Wow.. what an amazing tour. Thank you Lindsey!…read more This is Judith. I went with my husband and neighbors. We took a picture with the Polaroid! We want to thank you very much for educating us on the island. As first timers, we were struggling on what to do in a short period of time. This was a great way for sure! We learned so much and love how we as tourist contribute to keep the island going. Every dollar counts. I loved seeing the bisons ( tired and retired ) lol , the airport ( especially the oatmeal cookie ) and even learning about the plants! It was so cool and fun! I'm already planning my trip this month! Hope we can meet again! See you soon!

We had a great time on this two-hour Catalina Island tour. It was the perfect way to see parts of…read morethe island beyond Avalon while learning about Catalina's unique history and wildlife. The highlight was getting to see the bison close up. Our guide shared interesting stories about the island's past and pointed out several scenic spots along the way. The stop at the Airport in the Sky about halfway through was a nice break to stretch our legs, use the restrooms, and grab a snack before continuing the tour. If you want to see a little more of Catalina than just the waterfront area, I highly recommend this tour.

On a one day visit to Catalina Island, there is so much to do, see and eat…read more To start, rent a golf cart or wear good walking shoes because this port is not too big for tourist exploration. There is also a "Circuit" ride share that will take you around the island for $2 per person. Coming in by tender from a cruise ship is great. The docking area is in town and so close to everything. I exited the tender and walked along the waterfront where I passed a few children's playgrounds with a pirate theme. Then on to where the golf carts are rented. I walked to the pier (Green Pier) where there are bathrooms and many small shops all hoping for the tourist business. They carry the typical port souvenirs. After a long walk on this short pier I got to the end where there is many people fishing with poles and the little set ups they will sell you for a few dollars and the bait too. There are plenty of benches to sit and watch the boat come in and out of the harbour. There is a small beach area that has lots of pretty colored little rocks along the shoreline. The walk to the round Casino Building is pretty much the end of the road before a mountainside resort. I passed by some waterfront restaurants that were even crowded on a cloudy day. My walk back to the tender was quick and the ride back to the cruise ship was also pretty nice and calm.

Catalina island interior is the best place to experience nature without having to travel far. We…read morehave toured the interior quite a few times. We booked a tour once to see bisons but didn't get to see animals cause it was raining. The tours we went by ourselves were much better! We saw many wild animals including bisons! The interior vineyard is so beautiful. The trips were very enjoyable but a bit of too much sun for me. Wear sunscreen and a hat to prevent sun exposure! Keep in mind that it takes 20 years to be able to buy a real car on island. Only one golf cart is allowed per residence. There are no spaces for real cars and more golf carts in Avalon. Our family and friends live here so they have a real car to take us to interiors. Yes you will need a real car to do that! Avalon has enough restaurants and bars to hang out. Casino is also a movie theater to show older movies on certain weekend evenings. They offer tours of this historic casino too. They host NYE gala every year. Beach club is great for summer times. Museum is small but still worth taking a tour. Too bad the spa has closed down, we used to go there all the time. This island has so much to offer. It's the best place for a lot of fun just a ferry ride away!

Having Andrew as your guide made our entire experience, he was super knowledgeable and had us…read morelaughing the entire time!

I'll be honest, I was a little nervous at first. The group before us came back and a woman jumped…read moreoff the hummer looking totally frazzled, yelling "WARN THEM!!" which....yeah, not exactly comforting. So if you're on the fence or feeling anxious, this review is for you. We had Andrew as our guide and he was awesome. Before we even got on the open air hummer, he was very upfront that the ride would be bumpy and gave solid advice on where to sit if heights make you uneasy. That actually made me more nervous at first, but it turned out to be totally fine. The hummer never gets that close to the cliff edge, and it always felt controlled and safe. The views are unreal!!!!!! seriously breathtaking. We were lucky enough to see 2 bison, 2 Catalina foxes, 2 does, and a young buck. The tour before us saw zero bison, so we were thrilled. We even got to see them up close, which was incredible. As for the ride itself, I didn't find it nearly as bumpy as people make it sound. There were a few spots where the height felt a little sketchy, but in a "whoa" way, not a "nope, I regret everything" way. All in all, I'd absolutely recommend this tour. Don't let dramatic exit speeches scare you off, you'll be glad you did it. There's blankets available on the hummer in case you get chilly. Tips: - bring cash. TIP YOUR DRIVER!!!! - secure your hat and hair, so hat doesn't go flying off

We recently took the 50-minute scenic island tour with Catalina Adventure Tours, and overall, it…read morewas a great experience! The tour does an amazing job of hitting the highlights around Avalon, sweeping you up past the historic Catalina Casino, Lover's Cove, and all the way up to the incredible vantage points near Mt. Ada. The time absolutely flew by-the 50 minutes went by so fast because the narration was engaging and the views of the harbor below were stunning. It's a fantastic, quick way to get a layout of the island and soak in some great local history. The only real downside to note is that you aren't able to actually get off the vehicle to stretch your legs or take photos. Every picture has to be snapped directly from your seat in the open-air safari truck.

