Catalina Island is one of the best kept secrets in California.

Here is a first-hand guide of how to get there, where to stay, what to see!

Park your adventure rig for a few days and escape the hustle and bustle in about an hour!

Travel In Style

Catalina Island is like a tropical paradise getaway, with a quick hour-long boat ride from either Long Beach, San Pedro or Dana Point, in Southern California, The Catalina Express offers daily service from all three ports.  The ride is quick, fun, and beautiful.  If you upgrade to the Commodore Lounge you have the opportunity to board first, and enjoy a complimentary beverage and snack on your adventure.  You can sit upstairs in the enclosed area, or enjoy the outside open air, wind in your hair experience, which is my favorite!  It really doesn’t matter where you sit, as every seat has large windows, you just have to keep your eyes peeled for the occasional whale blows and dolphin sightings!  The boat ride is so fun and quick, you’ll wish it was a little longer!  

Avalon Bay, the main entry point to the island which is located about 21 miles from Los Angeles.

Once you arrive on the island, everything is pretty much within walking distance.  If you want to explore a little more, you can rent a golf cart!  We stayed at the newly renovated Hotel Atwater.  The hotel is simply exquisite!  Originally opened in 1920, the hotel was the first hotel opened by William Wrigley Jr., who named the hotel after his daughter-in-law Helen Atwater Wrigley.  Inspired by Helen’s love of champagne, guests are welcomed with two splits of sparkling wine on arrival day!  The rooms are spacious, bright, and comfortable.  The decor, the fun and colorful historic photos, and the artifacts in the lobby pay homage to the hotel’s historic roots.  We fell in love with the lobby and enjoyed drinking our morning coffee watching the locals scurry to work!  There’s nothing quite like island life.  

I love checking out all of the vintage shops and boutique stores when I visit California!  I’m a huge fan of all things pink, especially when it’s displayed in the window!  

As soon as we got off the boat in Avalon, I spotted three pink Lilly Pulitzer items.  The store was closed, so I woke up early the next morning, and ran over to the store in my Lilly pajamas!

 I went to try on the pink swimsuit! Unfortunately, the store was closed, but Weezie’s carries lots of Lilly Pulitzer, Vineyard Vines, Sail to Sable and some other great resort wear brands! Be sure to check out the photo gallery for a few of my resort wear outfits I wore on our recent visit to Catalina!

William Wrigley Jr., the famous chewing gum entrepreneur purchased the island in 1919.  He invested in bringing utilities to the island, creating attractions, housing, a hotel, and built the Catalina Island Casino, which is a movie theater on the lower level and the world’s largest circular ballroom on the upper level. He named the building from the Italian word “casino” which means gathering place.  There is no gambling on the island. He worked hard to increase the island’s visibility with creative events such as an open swim race to the island with a large prize.  The Chicago Cubs, which Wrigley owned, also held their Spring Training on the island for over 30 years.  The descendants of the Wrigley Family are still very active and involved today.  In 1972, the family donated about 90 percent of the island to the non-profit Catalina Island Conservancy, one of the oldest land trusts in California, which is charged with protecting and preserving the island for generations to come.  

Where To Stay

After we settled in at Hotel Atwater, we headed to Bluewater Avalon for dinner.  Located right on the water, this is the perfect spot to visit for lunch and dinner!  They have a wonderful seafood selection, oyster bar, great cocktails, and the restaurant provides a really fun dining experience!  It’s a great spot to grab an island mat-tai or one of the favorite dessert drinks of the island, the classic and iconic “buffalo milk.”  I loved all their historic photos on the walls!  Back in the day, when the fishermen would catch fish, you could pay to have your photo taken on the dock with the large daily catch!  Be sure to check out the historic Catalina Island photos inside the restaurant! 

After a wonderful night’s rest, we grabbed coffee outside the lobby at the coffee stand, and headed through Avalon for a morning stroll. 

We loved checking out all the neat vehicles on the island.  Each household is allowed to have one golf cart, or if you are creative, we heard that if your Suzuki Samurai is shortened enough, it will count as a golf cart.  The waitlist to have a full sized vehicle is long.  One of our tour guides told us that when he was born, his mom added his name to the list to have a car.  By the time he was 15, his name was called and he was granted a permit to have a vehicle.  Most of the people on the island said they really only use their golf carts and vehicles when they have to buy groceries.  It was really nice to travel by foot for a change of pace!  

