Catalina Island: a True California Paradise

There are beach towns, there are islands, and then there is Catalina—Southern California’s delightfully peculiar answer to running away without actually going very far. One minute you are standing at a mainland ferry terminal with a coffee and too much luggage. Roughly an hour later, you are looking at palm trees, bobbing yachts, pastel buildings and enough golf carts to make you wonder whether you have accidentally sailed into a very attractive retirement community.

That is part of Catalina Island’s charm. It feels removed from ordinary life, but not so removed that getting there requires three flights, a customs form or surrendering an entire day to an airport lounge. Catalina Express operates ferry service from Long Beach, San Pedro and Dana Point, making the island one of the easiest genuine escapes from the Southern California coast.

Avalon Knows How to Make an Entrance

Most visits begin in Avalon, where the harbor curves around a waterfront lined with restaurants, shops, boats and people immediately walking more slowly than they did on the mainland. The town is compact enough to explore on foot, although renting a golf cart is practically a Catalina rite of passage.

A golf cart sounds tame until you are climbing Avalon’s narrow hillside roads, attempting to admire the view while your driver insists the cart can absolutely make it up one more incline. The reward is a series of spectacular overlooks where Avalon Bay appears below like a carefully arranged movie set. It is one of the easiest and most entertaining ways to understand the town’s geography—and to learn which member of your group should never be trusted with a golf cart again.

Dominating the edge of the bay is the Catalina Casino, the grand circular landmark that has confused hopeful gamblers for generations. There are no slot machines hiding inside. The word “casino” was originally used to describe a social gathering place, and the building contains the Avalon Theatre and an enormous ballroom rather than blackjack tables.

Visitors can explore the Casino through general admission or a guided backstage tour, which includes areas such as dressing rooms, the projection booth and the ballroom. Completed in 1929, the building still carries the theatrical glamour of Catalina’s Hollywood era, when the island attracted stars looking for somewhere close enough to Los Angeles but far enough away to misbehave privately.

The Island Is Not Interested in Letting You Sit Still

Catalina can certainly accommodate a beach chair and a long lunch, but it becomes much more interesting when someone in the group suggests doing something mildly irresponsible.

The Catalina Zip Line Eco Tour begins high above Descanso Beach and crosses the canyon on five separate lines. Riders can reach speeds approaching 35 miles per hour, which is fast enough to feel thrilling but not so fast that there is no time to question the series of decisions that led to stepping off a platform suspended over a canyon. The ocean views are spectacular, assuming your eyes remain open.

Parasailing offers another chance to reconsider your relationship with heights, this time while floating hundreds of feet above the water. Closer to sea level, visitors can kayak, paddleboard, jet ski, fish, snorkel, scuba dive or board one of the island’s glass-bottom boats and semi-submersible vessels.

The undersea tours are especially good for families and anyone who wants to see Catalina’s marine life without squeezing into a wetsuit. Bright orange garibaldi, kelp forests and other underwater residents appear through the viewing windows while passengers enjoy the important advantage of remaining dry.

More adventurous travelers can explore Catalina’s kelp forests directly. FINE’s guide to diving and exploring Catalina Island’s kelp forests looks more closely at one of the most beautiful underwater environments off the California coast.

Yes, There Really Are Bison

One of the strangest things about Catalina is that a person can leave Avalon’s waterfront, travel into the interior and encounter an American bison. This is not an exaggeration caused by an especially enthusiastic Buffalo Milk cocktail.

The island’s wildlands are protected by the Catalina Island Conservancy, and guided eco tours travel through areas that ordinary rental golf carts cannot reach. Depending on the route and the willingness of the wildlife to cooperate, visitors may see bison, bald eagles and the tiny Catalina Island fox.

The fox is found nowhere else in the world and has the suspiciously adorable appearance of an animal fully aware that tourists would like to photograph it. The bison are considerably less cuddly. They are wild, surprisingly fast and best admired from a respectful distance rather than approached for an ill-advised vacation selfie.

