Catalina Island
One of my best friends is a travel nurse (angel) and is currently in Orange County, California! I finally found the time to visit her and we had a packed 3.5 days! On the second day of my trip, we took the ferry to Catalina Island! It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was so charming and beautiful.
How to Get There
There are a couple of ferry options and a helicopter option, but we decided to go with Catalina Flyer since we were closest to Newport Beach.
They have strict departure times and only offer one service there and back each day - meaning you will depart Newport Beach at 9am and will arrive at Avalon, Catalina Island at 10:30am, and they depart at 4pm and arrive back at Newport Beach at 6:30pm. You’re welcome to schedule them on different days, but we went just for one day.
The total cost of the ferry was $95 for a round trip ticket.
On the ferry, there are 3 floors - the first floor is completely enclosed with windows along the sides, second floor is open air, but with a roof, and top floor is open skies :) We chose the second floor because it was a bit chilly, but it was nice to have options!
They also offer a VIP ticket with quicker boarding, and snacks. Plus a bar with snacks, drinks (non- and alcoholic), and a vendor walking around with excursion options once you’re on the island.
What We Did
Once we landed, we knew we wanted to rent a golf cart. Thankfully there are a few options within walking distance of the pier. Unfortunately, they’re quite expensive!
We got a 4-seater golf cart for $60/hr and could only book it for 2 hours. The golf cart also only goes up to 15 mph and you have a very specific route you can go one - no dilly-dallying.
Along the route are various scenic viewpoints, which were beautiful! We also stopped at the botanical gardens and hiked to a viewpoint at the top of a giant hill.
Once we were done with our golf cart, we turned it back in and set out to find food. We walked over to Bluewater Grill and had a beautiful seat outside on the patio looking out over the water. We ordered the crab + artichoke dip, mahi mahi, lobster roll, and some cocktails.
We wanted to see some of the town since the golf carts aren’t allowed into the main strip, so we grabbed a coffee at Catalina Cookie and Coffee Co and stopped in some shops. There are lots of boutiques along the main street with some cute clothes!
Once we had to wind down and start heading back to the pier, we decided to stop at Topside for a rooftop cocktail before boarding the boat. We should’ve stopped at Luau Larry’s as it was hopping!!
Then it was time to head back :)
Activities We Didn’t Do
Catalina Island offers a ton of activities! Some we didn’t do are:
horseback riding
semi-submarine
casino
golf course
zipline and eco tour
buffalo sighting
beach clubs
