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TRAVELCATALINA ISLAND
Avalon Harbor and the lit Casino at dusk

Travel guides

Plan your trip

Short, practical guides to getting here, getting around and making the most of your time on the island.

The Catalina Casino and Avalon’s hillside seen from the water4 min read

Catalina in a day: a day-trip plan that works

Morning boat to last boat home: breakfast on Front Street, a golf cart loop, snorkeling Lover’s Cove, the Casino, and a sunset dinner on the water.Read the guide →
Boats moored in Avalon Harbor below the Catalina Casino4 min read

How to get to Catalina Island

Ferries from Long Beach, San Pedro, Dana Point and Newport Beach, helicopters, private planes and your own boat: every way across the channel, compared.
Prickly pear cactus on the hillside above Avalon Harbor3 min read

Getting around Catalina: golf carts, bikes and buses

Why you won’t need a car on Catalina, how golf cart rentals work in Avalon, biking and hiking permits, and how to reach Two Harbors and the interior.
The Catalina Casino lit up at night across the harbor4 min read

The best things to do on Catalina Island

Snorkel Lover’s Cove, tour the Casino, zip line over Descanso Canyon, find the bison, hike the Trans-Catalina Trail: a local’s list of what is worth your day.
Aerial view of Two Harbors and the island’s narrow isthmus8 min read

Two Harbors: a guide to Catalina’s quiet side

How to get to Two Harbors by ferry, boat or trail, where to sleep (Banning House Lodge and the campgrounds), where to eat, what to do, and the village’s history, from the Civil War barracks to Buffalo Milk.
Aerial view of Avalon, its crescent bay and the hills behind town7 min read

Where to stay on Catalina Island

Historic hotels on the harbor, quiet hillside inns, vacation rentals with golf carts, Two Harbors’ lodge and the campgrounds: how to choose where to sleep on Catalina, and when to book.