20230617_155642St. Catherine Way in Avalon (June 2023)

Around this time last summer, my partner and I took a long weekend getaway to Catalina Island. Located just 30 miles/48 kilometers off the shore of Los Angeles, this small island is a popular destination for locals to explore another part of southern California. Despite being born and raised in Los Angeles, I’d never visited Catalina Island, so it was my first time checking it out.

Officially known as “Santa Catalina Island,” it’s part of the Channel Islands scattered throughout southern California. The island has rocky terrain inland, while flatter ground towards the shore. Much of Catalina is uninhabited, as most permanent residents (total of 4000) live in Avalon, the main hub of the island.

Catalina Island had historically been inhabited by indigenous tribes as early as 7000 BCE, but it wasn’t until the 1890’s that American entrepreneurs (the Banning brothers) bought the land and turned it into a resort spot, establishing the small, commercial town of Avalon. Following that in 1919, business tycoon William Wrigley, Jr (of Wrigley’s Gum fame) bought out Catalina and invested in the main attractions that one sees today, including the iconic Catalina Casino.

Today, the island attracts over 880,000 visitors each year, many of them locals from Los Angeles. Most come as a day trip, given how small Catalina is– visitors usually take the first ferry at 8h30 and spend the day in Avalon before catching the evening ferry (17h00 or 18h00) back to Los Angeles. However, my partner and I chose to spend two nights on Catalina Island to take our time and explore as much as we could.

20230618_170419On the walkway in Avalon

Ferries to and from Catalina Island leave at two ports at the southern points of Los Angeles: San Pedro and Long Beach. There’s almost a less-frequent one leaving from Dana Point near San Diego, or one could choose to hire a private boat to take them from anywhere they want. My partner and I opted to leave from San Pedro (the most-popular one), and we headed out early in the morning to the port, where we paid for multi-day parking and checked in with our pre-paid tickets for the ferry. Soon enough, we boarded the boat at 8h30 and arrived into Avalon at 10h00.

20230619_171446Welcome!

We headed to our hotel first to drop off our bags, since we were too early to check in. We started our visit with brunch at a nearby restaurant, as we hadn’t had much to eat that morning. I opted for a lobster BLT and a chili margarita– the food was decent, but very expensive. As Catalina Island is such a touristy spot, prices can add up!

20230617_111609Lobster BLT with chili margarita

Next was a visit to the Golf Gardens; my partner had gone there during her last trip to Catalina Island and loved it, so we went over to play a game of golf among the beautiful botanical gardens. Neither of us are golfers, so we didn’t do too well, but we still had a lot of laughs and fun. It also helped that Golf Gardens had plenty of shade, which was needed away from the sweltering June afternoon.

20230617_123758Teeing off!

We were able to check into our hotel following golf, so we got settled into our room (small, but enough for two nights) and headed out later in the afternoon to grab some ice cream at one of the many ice cream parlors in town. Unfortunately, the shop we went to had just-okay ice cream, but it did the trick as we strolled the picturesque St. Catherine Way with views of the ocean and the emblematic Casino in the distance. We got dinner at one of the restaurants by the water, where I ordered mussels and we enjoyed the views. From there, we returned to our hotel by 17h00, tired from a long day of travel and ready to rest to prepare for another day of sightseeing.

20230617_170505Mussels for dinner (with the Casino in the distance)

More of Catalina Island to come soon. Until then! 🙂

— Rebecca

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Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

53 thoughts on “Destination: Catalina Island, California (PART 1)”

    1. Yes! I think the islands around southern California get overlooked as destinations, but Catalina Island is definitely worth visiting! It’s a bit kitschy, but a fun place as a home away from home 🙂

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    1. My partner and I did not make it to Two Harbors during our stay, although it would’ve been fun. We did spend some time at the Descanso Beach Club later on in our stay– look out for it in our next post!

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  10. That lobster BLT actually looks delicious. But it’s really hard to avoid overpriced meals at touristy areas wherever you go in the world. Oh well. It’s nice that you and your partner decided to stay for two nights as opposed to going on a day trip though. It’s always nice to explore a place when most tourists are gone/have not arrived yet.

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    1. The lobster BLT was decent, as it was chockful of lobster: only thing I didn’t like was the price point. I think my partner and I made a good decision to stay a couple of nights, as we could take our time exploring the island, at times with less crowds! Thanks for reading, Bama– Part 2 will be up soon!

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    1. Yes, I think you need to have good weather to be able to visit Catalina, let alone take the ferry over! Hope you can return to LA and check out Catalina Island in the meantime!

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  13. I think I’m the sole person who doesn’t care for Catalina. It would be great if I was staying on a boat overnight, but that’s never happened.

    I enjoyed the inland tour but I simply can’t afford going over for a day.

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    1. True, Catalina Island is kitschy and, to be honest, I found much of the food mediocre and overpriced. But for the architecture and nature past Avalon, I think it’s worth at least one visit, especially as a LA native!

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      1. Yeah, locals def have to go once!
        They hold the annual Art Deco Ball over there, in the Pavillion, with a special late night return ferry. I’ve never attended… too pricey, plus I don’t have an outfit.

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    1. There’s a museum called Catalina Museum For Art & History that exhibits the history of the island since the earliest human settlement 8000 years ago. My partner and I did not visit, but I do appreciate the island having a museum dedicated to indigenous history!

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  20. Love this post, Rebecca! My family and I spent a day in Avalon recently (post coming soon!) Like you, it was my first visit (after many years of wanting to go there, not to mention living in California my whole life.) 😀Mini golf looks fun and the food you had looks delicious. Going for one day was a nice getaway, but I hope to return and rent a golf cart to explore more of the island’s natural beauty. Looking forward to reading more about your visit to Catalina Island. 🏝️

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    1. So glad you visited Catalina! If you went as a day trip, does that mean you were in LA for a visit? It took me over 30 years to finally visit Catalina, despite being born and raised in LA! A lovely getaway that isn’t too far from home, and I look forward to reading what you did there 🙂

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      1. We were in town for my older daughter’s college graduation and we planned a day trip to Catalina to celebrate. We stayed pretty much near the Avalon Harbor and spent most of the time on Descanso Beach.

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      2. How lovely! My partner and I also spent some time at Descanso Beach, too (more on it in the next post). Congrats on your daughter’s college graduation!

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  22. Riding across beautiful southern California waters to visit the wonderful Catalina Island sounds like a great adventure – I love the look and feel of the island, Rebecca, and, in fact, had it on my travel wish list for a while now! It would make for a fantastic addition to anyone’s California itinerary whether they’re coming for the day, weekend or longer. Thanks for sharing, and have a lovely day 🙂 Aiva xx

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    1. Catalina Island was great! Avalon is a bit gimmicky, but a lovely place to wander around and soak up that summer sun. Playing mini golf was fun, even though we didn’t do very well, haha! Thanks for reading, Leighton 🙂

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