Catalina? A good day trip?

[KCmike]

Is it worth it? Factoring the cost of the ride to/from is Catalina a good investment?

How much are the activities there? Golf cart? Parasailing?

Anybody ever done the day trip?

 

[Sherry E]

Is it worth it? Factoring the cost of the ride to/from is Catalina a good investment?

How much are the activities there? Golf cart? Parasailing?

Anybody ever done the day trip?

It's an excellent day trip! In fact, mostly everyone I know who loves Catalina (including myself) has started off with a full day trip and then returned later on in years for weekend trips and week-long trips.

First of all, you have to start off by ordering the Visitors Guide/Vacation Planner, which is like a magazine and it is FREE. Here is the link: http://catalinaislandcacoc.weblinkconnect.com/cwt/External/WCPages/WCWebInput/WebInputPage.aspx.

I have done day trips where all we did was look in shops and stroll around, which was kind of dull, and I have done day trips to Catalina where we had jam-packed activities from beginning to end. For example, we took the earliest Catalina Express boat out (and during the summer months, the hours are extended and more departures and returns are added), which was about 6:30 a.m. or so. It takes under an hour to get to the Island by boat, and you almost always see dolphins on the way there, and usually a flying fish or two. There are a couple of golf cart rental places in Avalon, but the one we like is closest to the boat docks, and they usually offer a 3 hours for the price of 2 deal. I am not sure what they charge this year, but they USED to charge $35 per hour, so if you get there before 12:00 or so, you can get 3 hours in the golf cart at the special 3 for 2 rate, for $70 or whatever the total of two hours would be now. You drive into the town of Avalon and up into the hills. You can stop at the Wrigley Memorial (yes, it is the chewing gum Wirgley and the Wrigley who used to own the Cubs) and visit the Botanical Gardens. You can go over to the Casino, which is not a working casino, but more like a ballroom. One time we did the 3 hour golf cart, then we did the Casino tour, then the tour that goes to Seal Rock (where you sail out in the ocean to where a bunch of seals are sunbathing), then the Semi-Submersible tour (which is cool and better than the glass bottom boat because you are actually half-underwater and can see all the fish and random sharks and what not) and the Flying Fish tour at night, and we took the latest boat back and got back to Long Beach at around 11:00 p.m. or so. We also squeezed in a couple of good meals (if you decide to go there, I can tell you the best places to eat) and some shopping. You can also opt to take one of the inland motor tours into the interior of the island, all the way to the other side, and along the way you see buffalo and sometimes deer and goats, etc. Depending on how far into the island you go, sometimes the buffalo are standing right along the road.

I never did the parasailing, but one of my friends did. I will ask her what she paid. We also did a lot of pedal boating around the marina there, which was cheap, relaxing and fun. You can rent boats and take them out on the water; you can hike; you can go fishing; you can take the glass bottom boat tour; you can scuba dive....there are all kinds of things to do. I usually just rent the golf cart and do a few tours, and then the rest of the time is eating and relaxing!

You can get some fabulous pictures of the panoramic ocean views up in the hills of Catalina. You know what? Thus far I have only uploaded DLR pictures to Photobucket. Tomorrow I will upload some of my Catalina pictures to Photobucket and post them here, just so you can get a sense of what it is like. It is a tiny town, and it is very quaint and charming and beachy, and very casual, but all the shop keepers are friendly and full of stories, and the mood is just relaxing and fun and the views are beautiful! I recommend it highly. Catalina and DLR are my two favorite places in SoCal.

 

[KCmike]

Thanks for the great reply. Can't wait to see your pictures. I just ordered the magazine. I'm cutting it close as I will be there the first week of June and it said please allow 4-6 weeks.

How was the ride to the island? Very bumpy? Sea sickness?
I saw that you can do whale watching from Newport as well.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Thanks for the great reply. Can't wait to see your pictures. I just ordered the magazine. I'm cutting it close as I will be there the first week of June and it said please allow 4-6 weeks.

