Rocks rocks and more rocks. We had a blast in the water but know that if you plan to frolic in the…read moresand there is minimal sandy frolicking space available. The beach has lots of rocks and you have to walk across them to get into the water. Clean area and there are cabanas and lounge chairs but you must reserve those ahead of time. Otherwise, spread a towel or blanket and enjoy the beautiful breeze and beautiful scenery.

Descanso Beach is within walking-distance from the town of Avalon on Catalina Island, and the…read moreprivate beach charges a small entrance fee and is located in front of the bar and restaurant. It's one of the last places in SoCal where you can legally have a drink in your hand while on the beach. The beach is overwhelmed during the weekend, so packed on the rocky beach, and I wouldn't suggest it if you're looking for a quiet place.

It is on the Pebbly Beach road and a short distance east from the city, walkable distance to this…read morecove from town and even shorter from the ferry landing dock. There isn't much of a beach between the road and the water here, where the rocky shoreline is mostly a snorkeling destination.

Great place to swim not too much of crowd ! Would come back again for another trip i always tell…read morepeople this spot

I have been coming to Catalina Island for 50 years and love using the services of The Beach Stand…read more It's hard to lug your chairs, rafts and umbrellas on the boat and life is much simpler when you have some one to take care of this necessary piece of travel. One of the most important things to do while traveling to Catalina for the day or for a couple of weeks is to set up a "base-camp" on the beach. It allows you to dip your toes in the water, sit in the sand under an umbrella or float in the water. If you bring your own umbrella, The Beach Stand charges a small $4.00 fee to secure your umbrella in the sand. Well worth utilizing this service as well. This place is also ideal for people who are on cruise ships! The Beach Stand is located at the base of the pier and promises a friendly experience. This family run business has been on the island for well-over 50 years and Karen Hall, along with her staff are always committed to make sure their customers are taken care of so they enjoy their visit on the island. It's been a pleasure doing business with you and thank you for spoiling us with amazing base-camps while we are visiting the island.

I had had such a great day trip to Avalon, Catalina Island. While on the beach with my daughter…read moreand grand kids we made a quick stop to The Beach Stand and rented everything we needed to make the fun times begin! We had our comfortable beach chairs, umbrella and most important, the tubes! Before we went to went to The Beach Stand the kids were having fun but for some reason once they got their tubes they started having a great time! I highly recommend renting from The Beach Stand. The staff is wonderful and the prices are fair and they will even place your umbrella in the sand for you and they have this special way of securing the pole so you don't have to worry about it being blown away if the wind. I highly recommend The Beach Stand. It is so easy, everyone has fun and it sure beats lugging everything from the mainland!

Solid crew and a great experience all around. We rented…read morekayaks here during the off-season, which we really appreciated -- not every place stays open, and the water was absolutely beautiful. The team was chill in the best possible way: efficient, relaxed, and clearly experienced. They got us in the water quickly, gave clear instructions, and were right there when we returned. No stress, just a smooth, well-run operation that lets you enjoy Catalina the way it's meant to be enjoyed.

Highly recommend this rental spot. The first time we went my husband and I rented a kayak and…read moresnorkeling gear for two. It was so nice to have four wide hours in which to explore, there was no clock ticking on our rental. we got a nice long paddle in. Snorkel gear is one price for the day. Pitts was enormously helpful as we grilled him with questions about where to go and the best snorkel spots, the staff walked us through everything from loading our boat to putting us out to sea. We followed Pitts' advice and checked out some really amazing coves, we snorkeled with sea lions, saw beautiful fish. We got the boat back early and took the snorkel gear out right in Descanso and saw a world of sea life. Personable crew--we felt like they would have our backs if something came up. Nothing was stressful about the rental which is what you want on vacation.

We had an absolutely fantastic time on our private sailboat tour. Our captain was Rafael. He was…read morevery knowledgeable and friendly. They take very good care of their sailboat. It was very clean and comfortable. A few good tips are do not wear black sold shoes that could scuff the boat dress in layers maximum guest occupancy on board is six and the two seats single seats behind the captain on the left and right side are fantastic. We had a light snack and some fantastic mimosas and beer. Our light snack consisted of truffle chips and Clementine oranges. But I believe this may differ, depending upon seasonality. We saw sea lions and several different attractions along the coast of Catalina. We grabbed their business card and would definitely book this tour again.

