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.

I was slightly inconvenienced by the fact that I waited for 15 minutes at the small visitor center…read morewithout being acknowledged by the woman who was on the phone. A simple gesture of acknowledgement would have been appreciated, as I was in need of assistance. I understand that she may have been busy, but it would have been more professional to acknowledge my presence. I visited on October 10, 2024, between 10 and 11 a.m. I was surprised to find that the person working there was not providing any assistance. I picked up a few brochures and left.

The main 'pleasure' (i.e. not working) pier in Avalon, it is also known as the Avalon Harbor…read morePleasure Pier. It has restrooms and a visitor center and shops selling bait (fishing is allowed off the pier, even without a fishing license, though one must throw back Garabaldis). Like many pedestrian piers, there is space for a restaurant at the very end of the pier. In this case, it's the Avalon Seafood and Fish Market.

This is a great place to come to, to sit and relax while watching the boats go by and see the…read morepeople fishing with makeshift fishing equipment. Along the pier there is bathrooms, places to rent a motor boat and do some shore explorations at the entrance of the pier.

Small but bright, informative, interesting museum on the Island. Lots of local history exhibits…read more They had a looping movie about local history done in a mix of newsreel and TV news styles fitting the era & topic presented. Cool. Surprised to learn about the Island's connection to Marilyn Monroe, Wrigley chewing gum, and the Chicago Cubs. The museum also was hosting several artists' exhibitions. Narsiso Martinez's artwork depicting California agricultural labourers was particularly impressive. Some of the works don't get shown to the public often. One of the museum's docents gave interesting background on the artist and the backstory for some of the art pieces. If on Santa Catalina Island, this museum is worth a visit.

June 26 & July 5, 2025 | Catalina Island Avalon | The Catalina Island Museum is a great way to know…read moremore about the beautiful island, including its history! Experience | It was amazing learning more about Catalina Island: history, the famous people on the island, including Marilyn Monroe, as well as well-known Writers/Authors, incredible art pieces, sculptures, pottery, photography & even the blueprint of the spectacular Casino... and so much more! Lights, Camera, Action | There is also a sit down Theater inside the museum where you can watch a 15 minute movie about the history of Catalina Island! Tickets | $12 | Admission throughout the two-level museum, both indoor and outdoor! Stairs and elevator accessible! Gift Shop | Fun books, postcards, beautiful tiles, souvenirs, jewelry, figurines, Bath & body products ... The gift shop has it all! Overall | I enjoyed every moment at the museum, as Catalina Island Avalon is one of my favorite places! Exploring the museum is a great way to know more about the island and it's history!

Finally took the time and additional funds to see the inside of the Catalina Casino in Avalon…read moreCalifornia during a shore stop aboard the Quantum of the Sea from Los Angeles. It was a great stop, well worth the money and time. My wife and I have been to Avalon before and the outline of the Catalina Casino dominates the view from the harbor when looking North. I made the obvious mistake of thinking it was a place of gambling and didn't bother going, but later learned that during the 19th and early 20th century, the term 'casino' was used to mean 'a gathering place'. That was the goal of the original owner (William Wrigley, founder of the gum company that bears his name), when he built it in 1929, right during the times when 'talkies' started taking over the movie industry. A massive restoration occurred in 1994. It's walkable from where we got dropped off by the cruise port tender, so I bought two adult tickets online for $21.51 each, for the self-guided tour. There is also a guided tour available that takes a group back behind the stage. We got there right when it opened and the ticket taker already had our names to let us in. The first stop was the main theater on the ground floor, and as we entered it, I couldn't help by saying a long 'Wowwww'. There are 1164 original seats (reupholstered) and we sat in the very back row, admiring the theater and watching a bit of the silent movie that was playing. Cell reception did not work inside, and the free WiFi didn't work well in here either. A little while later, the guided tour came in, and we were able to listen to the guide explain the theater. Some fun facts: -- this was the first theater designed for 'talkies'. However, because it wasn't a sure thing that they would replace the old style silent movies, a Page Theatre Pipe Organ was also installed (which is now one of only three still in its original location...the others being in Indiana). It was broken for a while, but has recently been fixed. -- entire ceiling was covered in silver leaf. -- the acoustics are incredible. As the guided group talked in normal loudness near the orchestral pit in front, I could hear each conversation from the back, just as if the person was right next to me. -- the wall murals was designed by the same artist who did the mural at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. -- architects responsible for the building of Radio City Music Hall in NYC, came for a visit to examine the acoustics, as it was that good. The guided tour ended up going backstage. We then took a winding ramp (there is no public elevator) up to the 2nd floor. Here there was one room where a TV show was on, explaining the history of the island. Another ramp took us to the top floor where the 20,000 square foot grand ballroom is. (The ramps reminded me of a ballparks, and later I learned that it was intentional: Wrigley had requested it based on something similar that he liked from his namesake ballpark). The ballroom has been beautifully restored, with wooden floors and a rotating chandelier. One can roller skate on the floor with rented skates, though nobody was doing it when we were there, thus the floor was empty. There is also a concession stand selling snacks. The height of the casino is equal to a 12-story building, and provides some really great views of Avalon, specifically the bay, from the Romance Promenade that surrounds the ballroom. My wife and I slowly circled it, admiring the views. We did notice the small cove where many snorkelers were admiring the plentiful orange-colored garibaldi. The entire stay lasted about 75 minutes which we felt was about the right amount of time. Would highly recommend if not been there before.

