How To Do A Weekend Trip To Catalina Island

Catalina Island, the most Southern Channel Island, is located just 26 miles off the coast of Orange County in Southern California, but once on the island, you could be anywhere in the world. The island has the feel of the Caribbean or the Greek Islands. Picture lots of palm trees, beautiful ocean, houses hanging from the hillside, and drinks with little umbrellas in them. 

We went for an overnight kayak camping trip, but lots of people on the ferry were just hopping over to the island for the day. 

The island is easy to get to by the Catalina Express and the Catalina Flyer ,both carry passengers from the mainland to the island. The Catalina Express travels from San Pedro, Long Beach, and Dana Point to Avalon and Two Harbors. The Catalina Flyer travels from Newport Beach to Avalon. 

We opted for the Flyer and it could not have been easier. We found a coupon online so a roundtrip ticket cost $49.50 per person. The first ferry of the day left at 9am, the company asked us to arrive at 8am and the line was already long. There is long-term parking available two blocks away from the dock. Easy. The last ferry of the day left Avalon at 4:30pm and the company asked that we get in line at 4pm. 

The ferry ride was about one hour long and pretty calm. On the way back, the captain spotted two humpback whales and hundreds of dolphins so he stopped the ferry so we could get a better look. Pretty sweet! 

The town of Avalon has plenty of hotels, restaurants, shops, and rental companies. Activities on the island include kayaks, paddleboards, scuba, hiking, jet ski, zip line, casinos, golf, and a glass-bottom boat. You can also go on a bison tour. Catalina is home to about 150 bison or buffalo that were left behind after a movie shoot in the 1920's. 

Our group was going on a kayaking adventure so we brought everything along with us on the ferry in backpacks. Once we landed in Avalon, we walked about 15 minutes to the Descanso Beach Club to pick up kayaks with storage holds. Descanso Beach Club offers rentals and tours. Each storage kayak costs approximately $80 for a two-day/one-night rental. 

All the campsites on Catalina are private so you have to make a reservation through www.visitcatalinaisland.com. Five of the campsites are accessible by land and 11 are boat-in only. Keep in mind, the boat-in campgrounds do not have any services so you have to bring in everything even water. 

This was our first try at kayak camping so we opted for the closest boat-in campground called Willow Cove. After about a one-hour kayak, we arrived at the beautiful beach. This was our view! We landed our kayaks and set up camp. Because it's so dry, campfires are not allowed. But we brought along a jet boil so we had plenty of hot water. 

The snorkeling was pretty good, with lots of seagrasses, garibaldis, opaleye, and small silverfish. Overnight, we could hear the water lapping up on the shore from our tents. So relaxing, we slept in. 

I highly recommend an overnight trip to Catalina. Remember that many recreation activities will post as travel on your credit card so use the right card to maximize points.