Very quick side trip with gorgeous views of the bay. It was closed for restoration during our…read morevisit.

Lovely area. Great hiking paths up to the Chimes Tower landmark. Chimes Tower is currently closed…read moreoff and gated, so you cannot go inside, but the views outside are absolutely breathtaking and amazing. Great spots for photos. Love unique views and naturally beautiful geography. Yes, there are storms and hurricanes if the weather gets bad. Overall, nice and toasty hot during month of September in 2022. Using the stairs by the ocean view is the easiest 10-15 minute route from the cruise ship ferry docks. Some people don't like walking up at least 75 steps up the stairs. Local residents are very friendly and resourceful. Walking uphills in the back neighborhood roads will be sweaty hot, so bring enough water. That can take 15-25 minutes for the average person. Great workout if you have time. Beautiful sunlight and gorgeous views from above. Definitely worth the hike. Walking is always free.

May 28, 2026 | Catalina Island Avalon | Love Catalina Island Visitor Center hosted the 2026 Taste…read moreAround Catalina culinary event! What a lively food, dessert & drink filled event! Tickets | $2 & you receive a map of where the restaurants are located, which are in walking distance, just steps from one another! Where | Downtown Catalina! I had no idea that it would be such a huge event! There were people everywhere, having a good time, walking around, eating and drinking... Good vibes all around! Prepare | Be sure to stop by the bank and pick up $1 & $5 bills! It's easier to give the exact amount, as most of the items are between one and six dollars, and most places won't have change! There is a US Bank in Downtown Catalina! Tasty | The Taste Around Avalon event was well organized, gave generous portions, a variety of food at about 34 restaurants! You need to have a bite & signature/stamp at 10 restaurants to be eligible for the drawing! Culinary Extravaganza | I made it to 10 restaurants, even when it started to rain a bit towards the end! I enjoyed clam chowder via Bluewater Avalon, the mango tango refreshing drink from Pier 24 was absolutely delicious, and the taco was seasoned well! Tasty ravioli at Original Jack's Italian! The Seabass at Avalon Grille was a full on delicious WIN for me, easily 5 stars & made quite the impression; tender, flavorful and seasoned to perfection!! The chef was also right there on site cooking on the grill!! The bite of warm butter cake was full-on yum via El Galeon! The Dole Whip at Scoops was a standout & especially when he topped it with Tahin...yes!! it was even worth the temporary brain freeze! Haha! The $1 shrimp & pasta dish at Steve's Steakhouse...wow, both delicious and a great deal! At this point, it was full on raining, but that didn't stop me! After all, I had on my cowgirl hat to somewhat shield me from the rain! Though my battery was running low, thank goodness, I was equipped with my pink sparkly portable charger! The show must go on! I didn't come this far for nothing! Lol! The shrimp enchilada and mango salad at Maggie's was mouthwatering delicious and I would easily order again! Feeling like a champ, I finished off the evening with a memorable spicy guava margarita...yum! Fun Note | The next day, I walked over to US Bank and ended up returning several $1 bills for larger notes! Customer Service | Beth & Suzanna were the sweetest when I went to purchase my ticket at the Visitor Center! They were just as friendly as ever & gave me plenty of info about how to navigate the event! One of the many reasons why I love Catalina Island, the people are so kind! During the event | Top-of-the-line customer service everywhere I went at the event! The crowd was really friendly as well! I also saw plenty of familiar faces, as I've been to Catalina Island Avalon many times! There were so many cute dogs too! At the end of the event, you turn in your restaurant scorecard for a chance to win prizes! Fun!! Overall | Yes, Please! It's a super fun event, I discovered a few new restaurants and I would easily go again in a heartbeat! Great food, refreshing drinks, delicious desserts & and all-around good time!

I had printed out maps of two hikes on the island, but I wasn't sure which one to do. Moreover,…read morethere was very little detail on either map on where the trail started or where the turns were. When I presented my dilemma to the nice woman working there, she said one hike was significantly better than the other. Then, she pulled out a map of the area, and proceeded to mark the hike turn by turn, with a Magic Marker. OMG that was so helpful! She was even nice enough to mark the scenic spots. We did the hike without any problems. We always knew where we were, and where to go next.

