Which tours on Catalina?
 

I am going to be on Catalina at the end of the month for about 6 hrs. Will be traveling solo. Which are the best tours? activities? Casino? Glass bottom boat?
What would you do if you only had 5 hrs there? Is the bus/tram ride up frightening?
Thanks!

If I only had a few hours on Catalina, I would take one of the inland tours. Avalon is very small and it's easy to walk around the town in a relatively short time. But few get to see the inland part of the island and I think it's truly something to see. Plus, you usually get the history of the island. There are a couple to choose from - most leave around 9 in the morning, but one or two leave in the early afternoon. Times vary from 2 hours long to 4 hours. If you take a 2 hour tour (recommended with your short stay), then I would opt for a Casino tour as well. The Casino tour is only an hour long and run throughout the day.

Be sure to leave some time to sit at one of the beachside restaurant to enjoy a cocktail before going back to the mainland!

Not sure what you mean by the bus/tram. ??? Are you talking about going up around the hills around Avalon? If so, I don't think it's all that bad.

I would strongly recomend the glassbottom boat. If you wish you can rent snorkel gear, at Casino point and lover's cove there is very good snorkeling.
Rent a golf cart for an hour or two, they have mapped-out several driving routes with some spectacular views of the sea.

Can SF to Catalina be done without a car? Any tours or buses?
Thanks
Ken

kendu, I'm not familiar with any tours from SF to Catalina. You do understand that Catalina is an island off of the coast of California? And it is closer to LA/Long Beach than SF?

You might be able to find a tour that takes you from SF to LA, but I doubt any of them would include Catalina. You would have to book that yourself. Of course, you would not be able to ferry a car over to Catalina, but a car would only be an inconvenience anyway.

Golf carts are the mode of transport on Catalina (unless you have a permit). If it is hot the bus tour can be stuffy (Airport in the Sky). I did not like it at all. We love the Boat tours. Glass bottom Boat, Two Harbors, and if you are there at night don't miss the flying fish tour. The casino is great if you have time for a movie and Descanso Beach is a good place to sit over the beach (rocky) and soak up the sun. I would much rather be having a drink a L- Larry's than on the bus trip. We like the funky pee wee golf back by the bus loading area too. If I only had 5 during the day I would do the Glass Bottom Boat tour, shop, and check out the Casin then Descanso Beach. Make sure to pick a copy of The Glass bottom Boat at the video store to put you in the mood!

Hi Ducks,
We go to Avalon almost every summer and try a new tour (and some old ones) each time. Instead of the Glass Bottom Boat, I'd do the submarine tour instead, because you get a better view of the fish. It's cheaper if you do 2 tours instead of one. If you're there in the evening, especially at this time of year, DO the flying fish tour, which starts around 8:30 p.m.; you won't see anything like that anywhere, ever! Since you're only there 6 hours, if you're not there in the evening, I'd suggest the submarine and either the Casino tour (but you have to be into architecture for this one) or the very short (45 min.) tour of Avalon. I wouldn't go for the inland tour which will take too much of your time and, frankly, is okay if you want to see mostly bushes. I would rather spend that time walking past the Casino to Descanso Beach with a towel and bathing suit, sipping some buffalo milk, snorkeling, and even renting a kayak for an hour or so. Then, you can go to the ice cream place just past Antonio's pizza on Crescent Ave., have a freshly made waffle cone, and venture into a bar or two, like Larry's Luau or El Galleon. Actually, I find El Galleon's buffalo milk the best on the Island, better even than at Duke in Two Harbors.