How was the ride to the island? Very bumpy? Sea sickness?
I saw that you can do whale watching from Newport as well.

KCMike, you can email them and ask them to send it First Class mail. That's what I did and I received a prompt reply a few hours later that it was on it's way.
I got the email link at the same link Sherry posted.

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, KCMike and DisneySuiteFreak - here are just a few of my tons and tons of Catalina pictures, so you can kind of get an overall idea of what it looks like there. Of course, I have plenty more if you want to see them. Catalina is kind of 'famous' for its tile (along with its buffalo, its bright orange Garibaldi fish and its flying fish), so there are lots of displays of Catalina tile around the town of Avalon. The movie theater - which is located by the Casino - has beautiful murals with mermaids and other undersea life. I tried to find decent pictures that showed different parts of Avalon during different times of day, but that didn't have me or any of my friends in them!! So while I have lots of pictures in golf carts, we are in most of them so I didn't post them. I should preface with these are not 'Picture of the Day' quality, but you get the general idea!

This is where you get tickets for the Semi-Submersible tour:

This place supposedly has some of the best fish and chips you will ever want to eat (I don't like seafood, so I can't confirm nor deny):

This was a great thing to do if you had the money - one skilled diver took this yellow vessel (we called it The Bubble) TOTALLY underwater with two and only two people inside, and while you are inside the bubble (hopefully you are not claustrophobic), you see all the sea life. You are totally submerged, but dry! I am a bit claustrophobic, so I didn't want to try it, but it was great to watch it, and the people who rode in it were ecstatic when they got out:

This is the Cabrillo Fountain:

Again, I am not a seafood eater, but everyone tells me that Armstrong's (which is a restaurant situated right on the water) is some of the best seafood you will ever eat in your life:

This is the Hotel Catalina:

This is the Hotel Metropole and Metropole Marketplace:

This is the pet cemetery, up in the hills, along the golf cart trail:

I will be right back with a few more!

 

[Sherry E]

And here are some more Catalina/Avalon photos:

These are two of the famous glass bottom boats, side by side:

This was taken during the Casino tour:

This is inside the Casino ballroom:

This is up at the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden:

These were taken from the Semi-Submersible tour (which reminds me of the Nemo Subs at DLR, but with REAL fish and sharks and things!):

This is up in the hills, along the golf cart path:

Some of the famous Catalina tile:

And this is the view of the Queen Mary from the Catalina Express boat, at about 6:45 a.m., departing Long Beach, en route to Catalina:

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the great reply. Can't wait to see your pictures. I just ordered the magazine. I'm cutting it close as I will be there the first week of June and it said please allow 4-6 weeks.

How was the ride to the island? Very bumpy? Sea sickness?
I saw that you can do whale watching from Newport as well.

Yes, DisneySuiteFreak is correct - they can get those Vacation Planners out to you in a couple of days if you tell them you are going to the Island soon.

As far as the ride over to the Island - I have never gotten sick at all, but one of my friends is very prone to seasickness, and she always pops her Dramamine beforehand, then is sleepy and exhausted for the rest of the day. I don't find the boat ride to be especially bumpy and choppy. It depends on what the wind conditions are, of course. In summer or almost summer, it is usually not bad at all. I like to sit outside on the boat, because that is how you see all the dolphins on the way over to the Island, and when you get closer to Catalina, you can see an occasional flying fish (though the flying fish tend to come out more at night, which is why the flying fish tour is at night, and sometimes they jump into the tour boat!!). If you get lucky, you may see an occasional whale, but they tend to not show very often during summer because they are migrating. I am sure you can do whale watching from Newport or San Diego or any kind of 'sea-beach-water-oriented' town. The whale watching boats are sometimes known to make people sick because they slow down, so the gentle rocking of the boat is much more noticeable, but the Catalina Express is faster so you don't notice bumps too much (though is you are prone to getting seasick, take your Dramamine beforehand!).

