Catalina Island - anyone been and have any recommendations?

[kcoursolle]

Hi everyone,
I''m thinking of planning a weekend away with DH to Catalina Island. Anyone have any restaurant, hotel, or activity ideas? We are thining of leaving Friday night and coming back Sunday during mid-day. I would like a charming hotel with a nice view, but it doesn''t need to be overly fancy or luxurious. I would prefer a hotel of $150 a day or less...which hopefully shouldn''t be a problem since it is the off season right now. When you were there what type of activities did you participate in, what did you like?

Thanks for your tips!!!

 

[ladypirate]

I haven''t been to Catalina, but I grew up in Santa Barbara and used to go hike on Santa Cruz Island all the time--it''s really gorgeous. If you have a chance, maybe take a day trip over there?

 

[kcoursolle]

I''d definitely love to go to Santa Cruz Island eventually too, sounds really beautiful! Thanks for the tip. We both loved Santa Barbara as well.

 

[hoorray]

I used to spend lots of time on Catalina, having grown up and lived for a while as an adult in the South Bay area. A fun thing to do is to rent a tandem bike and ride around town and out to Pebbly Beach, where the sea planes land. Definitely walk the town beach front and check out the casino. You could take a boat tour down to the Ismuth, which is fun if the weather is decent. Snorkeling and scuba diving is terrific all around the Island. There is a Preserve right off the Casino that you can dive/snorkel form the beach, with lots of fish etc. However, the water will be COLD, and you''ll need a full wetsuit. This good news is that the water is typically more clear in the winter than the summer. There is a pretty good assortment of hotels either waterfront or near water front. You are right -- this is off season, so you should be able to get a good rate. We stayed in a fun mid-century modern one right on the waterfront for my brother''s wedding, but I can''t seem to remember the name off hand. Enjoy. It''s a totally different town in the winter than in the hub-bub of the summer!

 

[KimberlyH]

It''s been a long time since I''ve been to Catalina, but I loved it! So quaint and pretty. There''s a pizza place at the end of the main street where you threw your peanut shells on the floor and pinned $ bills up on the wall, after you''d decorated them. I went with a girlfriend when we were 18 and stayed at an adorable hotel a few blocks off the main street. It was wood-sided and blue (not that that helps you!) It was nice if memory serves.

Okay, so I haven''t helped you at all, except to say that I think going is a great idea and you''ve made me want to!

 

[Hera]

My husband and I stayed at a hotel by the name of villa portofino. If it''s in your budget I would stay in one of the suites with a fireplace. It was soooo romantic. Otherwise, the other rooms aren''t worth the price.

Here''s the link: http://www.hotelvillaportofino.com/rooms.php

 

[Hera]

 

[Hera]

Here''s a pic.

 

[MustangGal]

We did our honeymoon there 6 years ago during 9/11 (we couldn''t fly to Puerta Vallarta like we planned). We rented a condo for 4 nights for about $500 total. It was nice to have a full kitchen and all that space. They have grogery stores, so we stocked up and didn''t spend so much on food.

The glass bottom boats are a nice way to see all the fish wihout getting in the cold water. There''s aslo a really cute minature golf course that''s fun. We were there 2 years ago on a cruise, and there was a cat that followed us through the whole course and tried taking the balls. The inland tour is nice, you go to the horse ranch and see the buffalo and all. It takes about 4 hours though. They have carriages on display at the ranch, my grandparents did the restoration work on them

There''s a candy store with the best carmel apples and taffy in tons of flavors. We loved the apple with carmel, white chocolate and cinamon sugar on the outside.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 1/9/2008 10:39:02 PM
Author: lop
I used to spend lots of time on Catalina, having grown up and lived for a while as an adult in the South Bay area. A fun thing to do is to rent a tandem bike and ride around town and out to Pebbly Beach, where the sea planes land. Definitely walk the town beach front and check out the casino. You could take a boat tour down to the Ismuth, which is fun if the weather is decent. Snorkeling and scuba diving is terrific all around the Island. There is a Preserve right off the Casino that you can dive/snorkel form the beach, with lots of fish etc. However, the water will be COLD, and you''ll need a full wetsuit. This good news is that the water is typically more clear in the winter than the summer. There is a pretty good assortment of hotels either waterfront or near water front. You are right -- this is off season, so you should be able to get a good rate. We stayed in a fun mid-century modern one right on the waterfront for my brother''s wedding, but I can''t seem to remember the name off hand. Enjoy. It''s a totally different town in the winter than in the hub-bub of the summer!

Thanks for the tips, I love the idea of renting a two person bike! It sounds like so much fun!!! I don''t think we are going to go snorkling though. The pacific is just too cold right now LOL. I did some looking around for hotels and I think we are going to be fine with our budget.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 1/9/2008 11:00:18 PM
Author: KimberlyH
It''s been a long time since I''ve been to Catalina, but I loved it! So quaint and pretty. There''s a pizza place at the end of the main street where you threw your peanut shells on the floor and pinned $ bills up on the wall, after you''d decorated them. I went with a girlfriend when we were 18 and stayed at an adorable hotel a few blocks off the main street. It was wood-sided and blue (not that that helps you!) It was nice if memory serves.

Okay, so I haven''t helped you at all, except to say that I think going is a great idea and you''ve made me want to!

I love the idea of going to a place where we can leave our peanuts on the floor, it sounds like so much fun. Maybe this is something we can do the first night we get in when we are hungry!

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 1/10/2008 1:46:47 AM
Author: heraanderson

My husband and I stayed at a hotel by the name of villa portofino. If it''s in your budget I would stay in one of the suites with a fireplace. It was soooo romantic. Otherwise, the other rooms aren''t worth the price.

Here''s the link: http://www.hotelvillaportofino.com/rooms.php

Wow, beautiful rooms!!! I imagine the fireplaces would be so nice and cozy when it''s brisk outside right now.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 1/10/2008 11:14:02 AM
Author: MustangGal
We did our honeymoon there 6 years ago during 9/11 (we couldn''t fly to Puerta Vallarta like we planned). We rented a condo for 4 nights for about $500 total. It was nice to have a full kitchen and all that space. They have grogery stores, so we stocked up and didn''t spend so much on food.

The glass bottom boats are a nice way to see all the fish wihout getting in the cold water. There''s aslo a really cute minature golf course that''s fun. We were there 2 years ago on a cruise, and there was a cat that followed us through the whole course and tried taking the balls. The inland tour is nice, you go to the horse ranch and see the buffalo and all. It takes about 4 hours though. They have carriages on display at the ranch, my grandparents did the restoration work on them

There''s a candy store with the best carmel apples and taffy in tons of flavors. We loved the apple with carmel, white chocolate and cinamon sugar on the outside.

Did you really like the glass bottom boat tour? I thought it sounded nice, but worried that it was going to be cheesy or not that great of fish watching. We both love minature golf and the candy store description is making me drool!

 

[MustangGal]

The boat wasn''t too cheesy. The water is so clear there that you get a great view just standing on the shore. They do have some submarine type tours now that might be a little better than the glass bottom boats. We also rented kayaks, which might be a little cold in winter.

There''s a company that offers all kinds of tours and rides in the middle of the shopping area, I can''t remember the name though! We booked all the tours through them when we got there. From what I can remember we did the inland bus ride, the glass bottom boat, the isthamus ride, the flying fish boat ride, and a sunset bus ride along the ridge. I know they offer more than that as well.

We also ate at the pizza place, I think I still have the plastic cups at home! It had a nice casual atmosphere.

We did do one "fancy" night at a little restaurant near the far end of the beach strip, a cute little italian type place. I can''t remember the name though!