* Did the glass boat and submarine tour- and highly recommend both…read more *Apart from the fun adventure of viewing marine life, the tour guides on both the expedition were knowledgeable and shared the island history as well as marine life education (you learn a lot!) * if you have issues with closed spaces, I don't recommend the submarine adventure *Expect some steps for both rides. If you can't do even a few stairs at all with guard rails... then reconsider * On both tours you have the option to purchase fish food that brings sea life closer to the viewing window- cash only and so plan accordingly. *Fun for all ages

My boyfriend and I went for a quick day trip to spend some time at the island since he had never…read morebeen. We booked the 50 minute Discover Avalon tour and we loved it! It was the perfect amount of time to get acquainted will a little bit of Avalon and hear a few fun facts. Our tour guide was Laura and she was so funny and knowledgeable! I highly recommend the tour. A small warning, the tour bus is open air and a bit bumpy, so if you have injuries or issues with rough rides, I would maybe reach out to Discover Avalon and double check if you are good to tour with them :)

We took the bison expedition tour yesterday, Saturday, February 21, and had the absolute best…read moreexperience thanks to our guide, Andrew. From the moment we started, he was funny, warm, and incredibly engaging, while also being super knowledgeable and educational about the island and wildlife. What really stood out was how perfectly Andrew balanced the experience -- he knew exactly when to share great stories and facts, and when to let us simply soak in the sights, sounds, and beauty around us. He never rushed us and made sure we had plenty of opportunities for amazing photos and genuine wildlife sightings. We truly felt like we were seeing the island at its best. The tour felt safe, well-supported, and action-packed, without ever feeling overwhelming. You could tell Andrew genuinely cared about everyone having a great time and walking away with memorable moments. We also saw a fox and bison! Highly, highly recommend this tour -- and if you're lucky enough to get Andrew as your guide, you're in for a treat. Side note: when guides and drivers go above and beyond like this, please remember to tip. Andrew, if you ever read this -- thank you for such a fantastic experience. Hope your boss sees this and rewards you big time!

Thank you Catalina Coastal Tours for an amazing day of fishing!! Captain Aiden of the RedRum had us…read moreon the fish in no time and the bites never stopped. We caught over twenty fish between the six of us during the four-hour charter, including four beautiful yellow tail. We are already planning our next trip over. Thank you for providing a memorable experience for my family!

Captain John was amazing, he knew all the spots. We caught our limit of rockfish within an hour. We…read morewent back to dock to drop someone off because of motion sickness. John was super accommodating and he managed to acquire live squid for us to use for halibut/bass fishing. We caught 3 massive halibut, White Sea bass(wasn't a keeper), and white fish (also threw back). John cleaned our fish and bagged them for us. Amazing trip will definitely come back for yellow tail!

Orlando was fantastic. He took us to many sights that included a great view of Avalon, the airport…read moreand we were lucky enough to see two bison. I learned a lot about Catalina Island that I didn't know. I enjoyed listening to his anecdotes from living on the island for the past 3 decades. I highly recommend the tour!

The taxi drivers were very kind and friendly. However, when we were coming into land there was a…read morelot of air traffic landing also so we had to wait our turn. The taxi company kept calling but I had no service to answer. We landed and talk to the guy at 12:20 and the reservation was at 12:00. We apologized for being late and explained the situation. We then asked if we had time to use the bathroom. HE SAID YES. We got on our way about 12:35. I got a call about an hour later telling me it would be an extra 100$ because he had to wait and we didn't leave until 12:35! I explained everything to management and she didn't care. The price gouging is insane because they are the only taxi company!

My kids love aquariums...and they love boats....so this seemed like a win-win, and it sooooo was!…read more We met the boat at the end of a small pier. The boat had an enclosed bench-seating area with all seats facing the center of the boat, which was made of glass and several feet below where we all sat. I was amazed by how clear the water was-even right next to shore. As we moved, our guide shared some local history and information about the marine life below us. We paused at several fish sanctuary locations, and the guide threw fish food into the water to attract more fish than we could count. The tour, which lasted an hour, was a delight for the whole family. All of the kids and kids at heart were thrilled by the many types of fish we saw. We were even fortunate enough to see a diving cormorant! The waves were not too bad on the day I went...even though my stomach usually gets queasy on smaller boats, this one didn't bother me. Maybe I was too entranced by the fish to notice. If I ever visit Catalina again and have time to do it, I'll be more than happy to go on this tour again. It was just long enough, and you never know what you'll see down there! Note--there is a public restroom at the beginning of the pier, but much of it was out of order, leading to some pretty long lines. Make sure you go before you get on the boat-no restrooms on board.

Not worth it, boat rocks a ton making you nauseous while looking down. Can't see anything but water…read morebubbles. Ive done every type of tour on the island and this was the least favorite. Try the submarine tour.

What an amazing way to spend the morning on Catalina. Dudley was the best tour guide you can ask…read morefor. Beyond knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. The entire family (kids included) enjoyed this tour. Great value and great experience. Cannot recommend this tour and Dudley enough!

Everything about the two of us perfect starting from the guide her energy of telling us everything…read moreabout the island made us feel so connected and so intrigued towards knowing about the island the pick up drop-off services were amazing. The coordination was to the point. Definitely recommend this to everyone.

I had printed out maps of two hikes on the island, but I wasn't sure which one to do. Moreover,…read morethere was very little detail on either map on where the trail started or where the turns were. When I presented my dilemma to the nice woman working there, she said one hike was significantly better than the other. Then, she pulled out a map of the area, and proceeded to mark the hike turn by turn, with a Magic Marker. OMG that was so helpful! She was even nice enough to mark the scenic spots. We did the hike without any problems. We always knew where we were, and where to go next.

Located at the entrance of the Green Pleasure Pier on Catalina Island, the visitor center was…read moremanned by two friendly guides during our day visit to the island. Since we were part of the 4,000 people coming onshore from the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas, it was quite busy inside (assuming for the whole day) but the ladies seemed to be handling it with no problem. There are self-serve pamphlets for all the various attractions on the island. My brother's particular question was around getting info for the jet ski tour from Long Beach to Catalina. The guide explained that those originate from Long Beach, and that the jet ski tour guides here in Avalon provide one hour tours around the island. That was enough info to point us in the right direction, and we continued on our way.