Two words: Spectacular. Christian!…read more We had probably the most informed, energetic and humble tour guide in all of our journeys. Christian had a profound knowledge of the ecology, biology and sociology of Catalina island. And his driving was top notch!

Our guide Christian was absolutely the BEST He was so…read moreknowledgable about Catalina and had a great sense of humor. We loved our tour today!

On a one day visit to Catalina Island, there is so much to do, see and eat…read more To start, rent a golf cart or wear good walking shoes because this port is not too big for tourist exploration. There is also a "Circuit" ride share that will take you around the island for $2 per person. Coming in by tender from a cruise ship is great. The docking area is in town and so close to everything. I exited the tender and walked along the waterfront where I passed a few children's playgrounds with a pirate theme. Then on to where the golf carts are rented. I walked to the pier (Green Pier) where there are bathrooms and many small shops all hoping for the tourist business. They carry the typical port souvenirs. After a long walk on this short pier I got to the end where there is many people fishing with poles and the little set ups they will sell you for a few dollars and the bait too. There are plenty of benches to sit and watch the boat come in and out of the harbour. There is a small beach area that has lots of pretty colored little rocks along the shoreline. The walk to the round Casino Building is pretty much the end of the road before a mountainside resort. I passed by some waterfront restaurants that were even crowded on a cloudy day. My walk back to the tender was quick and the ride back to the cruise ship was also pretty nice and calm.

Catalina island interior is the best place to experience nature without having to travel far. We…read morehave toured the interior quite a few times. We booked a tour once to see bisons but didn't get to see animals cause it was raining. The tours we went by ourselves were much better! We saw many wild animals including bisons! The interior vineyard is so beautiful. The trips were very enjoyable but a bit of too much sun for me. Wear sunscreen and a hat to prevent sun exposure! Keep in mind that it takes 20 years to be able to buy a real car on island. Only one golf cart is allowed per residence. There are no spaces for real cars and more golf carts in Avalon. Our family and friends live here so they have a real car to take us to interiors. Yes you will need a real car to do that! Avalon has enough restaurants and bars to hang out. Casino is also a movie theater to show older movies on certain weekend evenings. They offer tours of this historic casino too. They host NYE gala every year. Beach club is great for summer times. Museum is small but still worth taking a tour. Too bad the spa has closed down, we used to go there all the time. This island has so much to offer. It's the best place for a lot of fun just a ferry ride away!

Our driver only really stayed on narrow bumpy roads with heavy brush on the sides. No way a bison…read morewould be there! No real visit to open land, where we might actually see some bison! The hummer ride was wildly violent. We were warned, however I really did not appreciate our guide (Wendy) constantly joking about driving over the cliff, crashing...while holding the wheel with only one hand. This actually greatly upset me. The only thing that saved this tour was the magnificent views.

I'll be honest, I was a little nervous at first. The group before us came back and a woman jumped…read moreoff the hummer looking totally frazzled, yelling "WARN THEM!!" which....yeah, not exactly comforting. So if you're on the fence or feeling anxious, this review is for you. We had Andrew as our guide and he was awesome. Before we even got on the open air hummer, he was very upfront that the ride would be bumpy and gave solid advice on where to sit if heights make you uneasy. That actually made me more nervous at first, but it turned out to be totally fine. The hummer never gets that close to the cliff edge, and it always felt controlled and safe. The views are unreal!!!!!! seriously breathtaking. We were lucky enough to see 2 bison, 2 Catalina foxes, 2 does, and a young buck. The tour before us saw zero bison, so we were thrilled. We even got to see them up close, which was incredible. As for the ride itself, I didn't find it nearly as bumpy as people make it sound. There were a few spots where the height felt a little sketchy, but in a "whoa" way, not a "nope, I regret everything" way. All in all, I'd absolutely recommend this tour. Don't let dramatic exit speeches scare you off, you'll be glad you did it. There's blankets available on the hummer in case you get chilly. Tips: - bring cash. TIP YOUR DRIVER!!!! - secure your hat and hair, so hat doesn't go flying off

We had a fantastic day. Christian was super as our driver/narrator/entertainer and all around good…read moreguy! We thoroughly enjoyed our ride with him. Pass along our thanks. Great tour.

Cute little excursion if you are visiting Catalina , where you view 3 areas where local fish…read moreschool. 5 minute easy walk from the tender port. Found the vendor via Viator 12:45pm departure , be there by 12:30 , was a relaxed, comfortable 45 minutes cruise with a view below water level. Bought 3 fish food shots for $5. Weather in the 70's it was a cool experience checking out the fish.

My boyfriend and I went for a quick day trip to spend some time at the island since he had never…read morebeen. We booked the 50 minute Discover Avalon tour and we loved it! It was the perfect amount of time to get acquainted will a little bit of Avalon and hear a few fun facts. Our tour guide was Laura and she was so funny and knowledgeable! I highly recommend the tour. A small warning, the tour bus is open air and a bit bumpy, so if you have injuries or issues with rough rides, I would maybe reach out to Discover Avalon and double check if you are good to tour with them :)

We took the bison expedition tour yesterday, Saturday, February 21, and had the absolute best…read moreexperience thanks to our guide, Andrew. From the moment we started, he was funny, warm, and incredibly engaging, while also being super knowledgeable and educational about the island and wildlife. What really stood out was how perfectly Andrew balanced the experience -- he knew exactly when to share great stories and facts, and when to let us simply soak in the sights, sounds, and beauty around us. He never rushed us and made sure we had plenty of opportunities for amazing photos and genuine wildlife sightings. We truly felt like we were seeing the island at its best. The tour felt safe, well-supported, and action-packed, without ever feeling overwhelming. You could tell Andrew genuinely cared about everyone having a great time and walking away with memorable moments. We also saw a fox and bison! Highly, highly recommend this tour -- and if you're lucky enough to get Andrew as your guide, you're in for a treat. Side note: when guides and drivers go above and beyond like this, please remember to tip. Andrew, if you ever read this -- thank you for such a fantastic experience. Hope your boss sees this and rewards you big time!