Here for a special birthday weekend in chilly Feb...a fun weekend with this sunset cruise being the…read morehighlight!! We Chartered the boat for our group and it was so worth it. Raphael was a very competent, attentive, but easy going captain, and his wife was a lovely hostess, meeting all our needs with cheeses, crackers and salami, along with wine and champagne. We motored down the island, saw sea lions and even dolphin, and had the sail up in time to see the sunset. Raphael shared interesting information along the way, and even turned the boat around to be sure we saw the dolphin in the dusk. Everyone enjoyed the evening. Thank you, Raphael and Tiphanie for a successful outing on the water!!!

Very under utilized Zayaks are a HIT! Great for Lover's Cove if you have little ones, don't want to…read morehave to work the whole time you're in the water, etc. My 4 and 6 year old loved them, got to feed the fish (sometimes in the direction of mom and dad - yikes!), and can watch perfectly through the glass cutout. Easy walk pulling the Zayaks to Lover's Cove via the supplied dollies. $20 each for 90 min is a smoking deal! Bring frozen peas and you're all set.

Excellent service, clean equipment and very reasonably priced. My sons loved the zayak sea sleds…read more We saw so many beautiful fish at Lovers Cove. Definitely an experience not to be missed! We went back again last week and I'm so glad; we had such a blast on the zayaks with the fish!! We rented 6 sets of gear and they gave us free fish food- the fish were incredible it's one of the best snorkel adventures I've ever experienced. I highly recommend this for your Catalina experience. The staff is so friendly & helpful.

This is the most upscale condo at Catalina Island. The entire place is immaculate and very…read morefunctional because it has two levels. All of the bedrooms are upstairs and the living room, dining room, outdoor patio and kitchen are on the first floor. There were four of us and we decided to spring for a few extra dollars for the Penthouse condo because it has two Master Bedroom suites that are really on an equal par. Both have king size beds, new bathrooms and Smart TV's with incredible picture quality and full internet! Who has that at home? The houses, hotels and condos in Catalina have always been a little funky but the Penthouse condo is in a league of its own. The hot tub on the rear deck is brand new and clean and it was all ours. To sip our wine and look at the stars from the Jacuzzi in total privacy was quite the experience. The rear deck is secluded as there are no other buildings above or around it. You are truly alone and during the day it gets quite warm so I laid out for a total body sun tan and it was worth it. The front patio off of the living room has a great view of the ocean and Casino so staying in this place was definitely special. The front patio has outdoor seating, so we also enjoyed ourselves with the view of the lights at night too. The second master bedroom suite also has a view from the bed and has its own balcony upstairs. Even the third bedroom with the twin beds has a view. There was plenty of space in the living room, dining area and kitchen and it was fully appointed with all of the pots, pans and dishes that were of high quality. It was like living in a fully equipped home. The one thing I loved was having a washer and dryer right in the unit. We felt so lucky to experience this place and for the price, it was a bargain. I hope the owners keep the rent where it is because we are coming back. We stayed in those small hotel rooms in the past and all I can say is "never again". We walked to town in the evenings, it was a couple of blocks, ate dinner and returned to our elegant condo. It was a little sad to leave because we had such a great time. We took care of this place just like it was ours.

From the owner: The Penthouse is in the largest multilevel Condo, in the City of Avalon, on Catalina Island. It is…read morelocated just 3 blocks from the town and beach. Newly renovated. No other Catalina Island hotel has a private Jacuzzi, Internet and a Baby Grand Piano! Great for the romantic couple or a total of 8 people for weekly rentals. The Penthouse condo has views of the mountains and ocean by day and the lights of the City of Avalon by night. Most condos can be quite warm during the summer. This condo rental is unique because it has windows on all four sides of the unit allowing breezes to gently flow through the entire unit.

