Catalina Transportation

Catalina Island is a destination to consider during any trip to Southern California. It is easily accessible from San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles. The primary mode of transportation to the island is the Catalina Island Express or the Catalina Flyer. Almost 1 million tourists visit the island every year.

Let’s start with the Catalina Flyer. This boat departs from Newport Beach, once a day at 9:00am, arriving at 10:15. It also returns from Catalina once a day boarding at 4:30pm, and arriving at 5:45pm. The scheduling of this boat has always been super convenient for my purposes. However I’ve run into some scheduling conflicts if you have Two Harbors in your itinerary.

The boat from Avalon to Two Harbors misses both the arrival and departure times of the Flyer. If Two Harbors is on your itinerary, you must take the Catalina Express, or stay multiple days. The Flyer usually has a Groupon deal every year, but it’s only available for small windows of time before it sells out. Full price round trip tickets are $70/adult. Once you’ve purchased the Groupon you still need to call to make a reservation, and pay a small additional fee of $6.

The Catalina Express has more ports, more locations, and more variety to scheduling. A quick glance at the website shows me that there are 5+ departure times between Avalon and Long Beach, and 2-3 per day between Dana Point and Avalon. Unlike the Catalina Flyer, there are deals at Costco, and free rides on your Birthday. If your destination is Two Harbors, you will need to be taking the Express instead of the Flyer.

I have never had any issues with making reservations on either boat, but reservations are strongly recommended. Reservations are especially required if you are using a Groupon or a coupon. Even if you pay full price, I could see a disaster brewing if you didn’t have a reservation on your return boat and had to scramble to find lodging. That sounds like a sure-fire way to ruin a relaxing vacation.

Once you are on the island you can rent a bike, or a golf cart. There are no cars. Honestly, I have never needed either of these transportation options. I just walk everywhere. The whole boardwalk of Avalon is like less than a third of a mile. There furthest points of interest from the center of town would be The Buffalo Nickle, a cheap restaurant with free birthday lunch, which is right next to the Trailhead of the Beginning of the Trans-Catalina Trail, The Wrigley Garden, and Descanso Beach Club. But you are going to be drunk, and it would be so embarrassing to get a DUI in a golf cart. Just walk, your waist and wallet will thank you.