I planned a girls’ getaway to the tiny island off the coast of Los Angeles during one of SoCal’s epic heat waves. So while everyone was broiling in triple-digit weather, I was heading toward a bit of paradise of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island where it was a high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a constant breeze to keep us cool. It was amazing, the weather was perfect and the whole place was enchanting and quaint yet fun with down-to-earth people. It’s like visiting a cute coastal town in Croatia or Italy but without the language or currency barriers. Best of all, it was extremely easy to get to with no more than two hours of travel time.

Starting Your Enchanted Journey: Catalina Express

There’s that saying “the journey there is half fun” or something like that? With the Catalina Express, it really is. You can choose to take the ferry from Long Beach, Dana Point, or San Pedro to Avalon. (In case you didn’t know, Avalon is a city on Catalina Island, and yes there is more than one).

I grabbed the ferry from Long Beach and the terminal was super simple to find and there was a parking structure right across from the entrance. I mention this because I hate that long-term parking at LAX where you need to hike a mile and then take a shuttle to get to the airport, so you wind up all sweaty in your cute vacation outfit you spent all night picking out instead of packing. The Catalina Express terminal was so close I wore heels, like THAT close. (Yes, I wore heels to travel, I was feeling fancy.)

What to know:

1. Check-in with the ticketing agents at the service desk that confirms your ticket reservation to and from the island.
2. Arrive an hour before your departure time.
3. Use that extra time waiting to take photos at the harbor.
4. There is no assigned seating, so line up early to get your pick of the seats.
5. Ask the crew members what the best seats are
6. Get great shots of the island as you approach it, by staying on the right side of the boat.

My friend and I were directed to a few seats in the back of the boat, no one was there and we got to see the cityscape of Long Beach drift away as we took more photos of the wind in our hair and the sun at our backs. The photos were terrible but it was still fun!

The ferry usually has food and drinks on board for sale but not during Covid times and you can’t eat or drink onboard so eat beforehand.

Day 1

Welcome to Catalina Island: How To Orientate Yourself

When you get off the boat, there are people in large groups pushing strollers and carrying luggage. It’s a big chaotic mess, but I got you. If you are stuck carrying your luggage but want to casually explore the island, rather than going straight to your hotel to dump all your stuff, you can actually use a luggage delivery service. As you walk toward the town you will pass little kiosks on your left-hand side. Look for Avalon Blue Line baggage where they will deliver all your luggage to your hotel for about eight dollars a bag. You can also store your stuff in lockers if you are here for a day trip and they also deliver scuba gear in addition to equipment delivery options.

Now that you are luggage-free, you should wait for the massive crowds walking into town to disperse. Instead of turning right onto the pathway into town, make a left and follow the sidewalk up to Lovers Cove. It’s a local hangout spot where the clear blue waters lap against the thin rocky coast. This spot also lets you get great views of the shores of Avalon. In case you didn’t know, Catalina is the Island and the town is actually Avalon. (Yes there is another town on the island and I’ll get to that later.)

From here, enjoy your stroll back into the town as you browse local businesses. Except for one restaurant and the grocery store, there aren’t any chain restaurants or stores on the island so, everything you buy is supporting local businesses. What’s even better is asking the shop owners about their items. They’ll tell you their entire history happily and then recommend the next place to visit. One of my favorite spots was a clothing boutique that also sold flower arrangements so as I browsed adorable tops and accessories, I got to enjoy the scent of fresh flowers.

While browsing and walking, I got stopped by a producer who asked if my friend and I wanted to be background actors in a movie. All we had to do was sit at a bar and drink and they would cover our tab. So that’s how we came across the Marlin Club. This spot is known as a local hangout and could be considered a dive bar. I only say that because unlike other sparkling restaurants I walked by, this was pretty unassuming. It was a bar with a fish theme that had old western saloon-style swinging doors. This is where I made my film debut in “Sheepshead.”

After a hard 45 minutes of background acting, we went over to the Visitor’s Center which is on the pier in the middle of the harbor. You can ask for food recommendations from Victoria, a no-nonsense type who tells you what you want to hear. Her list of food spots seemed endless and I felt that if I came back each day of my trip, she would have a new list of restaurants waiting for me. The pier is also where you can find a Catalina Island Company kiosk. This is where most of your tours are going to be booked and where you can pick up tickets. I suggest pre-booking all your excursions because spots fill up quickly and during the summer season, events are highly likely to sell out.

After trying one of Victoria’s favorite fish spots, we decided to try out another local thing to do: rent a golf cart. There’s a 20-year waiting list to get a permit to use a regular car on the island so everyone gets around in golf carts. I’ve never been in one, much less driven one, but thanks to Catalina Island Golf Cart Rentals, I was now driving one for the next two hours.

Avalon is so small, you can easily walk the entire time. However, driving the golf cart was so much fun! I don’t know if it’s because you can just talk to people walking as you zip past or how light it is to maneuver, or the rush of wind in your hair as you hit your max speed of 13 miles an hour, but it was a fun carefree two hours of “getting lost.”

