Oh my gosh, if you are in the Monterey area, you MUST do this tour. Captain Wendy and her naturalist showed us SO MUCH wildlife! Dozens of sea otters, seals hauled out on the shore, jellyfish, aquatic and wading birds. If any of those is on your bucket list, this is the tour to do! When we saw an otter eating a crab, we felt like we were watching a nature documentary! We are planning to go back at different times of the year, so we can see migratory waterfowl, sea otter pups, and other wildlife.
As we were told, the "El Cat" is a boat specifically designed to tour quiet waters like Elkhorn Slough. It is stable, and every seat provides excellent viewing. The best thing about it: it is electric, so it runs very quiet and doesn't disturb the wildlife; and also doesn't leave an oil slick on the water. Oh, and there is free parking and a bathroom adjacent to the dock where you board the boat...very convenient.