A Suggestion On Exploring

Our first excursion of the day was on the Undersea Expedition.  We had the opportunity to explore the underwater world of Lover’s Cove Marine Preserve.  As one of the healthiest marine environments in the world, we had the chance to see the amazing orange Garibaldi and the calico spotted bass.  There is a whole other world under the sea!  You’ll have the chance to see schools of fish surrounding the submarine!  It really is an amazing experience! 

Where To Dine

Next we stopped for lunch at The Naughty Fox, which definitely has a fun and foxy ever-changing menu!  It’s one of the island’s newest hot spots! The restaurant has a laid back island vibe with great views of the ocean!  We happened to be in for BBQ day, and all of their meats are smoked in house!  We also tried their burger of the day, the amazing papas bravas, and the chef’s homemade custard (which is a really amazing version of ice cream)! The Naughty Fox is another great spot to grab a quick lunch in between fun island activities!

If You Love History, Check Out The Museum

Our next stop was to The Catalina Island Museum, which has a beautiful new building and a really nice museum collection.  We watched a short video about the island and how Marilyn Monroe even lived on the island with her first husband.  She actually lived very close to where the museum stands today.  The Museum also has a really cool display called “Tall Tiki Tales” which showcases how Catalina was the inspiration for the tiki culture that we’ve seen in historic movies over the years.  With the island’s proximity to Los Angeles, Catalina easily transforms to create an island like backdrop for many movies.  In 1924, there was even a movie filmed on Catalina Island called “The Vanishing American” that brought 14 bison to the island.  After the production crew could not round up the funds or the herd, the island still has bison on it today!

A view of Avalon from the scenic drive on top of the hill.

For A Signature Experience, Consider An Island Tour

The Catalina Island Conservancy has a beautiful Eco Tour that will take you on a two or three hour safari of the interior of the island.  Led by one of the island naturalists, the tour will take you on one of the best open air excursions on the island! You might have the opportunity to spot the Catalina Island Fox, which is endemic to the island, or one of the bison! Catalina is home to over 60 other endemic plant, animal, and insect species that are only found on Catalina Island. We had a chance to see the island’s wildlands and the private airport, which United Airlines used to fly into!  The airport is 10 miles from the town of Avalon and is on top of a 1,602 foot-tall mountaintop and has one of the country’s most challenging runways, as it is very short at just 3,000 feet long.  Somedays you can see 40 to 50 planes land daily. Apparently there are pilots that add this airport landing experience to their bucket list, and fly into the airport just to grab a hamburger and cookie at the “Airport in the Sky.”  The Eco Tour really gives you a good perspective of the size and vegetation of the island.  Although most of the visitors come to shop and dine in Avalon, there are many folks who come to Catalina to hike and camp.

Where You Can Find The Locals (And The Freshest Catch)

Before we sailed back to the mainland, we had our final meal at The Lobster Trap! 

It’s definitely a local favorite, and you might even see owner and commercial lobster fisherman Caleb Lin running around.  It’s true that the daily catch definitely has real meaning in this joint! They have a very nice selection of freshly caught seafood, and spiny lobster, which don’t have any front claws. Be sure to try the local sand dabs with one of their great all American sides like the baked potato or coleslaw.  

Hidden Secrets

Right before our Catalina Express boat left Avalon, we headed to the the Catalina Casino.  I’ve always wanted to go inside the building.  The door was open, so I thought we’d ask for a tour.  With no one in sight, we found ourselves on the upper level of the ballroom and all the tables seemed to be set up for a function.  We then walked around the exterior walkway of the ballroom which has panoramic outdoor views of the ocean.  That’s when a man named Sean spotted us!  He said, “You made it this far, so I’ll give you a tour!”  Sean is the docent, and actually lives inside the Casino!  How cool is that?  He even took us down through the dressing rooms and into the theater.  The movie theater is even open on the weekends!  It is such an amazing building!  We asked Sean if he had seen any ghosts at the Casino, he mentioned that a paranormal team had just filmed a show about the paranormal experiences at the Casino and he was second guessing a lot of the guests that he had met in the past.  He even wondered if we were real!

There’s still so much to do and explore!  We can’t wait to go back to Catalina Island!  

Until next time, be sure to have fun, new and exciting adventures await!

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