 

The golf cart rental company gives you a map and marks down where the scenic spots are and what loop to take so you can’t get lost. But my lovely traveling companion is terrible with maps so we ended up on residential streets. This really isn’t a big deal because you can’t get lost and you always make your way to the main street but this was a problem for me because I had to pee really badly. As my lost navigator gave up with the paper map and tried to pull up Waze, I noticed a woman drinking on her balcony watching us and pointing us in the right direction.

“Thank you!” I yelled up at her and then “Can I use your bathroom?” You guys, the woman let a lost stranger driving a golf cart use her bathroom! She was so nice. She gave me more recommendations and off we went again.

We stopped at the casino to explore. Turns out the casino isn’t a place to gamble but in reference to the original Italian term of “casino,” a place to gather. It used to be a movie theater before it shut down and that weekend it was being used to host the island’s high school graduation ceremony. If you walk along the outside, you’ll find a one-room diving museum. Full disclosure, I’ve never been diving and don’t know much about it but anything I ever wanted to know was going to be in that room and in the brain of the man who runs it. He’s quite a character and could seemingly talk for ages about the artifacts, his experience, what brought him to Catalina. That seemed to be a trend on the island. More recommendations and we were back in the golf cart.

We didn’t get far because right as we were passing the beach club which is just past the casino, we ran into a family of deer blocking the road. These deer were very accustomed to people because my friend was able to feed Jacaranda flowers from her hand. I’m not sure how normal that is for the island deer but my friend is basically Snow White so nothing surprises me anymore.

I want to emphasize to us normal non-Disney characters that you should not do this because apparently, the deer carry Lyme disease, however, we didn’t find out until after we had the family of deer around us and another passing golf cart driver imparted the wisdom. Thankfully my friend is totally fine and wasn’t fazed at all but I was definitely googling symptoms of Lyme disease all night. So even if the wildlife is up in your face, don’t touch them.

So after zooming around Catalina Island all day, we returned our golf cart and finally made it to our home away from home, The Atwater Hotel.

The Atwater Hotel: A Fancy Home Away From Home

The hotel felt luxurious and recently remodeled. Things to note: there is no pool but they do offer a complimentary bottle of wine per person per day, luggage delivery service, and a $20 credit per day at any of their restaurants. I didn’t miss the pool after drinking that wine. The room was stocked with fresh flowers and felt like I was in a small five-star resort. I had to constantly keep in mind that I was on an island and there was limited space.

Pro tip: make sure to save the direct number to the front desk because my phone in my room didn’t work. I met a local who worked in several hotels who said the same thing about some of the places he worked at. I guess it’s just a quirky thing that some hotel room phones just don’t work for no apparent reason.

By this time, darkness was falling and I was getting amped up for our night tour of flying fish. According to Google and a very knowledgeable child on the tour, the fish are actually gliding in and out of the water, but the experience is still entertaining to witness firsthand. Even cooler is watching the sea lions snatch the fish midair to eat them. The boat we were on had lights to be able to see in the water, as well as, huge spotlight to beam on anything interesting floating by. The boat crew points out jellyfish, more seals, and possibly a shark or two but those were way harder to spot. What I do know is the moving shadow in the water was huge and reminded me the ocean is big and I have no idea what is really under me. Once the boat captain and narrator ran out of aquatic animals to point out, we zoomed back to the harbor. The boat we rode in was appropriately named “the Cyclone” and that thing cut through the ocean, sending water up to either side of the boat like Moses parting the red sea. The tour was educational, entertaining, and not something I see every day. I would definitely recommend but be mindful of flying fish season which begins in June. The tour doesn’t guarantee wildlife sightings so plan well.

By this time, it was about ten at night, and my friend and I were wide awake but Avalon was winding down. Every restaurant and bar we walked into told us they were closing and trust me, we walked all over the town looking. We eventually decided to just walk as far as we could and so we toured the empty plaza of the village shops and passed the beachfront restaurants. We heard music coming from the beach so we walked there and found a group of guys hanging out playing music, with a 24 pack. A little further on we found another group, probably teens, lounging on the beach just chilling. We realized this is what locals do on the island, just find little pockets of land to hang out at. Past that was the casino again and in the back parking lot, we found two cars playing music and more teens hanging out. We kept walking and passed a group of adults just talking along the seawall. Everyone was just very chill, doing their own thing, minding their own business. The best part about all this is that even though we were two women walking through dark empty streets at night, nothing felt unsafe. Being on the island felt like you were in your own little protected part of the world where bad things didn’t happen. The entire island was welcoming and I even spotted Trans and Pride flags flying over the main strip. What’s more welcoming than that?

Avalon is a perfect mix of nature and modern luxuries without the overstimulation of too many crowds or spending traps. Since you need a ferry to arrive, it automatically helps with crowd control. We were there mid-week and while locals kept telling me it was packed, the streets just felt full with an appreciation of life, not tourists, so it’s all just relative to what you are used to. For my LA natives, their version of packed compares to a visit to the Santa Monica pier during the winter; people are there but still very much enjoyable.

