I'm looking at the inland tour...but wondering if we shouldn't just wander the island ourselves and explore? Or would we just be going in circles and end up seeing nothing. Your input is greatly appreciated.
Mrsswat - you should know by now that you can always PM me or flag me down if you have any Catalina questions!!
I don't always get to this section of the board right away to be able to see what's new. I can tell you where to eat, where to shop, what tours to try, etc.!
Don't pass up a chance to do the golf cart. That's a signature Catalina activity, and since you can get 3 hours for the price of 2 at one specific location close to where the Catalina Express docks in Avalon, it's a great deal. You can go up to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical garden while you have the cart (same Wrigley family as the chewing gum family, as well as Wrigley Field and all of that). Some of the views up in the hills from the golf cart path are just gorgeous.
I didn't know that you get claustrophobic or I never would have suggested the Semi-Sub tour. So, in lieu of that, I suggest the Cruise to Seal Rocks - nice, open boat. And I
highly, highly suggest the Flying Fish Tour at night - next to the Golf Cart rental, the Flying Fish Tour is the thing I suggest most strongly. It's a real treat and lots of fun. The Casino tour is interesting only if you are interested in architecture and the history of the Casino (it was very popular in the Big Band days). If you are, then do that.
Honestly, the tours that go into the interior of the island are better to do if you have more than one day in Catalina. They eat up a lot of time, and it's a lot to take on in one day. In order to see the most buffalo up close, it's best to take a Safari Bus over to the other side of the island - Two Harbors (or the Isthmus, as it's known, which is the place Natalie Wood had her last meal - Doug's Harbor Reef - before she drowned) - and that eats up hours. You could take a tour that only goes part-way into the interior and then comes back to Avalon, but the buffalo are way off in the distance and usually not too close. The Safari bus that goes all the way to the other side of the island travels down roads where buffalo can often be seen on the side of the road, grazing (they are more comfortable getting close to the road when you get deep inland because not as many vehicles pass through, but on the roads that are between Avalon and the airport, many vehicles pass through and that's why the buffalo are always way off in the distance).
