On Catalina Island, Avalon Canyon Road is a path that leads to adventure. As you head inland, away from the busy beachfront and bustling shops and restaurants of downtown, you’ll make your way from Avalon Harbor, past blocks of charming island cottages. You might start to notice some towering eucalyptus trees, prickly pear cacti, and rocky, brushy hillsides along the road and its surrounding canyon. The air will start to fill with scents of coastal sage scrub. Avalon Canyon R

You have a few different transportation options when it comes to getting to Catalina. The most popular choice is to go by sea. Catalina ferry boats operate out of coastal Southern California towns like Dana Point, Newport Beach, Long Beach, and San Pedro. Traveling by boat, you get the chance to see wildlife like whales or dolphins on your way to the island. Some visitors love to sail their way over to Catalina, which can take several hours from the mainland. There are also q

Fun fact: it is quite common for Catalina Island teens to learn to drive in a golf cart. There are not a lot of cars on Catalina! Owning a full size automobile like a car or truck on the island is a privilege for only a small percentage of Avalon residents. The waiting list for residential vehicle permits stretches about 25 years. In order to keep the number of full size vehicles on the island at a manageable number, the city typically only issues one new permit for every tw

Crossing the Catalina Channel can be a thrilling experience. Truly, part of the fun of your Catalina trip is your ferry ride over to the island. Think of it as the beginning of a beautiful adventure. An incredible diversity of marine life occupies this stretch of ocean in between the Southern California mainland and Santa Catalina Island. In fact, this passage of the Pacific is sometimes even referred to as a whale super highway. On your boat ride, you might spy gray, humpbac

Upon arriving in Avalon, most visitors are charmed by the views of the Catalina Casino, the boats in the harbor, the long Green Pier, the striking ridgeline of the island, and the collection of hotels, houses, and businesses that dot the town’s landscape. There’s so much to do in this little island town: golf, swim, dive, shop, dine, paddle, and, of course, relax. However, on Catalina Island, there is much more to explore, and you don’t see it all when you first arrive. In fa

If you want more than a postcard version of Catalina, you need to head into the island’s interior. Here’s what savvy visitors should know before booking. 1. It’s Completely Private No shared vans. No strangers. Just your group and your guide. The experience moves at your pace, not a scripted timetable. 2. For 3+ Guests, It’s Often Comparable in Price Most interior tours on Catalina use flex or demand pricing and typically run about $100 to $125 per person for two to three hou

On the surface, a summer visit to Catalina appears quite simple: Relax by the ocean. Stroll the downtown streets. Enjoy the charm,...

Catalina Taxi and Tours can help to make your trip to the island memorable. Learn more about what to do in two days on Catalina Island

Read on to learn more about how to choose the best tour on Catalina.

Looks can be deceiving. When you first pull into the harbor by ferry boat, you might think that the picturesque town of Avalon is it for...

The 5, the 405, the 55, the 57, the 91, the 101 and even the 1—all of these roadways can be home to long stretches of bumper-to-bumper...

There are romantic islands all over the world, but one of the most special ones is just a short boat ride off the coast of Southern...

Don’t forget to explore more than just Avalon. Read on to learn 9 things you should know about Catalina’s wild side.

When you pull into Avalon by boat, there’s no mistaking the major landmark building that greets you: the Catalina Casino. The Casino...

Catalina Island has been a lot of things to a lot of people. It was home to its first inhabitants, the Tongva tribe. To explorers, it was...

When you think about charming small towns, what comes to mind? Usually in small town America, there’s a main street, complete with...

Whether you arrive by sea or air, you can’t miss seeing Catalina’s Casino building. There was never any gambling happening here; In May...

It’s nice to think of Catalina as a pristine and peaceful Pacific island, quite unlike the bigger, busier towns on the main land. It...

You can take Catalina Island for what it is: a rocky island in the Pacific Ocean, about 26 miles off the coast of Southern California. It...

So many families come to Catalina for fun in the sun, days at the beach, and nights strolling through the charming town of Avalon....