You can catch the Catalina Express out of Newport Beach as well, I think (or maybe it is called the Catalina Flyer in Newport). I recommend taking the Express out of Long Beach or San Pedro, however, because there are lots of departure and arrival times to choose from, which allows you to get more out of your day on the Island. Newport has a very limited boat schedule, and it will cut your time on the Island down considerably.

Again, if you decide to go there, let me know and I will tell you the good places to eat ( a couple of them are not listed in the Vacation Planner, for some reason)!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Wow! Sherry thanks so much for all your hard work posting those photos!! (I know how time consuming that can be, and even worse when you have to scan them in) And thanks also for all the great info! I appreciate it! Your photos are lovely!!

 

[Sherry E]

Wow! Sherry thanks so much for all your hard work posting those photos!! (I know how time consuming that can be, and even worse when you have to scan them in) And thanks also for all the great info! I appreciate it! Your photos are lovely!!

Oh you are very welcome! Fortunately I had already scanned these particular Catalina pictures I posted a month or two ago, for a photo project I was starting, so all I had to do was upload them to Photobucket and post them here. But having scanned as many pictures of DLR, Catalina, etc., as I have so far (all of which have ended up on MySpace or Photobucket or sent to specific people), I know what you mean about how time consuming it is (especially if you want to do a decent job with it)! I have SO many old photos of all kinds of things just sitting in albums or loose, and the thought of scanning them all to get them on the computer/online somehow is daunting, so I have to do it in increments. Being on DIS gave me a kick in the pants to get about 75% of my DLR pictures scanned, and then from there I started on Catalina and some other older pictures I have (see Trip Report). Working in any kind of way with photos and sharing them by making photo projects and gifts is definitely a FUN 'task,' as I think we all can agree, but getting it started can be intimidating!

 

[LindaM]

Thanks for the great reply. Can't wait to see your pictures. I just ordered the magazine. I'm cutting it close as I will be there the first week of June and it said please allow 4-6 weeks.

How was the ride to the island? Very bumpy? Sea sickness?
I saw that you can do whale watching from Newport as well.

We were on a cruise in 2006 and one of the stops was Catalina Island, I loved it there. We are going back to the LA area in September and are deciding whether or not to spend the day. I ordered the book about a month ago and received it within 2 weeks...and I'm in Canada, so you may get it in time.

 

[luckylady7991]

Never went. But it seems like a good daytrip

 

[labaity]

It's a very nice day trip and well worth the money. I would make sure to pack the dramamine usually I don't get seasick but do each time I take the ferry over.

 

[jaydenhoward87]

yessss ull have a great time

 

[Sherry E]

As a matter of fact, there is a current contest taking place to win a trip (at the end of May) to Catalina for four people - it is a GREAT prize - worth a LOT of money (trust me!). I just found out about it yesterday. They are giving away 4 round trip tickets on the Catalina Express, a 2-night stay at either a cottage (I have stayed in a cottage on Catalina before - it was darling!) or a condo for 4 people, 4 tickets for the Casino tour, 4 tickets for the Flying Fish Tour ( I highly recommend that!), and four PARASAILING passes (KCMike, weren't you askig about parasailing?), PLUS a $100 certificate for dinner at The Lobster Trap Restaurant in Avalon. I am thinking that they are hurting for business because in the past, when they have done contests, it has always been for weekdays during slow periods. But this one is for the nights of May 29th and May 30th - which is a weekend at the start of their peak season. And this is almost and all-expenses paid trip. I mean, you would probably want to eat at a couple of extra places besides Lobster Trap, and you may want to rent a golf cart and buy souvenirs, but they are covering almost everything!

Anyway, they are not drawing names until May 26th - three days before the trip! That was a dumb idea, and that may prevent many people from entering, because not everyone can go on such short notice, but JUST IN CASE there is anyone here who is able to enter and would be able to make it to Catalina on May 29th - 31st, here is the link to the page to enter. I was having some trouble with the entry form yesterday, but hopefully it will work for you:

http://www.catalinachamber.com/FlyingFish/FFF_ContestEntry.asp