The main 'pleasure' (i.e. not working) pier in Avalon, it is also known as the Avalon Harbor…read morePleasure Pier. It has restrooms and a visitor center and shops selling bait (fishing is allowed off the pier, even without a fishing license, though one must throw back Garabaldis). Like many pedestrian piers, there is space for a restaurant at the very end of the pier. In this case, it's the Avalon Seafood and Fish Market.

This is a great place to come to, to sit and relax while watching the boats go by and see the…read morepeople fishing with makeshift fishing equipment. Along the pier there is bathrooms, places to rent a motor boat and do some shore explorations at the entrance of the pier.

Small but bright, informative, interesting museum on the Island. Lots of local history exhibits…read more They had a looping movie about local history done in a mix of newsreel and TV news styles fitting the era & topic presented. Cool. Surprised to learn about the Island's connection to Marilyn Monroe, Wrigley chewing gum, and the Chicago Cubs. The museum also was hosting several artists' exhibitions. Narsiso Martinez's artwork depicting California agricultural labourers was particularly impressive. Some of the works don't get shown to the public often. One of the museum's docents gave interesting background on the artist and the backstory for some of the art pieces. If on Santa Catalina Island, this museum is worth a visit.

June 26 & July 5, 2025 | Catalina Island Avalon | The Catalina Island Museum is a great way to know…read moremore about the beautiful island, including its history! Experience | It was amazing learning more about Catalina Island: history, the famous people on the island, including Marilyn Monroe, as well as well-known Writers/Authors, incredible art pieces, sculptures, pottery, photography & even the blueprint of the spectacular Casino... and so much more! Lights, Camera, Action | There is also a sit down Theater inside the museum where you can watch a 15 minute movie about the history of Catalina Island! Tickets | $12 | Admission throughout the two-level museum, both indoor and outdoor! Stairs and elevator accessible! Gift Shop | Fun books, postcards, beautiful tiles, souvenirs, jewelry, figurines, Bath & body products ... The gift shop has it all! Overall | I enjoyed every moment at the museum, as Catalina Island Avalon is one of my favorite places! Exploring the museum is a great way to know more about the island and it's history!

Finally took the time and additional funds to see the inside of the Catalina Casino in Avalon…read moreCalifornia during a shore stop aboard the Quantum of the Sea from Los Angeles. It was a great stop, well worth the money and time. My wife and I have been to Avalon before and the outline of the Catalina Casino dominates the view from the harbor when looking North. I made the obvious mistake of thinking it was a place of gambling and didn't bother going, but later learned that during the 19th and early 20th century, the term 'casino' was used to mean 'a gathering place'. That was the goal of the original owner (William Wrigley, founder of the gum company that bears his name), when he built it in 1929, right during the times when 'talkies' started taking over the movie industry. A massive restoration occurred in 1994. It's walkable from where we got dropped off by the cruise port tender, so I bought two adult tickets online for $21.51 each, for the self-guided tour. There is also a guided tour available that takes a group back behind the stage. We got there right when it opened and the ticket taker already had our names to let us in. The first stop was the main theater on the ground floor, and as we entered it, I couldn't help by saying a long 'Wowwww'. There are 1164 original seats (reupholstered) and we sat in the very back row, admiring the theater and watching a bit of the silent movie that was playing. Cell reception did not work inside, and the free WiFi didn't work well in here either. A little while later, the guided tour came in, and we were able to listen to the guide explain the theater. Some fun facts: -- this was the first theater designed for 'talkies'. However, because it wasn't a sure thing that they would replace the old style silent movies, a Page Theatre Pipe Organ was also installed (which is now one of only three still in its original location...the others being in Indiana). It was broken for a while, but has recently been fixed. -- entire ceiling was covered in silver leaf. -- the acoustics are incredible. As the guided group talked in normal loudness near the orchestral pit in front, I could hear each conversation from the back, just as if the person was right next to me. -- the wall murals was designed by the same artist who did the mural at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. -- architects responsible for the building of Radio City Music Hall in NYC, came for a visit to examine the acoustics, as it was that good. The guided tour ended up going backstage. We then took a winding ramp (there is no public elevator) up to the 2nd floor. Here there was one room where a TV show was on, explaining the history of the island. Another ramp took us to the top floor where the 20,000 square foot grand ballroom is. (The ramps reminded me of a ballparks, and later I learned that it was intentional: Wrigley had requested it based on something similar that he liked from his namesake ballpark). The ballroom has been beautifully restored, with wooden floors and a rotating chandelier. One can roller skate on the floor with rented skates, though nobody was doing it when we were there, thus the floor was empty. There is also a concession stand selling snacks. The height of the casino is equal to a 12-story building, and provides some really great views of Avalon, specifically the bay, from the Romance Promenade that surrounds the ballroom. My wife and I slowly circled it, admiring the views. We did notice the small cove where many snorkelers were admiring the plentiful orange-colored garibaldi. The entire stay lasted about 75 minutes which we felt was about the right amount of time. Would highly recommend if not been there before.