Strolling back to our hotel, we hear music once more. Turns out, there is a club on the island, and it is right next door to our hotel. We head into The Chi. It’s an eclectic mix of people, those who are familiar with the club scene, those who aren’t and there were even whole families drinking and dancing. Think of this as a club where you can take your cousin that just turned 21 along with your dad and grandma. The DJ was impressive (shoutout to Pam!) and we ended up staying for two hours just dancing and meeting locals. Everyone kept asking where we worked which is when I realized they were in the industry and assumed we were new members of the island. I felt honored.

Day 2

Despite pouring ourselves into bed at 2 a.m. I was up by 7 a.m., watching the sunrise over the water. While you can’t see a good sunset at Avalon due to the mountainous landscape blocking your view of the west, you should definitely make an effort to see a sunrise coming over California and the Pacific Ocean. It’s one of the only places you’ll see such a sight.

Eco-Tour: The Catalina Island Safari

At 9:30 a.m., I got a call that my driver was outside the hotel for our private jeep eco-tour. This was booked through the Catalina Taxi and Tour company and it was by far my favorite thing for many reasons but number one, was our Catalina expert, Mark. He spent over three hours answering every question we threw at him and he knew everything except for how many movies are filmed on the island. (In all fairness, that was pretty specific and a hard one.)

Our tour starts through the town and I knew we were in for a good time when he started taking the back alleys to get around tourists on golf carts. This man knew the island like the back of his hand. We sat in the back seat of the open-air jeep and zoomed up into the protected conservation area of the island. You can’t get here on your own, you need a car to make it up the steep hills and then a pass to drive into the protected areas. We spotted hawks, red foxes, a donkey, and bison. I felt like I was on a safari. You keep climbing to the tops of hills and peaks and get breathtaking views of Avalon, plus the west side of the island.

Avalon imports its sand because the east side of the island is protected from waves so the shore is rocky there. However, the west side faces the ocean so it gets hit by waves and therefore has natural sand. These beaches were stunning and almost completely empty. If you visit, you have to check it out. The thing is, they are hard to access because some have trails that have grown over, and for others, you need a car service to drop you off. You can also camp at these locations which I am definitely looking into. The whole area had a good handful of trails to explore but since there are more shrubs and there isn’t any tree coverage, hiking during the summer heat wouldn’t be ideal.

There are a few campgrounds like Hermit Gulch and Little Harbor, plus more on the other side of the island at Two Harbors. Two Harbors is the other city on the island and you can take a boat from Avalon to visit for the day and come back. It only has one restaurant and this area is more of a base for people hiking or camping. Another option is hiking the 38.5 mile Trans Catalina Trail which starts in Avalon and ends in Two Harbors. People spread it out over two or three days. There is also a service that delivers your camping equipment to your predetermined hiking spot and sets it all up for you in the evening, then packs it all up in the morning.

Mark went over all this on the eco-tour while pointing out bison and foxes and simultaneously rattling off-island facts without skipping a beat. I could honestly go on and on about what I learned, but the best part was hearing it from a local who adds those anecdotal stories. He talked about the high school, what the housing situation is like, how they bought groceries before a grocery chain opened up, he shared photos of a massive fire that hit the island, and how that affected everyone. This man is a wealth of knowledge and an island treasure. After getting dropped back off at our hotel we got another recommendation from Mark, go to the Descanso Beach Club.

The Descanso Beach Club: Get the Mangoneada 

I’m straight up just starting off with that. I have a whole other article about the food here but this amazingly smooth, creamy, refreshing drink deserves another shoutout.

As for the beach club, you can rent a cabana or a pair of lounge chairs for the day as waiters come and serve you drinks and food. Online prices range from $90 to $625 and that doesn’t include the food.

Pro tip: if you go during the afternoon like 2 p.m., the club will resell you the lounge chairs that other people left. I’m not sure what the official price is but we got our chairs for $20 total. It helps to be patient about when other people are leaving and giving off a positive vibe because if you start trying to pull a Karen, the attendants will not be your friend. We saw it first-hand and while entertaining for us, the employees were super professional. Props to them for their patience. We spent the rest of the day here eating, drinking, and napping. The chairs were plush and the service was great.

As we packed up and made our way back to the ferry landing to catch our ride home, we stopped at more stores and met more amazing people asking how long we were staying and with more recommendations. The locals won’t steer you wrong. At one point, we were walking into a pretty poppin’ restaurant bar and a local customer out front saw us looking at the menu at the entrance. The sun-tanned and wind-beaten local told us the place was a great place to get drunk all day but not for food, and then suggested a low-key lobster spot. The fact that they have an unpretentious lobster joint was amazing but at this point, I wasn’t surprised.

The people of Catalina Island are a proud but humble type. They know how to show good people good food, good drinks and a good time. Their pride in the island and its nature is apparent. They clean the beaches every morning and the streets are pristine, the summer weather is perfect and there is no traffic. If this isn’t paradise, I don’t know what is.

As we took the final ferry out, we watched the sunset over the island. People on the ferry looked at photos on their phones, passed some taffy around that they bought, and chatted with other passengers about what they did during their visit. We ran into some backpackers that hit the trail and even spotted the production crew loading up all their film equipment. No matter what different adventures we found on this island, it seemed that we all returned happy, sunkissed, and grateful for our time on Santa Catalina Island.