines and the Cannery of sorts gave us what we call Monterrey. he goes far back and will tell you about the indegenous people and the significance of Abalone and you will be immersed in the rich history of Sardines ! which actually is truly very interesting !!! if you love history this is the tour for you its truly an experience!!! Many thanks to Tim for krrping History alive and for sharing :)

Tim Thomas is one of the most interesting people to talk with! He is an endless source of history on Monterey Bay. In his humble way, he taught us so much about the people who established Cannery Row. He has a colorful way of bringing those yesterdays to life and making a person want to know more. As Mr. Thomas took us on a walk thru the touristy bustle he wove a different picture of what we were actually looking at! Who is Ed Ricketts? And what did he and John Steinbeck have to do with the development and preservation of this bay? You will know after taking this walk with Tim Thomas. And you will not have one boring moment learning about these and other great people that helped Monterey Bay be the fantastic place it is today! By the end of our tour, I no longer felt the touristy bustle, I felt honored to be walking on historical ground.

Tired of historical tours that are info-​lite? Look no further. This is a long (2.5 hours) and extremely detailed historical tour of a relatively small area.
If you’re looking for a short, simple tour, this could suck. If not, you’ll totally get your money’s worth.
The dude shows up with a gigantic binder of photos and you tell yourself: «there is no way he could get through that whole binder.» And then, a few hours later, you realize you’re wrong.
He also has some cool historical trinkets in his pockets. And a holstered plastic sardine.

What an absolutely amazing tour. Tim Thomas was interesting, funny, well-​spoken, and friendly. The your was fantastic. I learned so much about Monterey and Cannery Row. My mom and I purchased the groupon for $ 19 though this tour was worth much, much more. The tour is a must and a great way to learn about this beautiful town.

I’m a local and decided to take this tour with a friend. If you do ANYTHING on your visit to Monterey, this should be it. It was entertaining and fun to learn all about the history of the area. Worth every penny!

Wonderful tour! My mother and I were in Monterey for just a couple of days and we decided to take Tim’s walking tour of Monterey Bay and Cannery Row. We felt like he gave us an excellent and in depth picture of both the history and culture surrounding the area. He was really knowledgeable and made the tour really interesting. We loved it! Two thumbs up!

If you are even the tiniest bit interested in local history, take one of these tours by Tim Thomas. OK, even if you’re not interested at all in local history, go on a tour, because you will be by the time the tour is over.
This is the kind of tour that is fascinating whether you are a tourist or a local. I’ve been to Cannery Row countless times, but I saw it all in a new light after listening to Tim Thomas for a couple of hours. Not only did he show us places that I didn’t know about, he gave us a new perspective on the places I already (thought) I knew. The familiar sights are that much richer knowing more about the fisheries, economy, history, ethnic groups, and characters that make those sights worth looking at.
Tim Thomas is an exceptionally knowledgeable tour guide, and a very entertaining and engaging speaker. I can’t imagine a more fascinating way to spend a couple of hours in Monterey than on one of his tours.

Caveat – I met Tim Thomas, who gives these tours, a number of years ago, and I assumed, based on past encounters, that this would be an excellent tour. I was not disappointed.
Gf & I took advantage of a Groupon (may no longer be available). Even at full price it would have been a bargain. Mr. Thomas has a long background in local history, knows the area’s fisheries like the back of his hand, hauls a big bag of historical goodies, photos, etc. with him on the tours, and keeps things lively/​moving. He is flexible as far as people’s needs, offering to stop at any point & give people a restroom break. A friend wondered why locals would want to take a tour of things they’ve seen for years. My response would be that Tim’s tour gives one a new perspective, so even if you think you know Cannery Row & its history, you’ll learn new things that aren’t in the textbooks, novels, and media transcripts. I highly recommend this tour for a taste of the various cultures and individuals that have lived along the Bay and made use of its wealth of resources.
Tim Thomas is an asset to this community, and this tour a great example of how we should be sharing the bounty in our back yard.

If you want to learn about the fishing industry in Monterey Bay over the last century, sardines, abalone, abalone divers, and local lore this is the walking tour you want. Tim’s knowledge of the cannery and it’s history is amazing. He’s simply an encyclopedia of information on cannery row. We live on Monterey Bay and have been to cannery row many times but never had an appreciation for the history that we have after taking the tour. It’s fascinating! The fishery, the people, and the businesses. He knows it all and presents it with supporting pictures and audio tidbits. Tim welcomes questions but you can’t be shy as questions require that you interrupt the stream of information and experiences. A wonderful guide, and you get to see some unusual and oft unseen perspectives and locations.

The 2.5-hour walk of the waterfront and Cannery Row exceeded our expectations! Our knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, Tim Thomas, integrated history and culture in an tour that featured local scenery, props, rare photos, and historical audio clips. There was not a dull moment in this tour. He answered all our questions and showed us the nearest location of our particular interests. Although we live near Monterey and have been to Cannery Row several times, the tour gave us a better understanding and new appreciation of the area and the people.
We’ve had different walking tours around the county, but Tim’s tour was by far the most informative. While Tim’s presentation was very fun and engaging, the knowledge he shared with us was tremendous. It turns out that Tim has been educating the public for many years on local history; he was involved in several local historical projects and had been interviewed by local news media of the related topics. We highly recommend his tour for locals and tourists!

I’m a Groupon addict and so when I saw a deal for Monterey Walking Tours you would think that I would skim right passed it since I’ve lived in Monterey on and off for over 30 years. But no not me, I read the fine print and it says you can ask to do a tour of Monterey’s Old Japantown aka «Nihon-​Machi»… this piqued my interest in so many levels it wasn’t funny. I grabbed my sister who was born in Japan and speaks Spanish and Portuguese but not so much in the Japanese department and we frolicked alongside Tim-​san after meeting up in front of the JACL Hall next to the Monterey Tennis Center. One look and I realized that I had met Tim-​san before at a JACL pancake breakfast where Tim-​san was educating us about the small exhibit/​mini museum they recently created in the basement of the JACL Hall. I also purchased his book which is packed with photos and stories about the local Japanese many of them whom I’ve met over the years living in this community.
Tim-​san is full of knowledge and is passionate about what he does. I read about most of the information he shared but he added a lot of new facts that I didn’t know about like how the young Japanese men would play baseball (next to the tennis courts) and some of them would learn Italian before English. Even though I slept only a few hours the night before I didn’t yawn once and both of us were so into it we asked a bunch of questions and he was totally engaging during the whole walking tour. When he started talking about Pop Ernest and his brilliant «new» abalone recipe that helped market abalone worldwide which also helped keep the abalone fishing industry alive for a while longer my sister and I started drooling and all we could think about was a freshly pounded abalone, dipped in egg wash and rolled in crackers (I’d personally use gluten free panko) and then pan fried in olive oil with a hint of salt and pepper.
I highly recommend a Historic Monterey Walking Tour led by Tim Thomas to anyone, visitors and locals alike. I couldn’t figure out why he’d carry a shoulder pack during our walk but when he started busting out vintage scuba diving glasses worn by the divers we got excited and trigger happy. He also carried some other interesting facts and photos he’s picked up over the years but I won’t ruin the surprises for you so go find out firsthand. Check out his website to see what other types of tours he offers. There is a lot to learn from Tim-​san and we are so grateful for our mini morning educational walking adventure today. Arigatogozaimashita!