This image is the main thing you notice when you first dock here. The architecture is just…read moregorgeous. We were so looking forward to tour and see this historic spot. We didn't have any luck on Christmas Day as you would expect as most of the town was closed up. But on Friday we were able to get the self tour option. $20, the guided was $40. Wow they have really kept the place up in pristine condition. This place was purchased by the Wrigley/ Family Dynasty, actually they bought the entire island back in 1929. The reason it is called a casino is not because of gambling but for the Italian meaning for a gathering place. This location was one of the first theaters to have "talkie" films. I was very impressed with the way the caretakers have kept the original fixtures, seating, bars and even the restrooms are all kept in the 20's style. The seating on the first level has over 1800 seats. There is an original organ for when they hosted silent film festivals here. This was a place where all the rich and famous celebrities would gather for all sorts of festivals and events. This is a Must visit if you head over to the island. Impressive!

We had a fantastic time visiting Catalina Island. If you're…read moredeciding on what to do while you're here, I highly recommend booking one of the island tours. It's a great way to get a layout of the land, we learned a ton about the history of Avalon, and the views from the overlooks high above the harbor are absolutely spectacular. Another major highlight was doing the self-guided tour of the historic Catalina Casino. Getting to walk through the grand ballroom at your own pace is great, but the real prize is stepping out onto the massive wraparound terrace. The views of the harbor and the ocean from up there are incredible. It's easily one of the best photo ops on the entire island.

