I have been living in Northern California for over a decade, and California seems to be full of treasures and waiting for people to explore. My first time to Catalina Island is surprisingly relaxed, and it is for sure a hidden gem in California.
On a sunny morning, I board the Catalina Express boat (roundtrip $66.50) from Long Beach port, I feel calm as the sun shines through the boat windows. Nothing seems to matter anymore as you start to feel the magic of nature, and I can't wait to start a beautiful day.
Within an hour I've reached to the beautiful Avalon of Catalina Island. From the harbor you can see the beautiful coastline and a grand, white round building--Casino (unfortunately for the gamblers that it is not a gambling place, rather it is a historical theatre and ballroom).
There are all different kind of activities you can do on the island, hiking, kayaking, parasailing, etc. I tried the semi-submarine tour to see the underwater world around the island.
This is an about 45-minutes underwater tour ($39), where you can see different undersea lives and creatures, and you can feed the fishes by pressing a button inside the boat ($2 a shoot), it is definitely a fun interactive experience. I found the trace of a cute purely bright orange gold color fish which is very amazing.
If you want to go up the hill on catalina island, you can rent the golf carts to drive around the island, where you can find a botanical garden up the hill, or a small sky tower. On the way uphill you can see many different shapes and families of cactus, some can be huge, and you can find traces of wild animals such as baffalo or deers if lucky.
For lodging I stayed at Catalina Island Inn, which is close to the harbor, and is clean and modern decorated. Its family suite is at good affordable price. I regret not trying the parasailing, which seems to be very fun and it is the first place I see having "double seat" parasailing. I hope I will have chance to go there again. At the end of the trip I would say goodbye to a huge "bird" that was always standing around the iron bars of the wharf, and it doesn't seem to be afraid of human being at all.
You can find various bars and restaurants around the island that fit your taste, and there is a small supermarket where is great for grabbing few snacks or cup noodles. The only minus of the island is that the "beach" is just a small sand area, so don't expect to see a beach for swimming or getting suntan there. As a conclusion, Catalina Island is definitely a good weekend getaway place from the busy city, where you can relax and feel the sunshine and have a closer touch to the nature.
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