One of the coolest parts about visiting is learning the history-most people assume it used to be a…read moregambling casino because of the name, but it actually never was! It was built as a community gathering space, and the word "casino" just meant "social gathering place" in Italian back then. Getting to explore the building at your own pace is fantastic. The inside is beautiful, and I loved seeing the massive, classic ballroom and the old roller skating area. The absolute highlight, though, is stepping out onto the terrace. The views of Avalon Harbor and the ocean from up there are stunning, and it's easily one of the best photo ops on the entire island.

We had a fantastic time visiting Catalina Island. If you're…read moredeciding on what to do while you're here, I highly recommend booking one of the island tours. It's a great way to get a layout of the land, we learned a ton about the history of Avalon, and the views from the overlooks high above the harbor are absolutely spectacular. Another major highlight was doing the self-guided tour of the historic Catalina Casino. Getting to walk through the grand ballroom at your own pace is great, but the real prize is stepping out onto the massive wraparound terrace. The views of the harbor and the ocean from up there are incredible. It's easily one of the best photo ops on the entire island.

It isn't what it used to be like in 2014. It's a pain trying to book the Catalina express from Dana…read morePt. Small boats and not as many. So you're stuck with having to go to Long Beach. Plan for three hours if you're coming from San Diego due to the absolutely horrible traffic issues. If you take the toll rd, expect to pay the fine if you don't pay ahead, you get the ticket.Late. That being said, I was so taken aback, from how lovely it used to be in 2014.The ocean in front of the beach right off the dock used to be kept clear all the way the docking area. Now, they just fill up the bay.There's about 30 ft of beach and then about fifty feet of water before it is blocked off by buoys. Filthy. Smelly. Filled with screaming kids.Foot traffic going over u. I imagine the pcb's in that area are immense. The epa should be taking tests. Many of the private homes have been turned into hotels and Airbnb's.The Catalina Hotel was a dump, you can't secure windows.Loud.Dirty. Everything we wanted to do was booked up many days in advance, so give months of advance for your reservations and expect to pay a lot for whatever you do. We were going to the ghost tour, but they said he decided to take the night off.So the buffalo tour. Nope.Spa day.Nope.Don't even think about doing much on a Sunday a lot of businesses r closed.There are also a lot of restaurants,not many had good yelp reviews. Food & service terrible. Chinese restaurant we went to in 2014?Closed years ago.The new one got such bad reviews we didn't even bother. Herds of people.Loads of gas smoke from idling carts.U have to walk everywhere because cart drivers don't want to take you anywhere except back to the shuttle.If you are handicapped, forget it! I have contacted the ADA about this situation. There's one company that has the monopoly, I think it's illegal to do this. I have sent an email to the state attorney general about such a monopoly. Forget it if you need to catch a shuttle - you need to get a cab at least an hour before. It took us 45 minutes to get a shuttle back to the boat - after calling three cabs. I wonder if the Wrigley's only gave this one company permits for cabs?No real competition. They couldn't care any less about you.Line upon line for food, and I don't know if it is just there are no health regulations, or what.i used to review food for Knight-Ridder.I was disgusted.The things we saw the waiters do-clean the floor, the chair and then the table with the same towel.I threw up a little in my mouth.I guess a private island doesn't fall under California health laws. I plan to see what health dept regulates them, if any. Maybe it's up to the Wrigley's and they just don't care. It was a sorry excuse for the Wrigley's preservation of the island (they now have a university teaching preservation on the mainland! Really?), the golf carts are spewing gas fumes - there are so many now-and they rent out four seaters, no two-seaters and forget about having it a weekend. That will cost you a grand. So all these vehicles are clogging the roads and they have a Von's now. Trust me when I tell you you'd have a way better time on the mainland, anywhere