It isn't what it used to be like in 2014. It's a pain trying to book the Catalina express from Dana…read morePt. Small boats and not as many. So you're stuck with having to go to Long Beach. Plan for three hours if you're coming from San Diego due to the absolutely horrible traffic issues. If you take the toll rd, expect to pay the fine if you don't pay ahead, you get the ticket.Late. That being said, I was so taken aback, from how lovely it used to be in 2014.The ocean in front of the beach right off the dock used to be kept clear all the way the docking area. Now, they just fill up the bay.There's about 30 ft of beach and then about fifty feet of water before it is blocked off by buoys. Filthy. Smelly. Filled with screaming kids.Foot traffic going over u. I imagine the pcb's in that area are immense. The epa should be taking tests. Many of the private homes have been turned into hotels and Airbnb's.The Catalina Hotel was a dump, you can't secure windows.Loud.Dirty. Everything we wanted to do was booked up many days in advance, so give months of advance for your reservations and expect to pay a lot for whatever you do. We were going to the ghost tour, but they said he decided to take the night off.So the buffalo tour. Nope.Spa day.Nope.Don't even think about doing much on a Sunday a lot of businesses r closed.There are also a lot of restaurants,not many had good yelp reviews. Food & service terrible. Chinese restaurant we went to in 2014?Closed years ago.The new one got such bad reviews we didn't even bother. Herds of people.Loads of gas smoke from idling carts.U have to walk everywhere because cart drivers don't want to take you anywhere except back to the shuttle.If you are handicapped, forget it! I have contacted the ADA about this situation. There's one company that has the monopoly, I think it's illegal to do this. I have sent an email to the state attorney general about such a monopoly. Forget it if you need to catch a shuttle - you need to get a cab at least an hour before. It took us 45 minutes to get a shuttle back to the boat - after calling three cabs. I wonder if the Wrigley's only gave this one company permits for cabs?No real competition. They couldn't care any less about you.Line upon line for food, and I don't know if it is just there are no health regulations, or what.i used to review food for Knight-Ridder.I was disgusted.The things we saw the waiters do-clean the floor, the chair and then the table with the same towel.I threw up a little in my mouth.I guess a private island doesn't fall under California health laws. I plan to see what health dept regulates them, if any. Maybe it's up to the Wrigley's and they just don't care. It was a sorry excuse for the Wrigley's preservation of the island (they now have a university teaching preservation on the mainland! Really?), the golf carts are spewing gas fumes - there are so many now-and they rent out four seaters, no two-seaters and forget about having it a weekend. That will cost you a grand. So all these vehicles are clogging the roads and they have a Von's now. Trust me when I tell you you'd have a way better time on the mainland, anywhere else. I once included the island in a travel book, not now. Many of the hotels do not have elevators, or anyone to carry your luggage. The streets there are just packed with people. Herds. It is very difficult to get anywhere. There is no elegance. There are very few stores where there are not people harassing you to make a sale, and the nice people have been there for a while and thinking about selling because of these rude people traveling there. Loud - always. Save your vacation for somewhere lovely.Go to Malibu. Chico. Anywhere else. We took the 5:00 (or thereafter) shuttle out and that whole trip we had to listen to this retired guy from the shuttle fleet who didn't sit in his chair, he stood up talking to a member of the staff who was telling his whole life story. Both of them very loud and the guy leaning on the galley snack bar and swearing, and talking about things that really should have been talked about elsewhere. The guy next to my daughter always standing and leaning into the back of his seat with his hands on the chair like he was humping it, so his crotch was about two feet from my daughter and he kept pushing the seat back and forth. Aren't you supposed to sit in a seat? She didn't want to switch seats with me. She put her ear buds in and leaned up against me. I got a migraine from just coming home. Going there people had slept, but it was impossible with those two carrying on nearly the whole time. Employee. The whole trip was disgusting. Save your money, go somewhere you'll enjoy yourself. Seriously. If the Wrigley's don't care, neither should you. So many other places to go. If you've been before and loved it, save those memories, it's just a garbage can now.

Zoom zoom partystarter…read more This was way fun! My husband and I did the 45-minute "Casino Tour" which takes you from the miniature golf parking lot on Sumner Ave to the famed casino along the bay. It was super scenic, and our guide Joe was very informative. He was patient when we first started (we were segway newbies), and gave us helpful instruction. He was also very willing to help us take fun pictures! They have a variety of more extensive (and expensive) tours. I wish we had more time to spend on the segway! It was a blast. What I didn't like was how Joe kept answering his cell phone while we were on the tour to schedule tours with his clients, and at one point this resulted in us "standing" around for nearly 15 minutes (which ended up extending our tour time, since he didn't count his cell phone time as part of our tour). This seemed rather unprofessional.