We booked several items through the conservancy. First I will let you know that we are members,…read moreand it has some nice benefits. One day we went to the botanical gardens and the Wrigley Memorial. With the level of membership we have, we saved ourselves the entrance fee to the botanical gardens and memorial and our shuttle up to the gardens was complimentary. If you aren't a member the fees are nominal and it helps the conservancy. John was our driver and he gave some great information and history of the island on our way up and back. We didn't know what to expect from the botanical gardens and we loved it. We walked up to the memorial which was really interesting. There are plaques that explain the history of the memorial to Wrigley. As we walked back down we took all the various trails throughout the garden and some some interesting plants, insects and ended at the little amphitheater where we watched a couple of the films they have on the island and the gardens. I have read that others found the gardens to be boring and they only spent a short time. Everyone is different, and the time you spend is dependent on your interests. We took the 10:15 am shuttle and came back at 11:45 am. We found that to be plenty of time, but not too much time, it worked out well for us. It was fun! We also booked our shuttle up to the Airport in the Sky for a hike and lunch through the conservancy. It was great. Our driver was so friendly and explained so much about Catalina's backcountry.

We went to Catalina to do a bike packing trip accross the island. I was naively thinking we would…read moreget information in addition to the bike permits at the conservancy. But no, this is mostly just another overpriced gift shop. They don't really have much information, no informative displays, maps or handouts. there are some flimsy flyers for $11.95 plus tax each and a subpar map for $5 or 6. The employees are not knowledgeable or helpful. They just want you to do everything online. Which is a joke given that many people won't have cell coverage in most parts of the island and even if you had coverage eventually on a multi-day camping trip the phone's battery will fail. And if we do everything online then what's the point of this physical location? Or of the employees? Also, I contacted the conservancy before my trip and never got a response. This island is so amazing, what a shame the conservancy can't do a better job sharing information.

Great experience! I…read morebooked a Kayak and Stand-up Paddle Board online 3-months in advance of our arrival to ensure we would have access to them when we arrived. I'm so glad I did because while we were signing the wavers, people were coming up asking about rentals and they were sold out of everything for the day. The online reservation process was quick and easy. Rentals are for a minimum of 2 hours and you have to choose your date and block your arrival time. After arriving, we had a short wait to get into our rentals. Their process was very efficient. The only downside is that they are located in the busy marina with the boats/yachts. My daughter was so excited about her kayak that she wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, she didn't notice that a yacht was leaving the marina and headed right for her. It came so very close to plowing her down. Just watch your surroundings and you'll be just fine. Overall, everyone had an absolute blast. My daughter was absolutely shocked when a seal swam right up to her Kayak, poked his head out, made some noises, then playfully splashed water on her. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Highly Recommended!

The guy who helped us was pretty nice. He gave us a tip on where to kayak for the best view and…read morehelped us get strapped in as it was my first time. Side note: Don't wear regular shoes because you will get very wet and don't aim for the smaller coves along the shore because it was way harder to get out of. Overall super fun experience tho.

If I could give a negative start I would. On Sunday 7-20-20 I almost lost my life out in the water…read moreand no one came looking for me. I got lost and panicked as this was my very first time ever trying something like new. They new they had 6 jet skies out there and only saw 5 out there for a very long time yet no one thought maybe we should look for me or who ever was lost. I was terrified and traumatized! I was shaken and it was made to be light to them. I will never do this ever again and I recommend you know if something happens do not depend on them to help.

So this place isn't found on the web as easily as "Parasailing Catalina" or "Snorkeling…read moreCatalina"...but it is right next to them on the same 'main street'. You can't miss them, they have a counter pulled out to the boardwalk and you rent JET SKIS from them. I have never had so much fun before! We road together for an hour. It was $120. The hour was enough time for both of us to take turns. I loved doing donuts and also going full throttle then hitting a wave...getting splashed in the face and letting go of the throttle, which is equivalent to slamming on your breaks. This nearly bucked us off the darn thing. Jet Skiing is pretty rad. The guy was really cool. I love speed! BONUS: While going away from shore we saw a WHOLE SCHOOL of dolphins, swimming and playing. It was surreal...