Two Nights On Catalina Island

What can I say about Catalina Island. Honestly, this is what goes through my mind as I’m writing these words. Why? Because when we booked the trip, Catalina Island was the main reason we headed west. It was our primary destination and the other plans branched from there. And even though I was excited to explore this tiny little place, I had my doubts on what would actually unfold once we got there. Only because I couldn’t get a good read on it even after shuffling through multiple travel blogs and reviews. So once we walked off the ferry and saw just how charming Avalon is from the get go, I got really excited, really fast. We checked into the most charming boutique hotel (Aurora Hotel), took in the views from the rooftop and headed out to explore the little town.

Which didn’t take long. Because as I described above, it’s a little town. Nonetheless, Catalina Island more than delivered. I’ve come to describing it as a cross between California, Mexico & Europe. You’ve got the great west coast weather, the infamous Catalina tile that reminds you of Cabo and a casual, slow speed of a Mediterranean coastal village.

Between all of that, plus amazing views and great food, what else do you need to have a wonderful two-night stay? The answer: not much. This quaint getaway island situated one hour away from land is magical. Hard to describe – which is why I think I couldn’t get a good read before we went – but an absolute must for your travel bucket list. From relaxing on the sand to golf carting like a local, I gave you a list of essential Catalina Island musts below – some we were able to enjoy and others we’re saving for next time.

Explore the local shops

The main strip along the beach and onto the small pier houses some really cute local shops. A lot of variety and sprinkled in there are a few ice cream parlors, too (we may or may not have frequented those). It’s really fun to stroll slowly along, enjoy the nice ocean breeze and pick up a souvenir or two.

Rent a golf cart

It may be $45/hour, but this is the most fun you will have on the island… guaranteed. They max you out at two hours tops, and you really can see the whole island in one hour. When I say the whole island, I mean the whole town. Obviously the island itself is rather large. There are multiple places to rent a golf cart and they all have the same rate, so whichever has the shortest line, go for it. They’ll hand you handy dandy map of the best route and you’re on your way. We stopped for photos at the absolute best vantage points (worth every penny of the rental) and returned the cart about 8 minutes past the initial hour. Not bad. This is an absolute must to experience Catalina.

Relax on the beach

It’s an island… take advantage of that. Plus it’s hard to resist when the sand sits right in the center of town. After our golf cart adventure and lunch, we relaxed on the beach for a couple hours and dipped our toes into the Pacific for the first time. So relaxing and there’s no pressure to do anything else. Exactly what we needed.

Zipline, hike, snorkel or parasail

Since we only had one full day on the island, we focused on the more relaxing side of things. But, if we would have stayed a little longer, we definitely would have done one of the above. We drove past the zipline on our golf cart tour and it looked pretty amazing. Parasails were out all day & all the rentals are right on the pier, easy to get to.

Dine at the Mt. Ada

This is something I read on almost all posts about Catalina Island. Mt. Ada is the Wrigley mansion (yes, like Wrigley field in Chicago – same family). It’s a bed and breakfast now and you can dine there with reservations even if you’re not a guest. You can drive right by the mansion and you realize how amazing the views must be from the deck. I think it would be a fun experience, but we wanted to spend our time elsewhere this time.

In case you haven’t picked up on this yet, I highly recommend Catalina Island as a destination. It’s a short hour away from Long Beach and 100% worth the trip. I was amazed to hear a lot of California residents have yet to venture that way. Such a cool experience and we have it on our list as a return destination someday.

xoxo.  B