Captain John was amazing, he knew all the spots. We caught our limit of rockfish within an hour. We…read morewent back to dock to drop someone off because of motion sickness. John was super accommodating and he managed to acquire live squid for us to use for halibut/bass fishing. We caught 3 massive halibut, White Sea bass(wasn't a keeper), and white fish (also threw back). John cleaned our fish and bagged them for us. Amazing trip will definitely come back for yellow tail!

Our tour was AMAZING. Captain promised no dolphins because of how strong the current was but we got…read moreto see many. I pointed out that I saw something in the distance and without a doubt started driving that way.

Orlando was excellent guide. He made the 2.5 hour private family trip for 6 appealing to all ages…read morewith his knowledge and fun personality!

Great experience getting picked up at Little Harbor campground and going to Avalon. The car was…read morenice and clean, there was water waiting for us, the communication was good and the ride was punctual! Would definitely recommend.

My kids love aquariums...and they love boats....so this seemed like a win-win, and it sooooo was!…read more We met the boat at the end of a small pier. The boat had an enclosed bench-seating area with all seats facing the center of the boat, which was made of glass and several feet below where we all sat. I was amazed by how clear the water was-even right next to shore. As we moved, our guide shared some local history and information about the marine life below us. We paused at several fish sanctuary locations, and the guide threw fish food into the water to attract more fish than we could count. The tour, which lasted an hour, was a delight for the whole family. All of the kids and kids at heart were thrilled by the many types of fish we saw. We were even fortunate enough to see a diving cormorant! The waves were not too bad on the day I went...even though my stomach usually gets queasy on smaller boats, this one didn't bother me. Maybe I was too entranced by the fish to notice. If I ever visit Catalina again and have time to do it, I'll be more than happy to go on this tour again. It was just long enough, and you never know what you'll see down there! Note--there is a public restroom at the beginning of the pier, but much of it was out of order, leading to some pretty long lines. Make sure you go before you get on the boat-no restrooms on board.

I'm reviewing the Nautilus semisubmersible tour. First the good: You will see lots of fish…read moreparticularly opaleye, sea bass, and garibaldi, which is great if you like shooting videos with your cell phone. The not so good: It is a confined space and tends to be noisy inside. Also, why they charge for feeding the fish escapes me. They didn't used to do that!

Our driver met us at the end of the pier when we got off our tender. Ron Lowder was an incredible…read moredriver was an enormous amount of information since he's lived on the island for so long. He was not only informative but interesting. We enjoyed the tour very much. It is more than I usually spend on an excursion but so well worth it. The only thing I wish we could've done was spent a half hour at the botanical garden. My suggestion would be that you could charge a little more and add another hour to the tour and allow people to walk around the garden.

Our tour was fantastic. We learned so much from Letty. She's a 30 year plus resident and knows a…read moreton about Catalina we'd never heard about. Super interesting! Great introduction and so glad we took the tour on our first day on the island. It enriched the rest of our Catalina time! Thanks Letty.

Located at the entrance of the Green Pleasure Pier on Catalina Island, the visitor center was…read moremanned by two friendly guides during our day visit to the island. Since we were part of the 4,000 people coming onshore from the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas, it was quite busy inside (assuming for the whole day) but the ladies seemed to be handling it with no problem. There are self-serve pamphlets for all the various attractions on the island. My brother's particular question was around getting info for the jet ski tour from Long Beach to Catalina. The guide explained that those originate from Long Beach, and that the jet ski tour guides here in Avalon provide one hour tours around the island. That was enough info to point us in the right direction, and we continued on our way.

The worst visitor center I've ever entered in all my travels across the USA and even…read moreinternationally! This place should be embarrassed! Shortly after arriving on Catalina island, we discovered that we somehow didn't have a ticket back to the mainland. After trying to book a ticket back, and finding nothing but fully booked Catalina Express boats, I came to the visitor center assuming they would be able to help with methods of transportation off this island and back to the mainland. The answer I got from the woman working behind the counter was, "Here's a brochure. Scan the QR code. You can contact Catalina Express or take the helicopter, but I don't know their availability." What kind of answer is that?!?!?!?! Here, scan a QR code? Seriously?????? I even asked this lady about the airport and she couldn't even tell me when they close for the day. Couldn't even tell me if there were private planes or private jets that fly in and out of this airport. How can you be working at a visitor center and not be able to answer basic questions about the airport? I needed to get off this island! I was ready to pay $1,000 or more to get home at the end of the night. This lady was completely incompetent and offered zero help and clearly demonstrated she had zero knowledge. After leaving the visitor center, I had to call a family member on the mainland and have them help find me a ride off this island! Within 1 hour, I had a ticket on the 7:45 PM Catalina Express. So here I am sitting at home, back on the mainland writing this review.....no thanks to anyone on this island, especially nobody from the visitor center! ZERO stars!