The interior also reveals an entirely different Catalina. Avalon’s boats and tiled fountains give way to rugged ridgelines, canyons and long coastal views. The contrast is part of what makes the island feel larger than it appears from the harbor.

Descanso Beach Is Where the Afternoon Escalates

Descanso Beach is close enough to Avalon to reach without mounting an expedition but separate enough to feel like a proper beach escape. It is also one of the rare California beaches where adults can legally enjoy cocktails near the sand.

This creates a predictable Catalina progression. Someone orders one drink. Someone else notices the kayaks. A third person suggests the zip line. By late afternoon, the group has spent far more than planned, taken 200 photographs and developed extremely strong opinions about which yacht in the harbor they would buy.

Back in town, Avalon offers everything from casual seafood and tacos to waterfront dinners with wine and sunset views. The island’s famous Buffalo Milk cocktail deserves clarification for first-time visitors: it contains no buffalo and no milk from a buffalo. It is a sweet, deceptively strong frozen drink involving vodka, coffee liqueur, crème de cacao and banana flavors. One is festive. Two may result in purchasing a sweatshirt you do not remember selecting.

For a closer look at where to eat, FINE’s Catalina Island culinary guide explores more of Avalon’s restaurant scene.

Stay After the Day-Trippers Leave

Catalina can be visited in a day, but the island improves dramatically once the final afternoon ferries begin carrying the hurried visitors back to the mainland.

The waterfront settles down, dinner becomes less rushed and the Casino glows at the edge of the bay. Avalon at night feels romantic without trying too hard. Couples can walk along the harbor, stop for a drink and enjoy the novelty of being somewhere without traffic noise, rideshare surge pricing or an urgent reason to check email.

Hotels range from cheerful inns in town to more polished retreats overlooking the water. The smartest choice depends on the kind of Catalina trip being planned. A first-time visitor may appreciate staying close to the harbor, while someone returning for a slower weekend may prefer more privacy and a view worth waking up for.

For a stay with more personality than the standard harbor hotel, Mt Ada occupies the former Catalina residence of William Wrigley Jr. and his wife, Ada. Perched above Avalon Bay, the intimate property pairs sweeping harbor views with the feeling of staying in someone’s exceptionally well-positioned private mansion. It is removed from the waterfront bustle without being disconnected from town—and the elevated setting means guests can admire Avalon without listening to every golf cart negotiate the hill below.

An overnight visit also creates time for breakfast, another round of shopping and the realization that the ferry home departs much sooner than anyone would like.

Two Harbors Is Catalina Without the Audience

Travelers who find Avalon too busy should look toward Two Harbors, the small community on Catalina’s quieter western end. It has fewer shops, fewer restaurants and considerably fewer opportunities to buy a decorative anchor.

What it offers instead is kayaking, hiking, camping, snorkeling, boating and the kind of peaceful coastal scenery that makes people briefly consider abandoning their mainland responsibilities. Catalina Express provides service from San Pedro to Two Harbors, while transportation between Two Harbors and Avalon may be available seasonally. Current schedules should always be checked before planning a two-community itinerary.

Two Harbors is not the place to demand nightlife, room service or six different oat-milk options. It is for travelers who want Catalina stripped back to water, hills, boats and quiet.

Catalina Is Close, but It Never Feels Ordinary

The best Catalina trips combine a little glamour with a little chaos. Tour the Casino, drive the golf cart, order the cocktail, get on the boat and say yes when someone suggests an activity that sounded more reasonable from the mainland.

Families can explore the marine life and beaches. Couples can turn the island into an easy romantic weekend. Friends can arrive with an itinerary and immediately ignore it. Even longtime Southern California residents tend to forget how much is packed onto an island only 22 miles offshore.

That is why Catalina remains one of California’s most entertaining escapes. It is easy to reach, difficult to summarize and almost impossible to experience without returning with at least one good story.

Before traveling, confirm current ferry schedules, activities and island information through Love Catalina Island and Catalina Express.