else. I once included the island in a travel book, not now. Many of the hotels do not have elevators, or anyone to carry your luggage. The streets there are just packed with people. Herds. It is very difficult to get anywhere. There is no elegance. There are very few stores where there are not people harassing you to make a sale, and the nice people have been there for a while and thinking about selling because of these rude people traveling there. Loud - always. Save your vacation for somewhere lovely.Go to Malibu. Chico. Anywhere else. We took the 5:00 (or thereafter) shuttle out and that whole trip we had to listen to this retired guy from the shuttle fleet who didn't sit in his chair, he stood up talking to a member of the staff who was telling his whole life story. Both of them very loud and the guy leaning on the galley snack bar and swearing, and talking about things that really should have been talked about elsewhere. The guy next to my daughter always standing and leaning into the back of his seat with his hands on the chair like he was humping it, so his crotch was about two feet from my daughter and he kept pushing the seat back and forth. Aren't you supposed to sit in a seat? She didn't want to switch seats with me. She put her ear buds in and leaned up against me. I got a migraine from just coming home. Going there people had slept, but it was impossible with those two carrying on nearly the whole time. Employee. The whole trip was disgusting. Save your money, go somewhere you'll enjoy yourself. Seriously. If the Wrigley's don't care, neither should you. So many other places to go. If you've been before and loved it, save those memories, it's just a garbage can now.

Zoom zoom partystarter…read more This was way fun! My husband and I did the 45-minute "Casino Tour" which takes you from the miniature golf parking lot on Sumner Ave to the famed casino along the bay. It was super scenic, and our guide Joe was very informative. He was patient when we first started (we were segway newbies), and gave us helpful instruction. He was also very willing to help us take fun pictures! They have a variety of more extensive (and expensive) tours. I wish we had more time to spend on the segway! It was a blast. What I didn't like was how Joe kept answering his cell phone while we were on the tour to schedule tours with his clients, and at one point this resulted in us "standing" around for nearly 15 minutes (which ended up extending our tour time, since he didn't count his cell phone time as part of our tour). This seemed rather unprofessional.

When you are stuck on a tiny island with 5 hours to kill you'll find you're willing to do things…read moreyou told yourself you would never do! I never understood why people use Segways. I mean, how lazy can we Americans get? Now we can't even be bothered to pedal on a bike or drag our legs on a skateboard or scooter? Our sedentary lives aren't enough? Now we need to STAND STILL on a motorized mechanism to get ourselves from point A to point B? All this being said, I did see that movie with Kevin James where he plays Paul Blart the Mall Cop (don't judge me it was a free movie on a flight). He had some pretty nifty moves on that segway of his so in the spirit of Paul Blart and needing to kill some time we decided to rent segways. Since it was our first time, we opted for the 1 hour package to the casino and back. I believe it was around $42 for the hour? The employees were very friendly and spent time with each of us teaching us how to operate the segway in a safe gated area. I have to say this was the funnest part of our experience. Each of struggled for a couple minutes before we figured out the machine. I think it took me the longest to figure things out. It took me a hot minute to figure out how to stop. I almost drove into a tree but seriously the instructor is so on top of it he doesn't let anything bad happen to you. He stopped me right in time. They took all the necessary safety precautions and once we all gained confidence in how to operate the segways, we were off! I felt safe with the employee leading us through the streets and down the paths. On our way back I realized that even though we looked like complete dorks, it was a great way to zip around and cover more ground. Would I use a segway ever again? Probably not.... I'd rather do Stand up Paddle boarding and use more of my core, paddle and have the added adrenaline of potentially falling into the water. Am I glad I did it? I sure am!