When you are stuck on a tiny island with 5 hours to kill you'll find you're willing to do things…read moreyou told yourself you would never do! I never understood why people use Segways. I mean, how lazy can we Americans get? Now we can't even be bothered to pedal on a bike or drag our legs on a skateboard or scooter? Our sedentary lives aren't enough? Now we need to STAND STILL on a motorized mechanism to get ourselves from point A to point B? All this being said, I did see that movie with Kevin James where he plays Paul Blart the Mall Cop (don't judge me it was a free movie on a flight). He had some pretty nifty moves on that segway of his so in the spirit of Paul Blart and needing to kill some time we decided to rent segways. Since it was our first time, we opted for the 1 hour package to the casino and back. I believe it was around $42 for the hour? The employees were very friendly and spent time with each of us teaching us how to operate the segway in a safe gated area. I have to say this was the funnest part of our experience. Each of struggled for a couple minutes before we figured out the machine. I think it took me the longest to figure things out. It took me a hot minute to figure out how to stop. I almost drove into a tree but seriously the instructor is so on top of it he doesn't let anything bad happen to you. He stopped me right in time. They took all the necessary safety precautions and once we all gained confidence in how to operate the segways, we were off! I felt safe with the employee leading us through the streets and down the paths. On our way back I realized that even though we looked like complete dorks, it was a great way to zip around and cover more ground. Would I use a segway ever again? Probably not.... I'd rather do Stand up Paddle boarding and use more of my core, paddle and have the added adrenaline of potentially falling into the water. Am I glad I did it? I sure am!

This is a member only club for preservation. You pass by this piece of history that was started…read morearound 1898 and learn a little history on your trip down Via Casino on the boardwalk. The jumping/leaping tuna is the significance of Catalina island. Lots of history to learn without becoming a member.

Day 3 of my Royal Caribbean cruise. Catalina Island day…read more Ive been here maybe 8 or 9 times since 2009 so nothing really unique for me to see. I got off the boat to walk around a bit in Catalina. Spent about an hour before heading back to the tender boat back to the Cruise ship.

Very easy to take the ferry from Long Beach. Its quiet, very instagrammable place. Plenty of…read moreseating area close to the water, plenty of bathrooms along the road as well which was nice, area looks like its very well taken care of. Prices in the shops and restaurants are very decent, not overpriced. Day trip honestly is enough if you don't plan on doing water activities, we arrived at 9:15 am and we were done walking around by 3pm and was just waiting around for the ferry to go back.

*Beautiful gardens with some very unique, and endemic flora- some only found on the island or…read moreendangered. * Awesome birding here *Main path to the memorial is a gradual incline and on relatively gravel/ sand even terrain... off shoot walking paths to meander thru the gardens as well. * To get to the top of the memorial, there are a lot of steps to climb. Worth the view from on top. * You can jump on the garden to sky trail (near the memorial)... it is described as a moderate to strenuous hike and aptly so: some switchbacks, elevation gain, rocky terrain... but the views... oh the views are lovely. Of note you can also catch this trail elsewhere- but it all depends on you and the distance and time you have. * Operated by the Catalina Island Conservatory * To get here: you can either walk here from Avalon... but it's quite a ways. The public transit COAST is available but we found it impossible to secure a ride (didn't help that a cruise ship had come in that day), rent a golf cart for the day, or the best / hassle free option was to pay a small fee (about 13 bucks a person) at the Conservancy and they shuttle back and forth. The only draw back is you need to schedule your trip ahead of time and if you are a person who does not like itineraries when you travel, this may put a dent... but definitely worth a visit. *Restrooms are located at the entrance

Definitely a place to visit when touring Avalon, Catalina Island. From the port, it's about a 15…read moreminute ride, 40 for walking. We downloaded the Ride Circuit app and it's a $2 fee per ride, which you can't really beat! The place also does student discounts, which is a nice touch. Walking through the first part was nice. Reading information on the little cards about the plants and taking different routes. We actually got to see a tiny fox! It is uphill, nothing too crazy, just bring some water. The memorial at the top of the hill is worth your time. It is a climb up the stairs, so be prepared. Once you get to the top and oversee the garden and have a view of the port, you'll for sure gasp in surprise of the view. Pretty cool seeing a structure preserved! If you take the left path when you get to the memorial, you'll come across a little area called Little Fox Hollow. I'd recommend visiting and walking through. For little ones, but you can make it fun as an adult too! On the right path, there is a hiking trail about a mile long. A lot steeper than when you start from the entrance to the memorial. We didn't get fully to the top due to exhaustion. It gives a higher view than the memorial structure. Overall, I'd definitely come back when I visit Avalon, Catalina Island!

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!