Day 3 of my Royal Caribbean cruise. Catalina Island day…read more Ive been here maybe 8 or 9 times since 2009 so nothing really unique for me to see. I got off the boat to walk around a bit in Catalina. Spent about an hour before heading back to the tender boat back to the Cruise ship.

Very easy to take the ferry from Long Beach. Its quiet, very instagrammable place. Plenty of…read moreseating area close to the water, plenty of bathrooms along the road as well which was nice, area looks like its very well taken care of. Prices in the shops and restaurants are very decent, not overpriced. Day trip honestly is enough if you don't plan on doing water activities, we arrived at 9:15 am and we were done walking around by 3pm and was just waiting around for the ferry to go back.

*Beautiful gardens with some very unique, and endemic flora- some only found on the island or…read moreendangered. * Awesome birding here *Main path to the memorial is a gradual incline and on relatively gravel/ sand even terrain... off shoot walking paths to meander thru the gardens as well. * To get to the top of the memorial, there are a lot of steps to climb. Worth the view from on top. * You can jump on the garden to sky trail (near the memorial)... it is described as a moderate to strenuous hike and aptly so: some switchbacks, elevation gain, rocky terrain... but the views... oh the views are lovely. Of note you can also catch this trail elsewhere- but it all depends on you and the distance and time you have. * Operated by the Catalina Island Conservatory * To get here: you can either walk here from Avalon... but it's quite a ways. The public transit COAST is available but we found it impossible to secure a ride (didn't help that a cruise ship had come in that day), rent a golf cart for the day, or the best / hassle free option was to pay a small fee (about 13 bucks a person) at the Conservancy and they shuttle back and forth. The only draw back is you need to schedule your trip ahead of time and if you are a person who does not like itineraries when you travel, this may put a dent... but definitely worth a visit. *Restrooms are located at the entrance

Definitely a place to visit when touring Avalon, Catalina Island. From the port, it's about a 15…read moreminute ride, 40 for walking. We downloaded the Ride Circuit app and it's a $2 fee per ride, which you can't really beat! The place also does student discounts, which is a nice touch. Walking through the first part was nice. Reading information on the little cards about the plants and taking different routes. We actually got to see a tiny fox! It is uphill, nothing too crazy, just bring some water. The memorial at the top of the hill is worth your time. It is a climb up the stairs, so be prepared. Once you get to the top and oversee the garden and have a view of the port, you'll for sure gasp in surprise of the view. Pretty cool seeing a structure preserved! If you take the left path when you get to the memorial, you'll come across a little area called Little Fox Hollow. I'd recommend visiting and walking through. For little ones, but you can make it fun as an adult too! On the right path, there is a hiking trail about a mile long. A lot steeper than when you start from the entrance to the memorial. We didn't get fully to the top due to exhaustion. It gives a higher view than the memorial structure. Overall, I'd definitely come back when I visit Avalon, Catalina Island!

Thank you Catalina Coastal Tours for an amazing day of fishing!! Captain Aiden of the RedRum had us…read moreon the fish in no time and the bites never stopped. We caught over twenty fish between the six of us during the four-hour charter, including four beautiful yellow tail. We are already planning our next trip over. Thank you for providing a memorable experience for my family!

Flaked on a fishing charter last minute. Disappointed kids. Did not offer any other availability…read more Wouldn't count on them for a day out fishing.