Travel Guide: A Week On Catalina Island
Ringing in my 30th birthday during a pandemic wasn’t what I was expecting, but I wanted to make the most of it with a local trip that felt more like a European escape. A trip to Catalina Island felt like the perfect solution! A sleepy island right in LA? Talk about the perfect weekend getaway, especially if you live in LA. Can you believe it’s only a hour boat ride away? If you follow me on Instagram you already know we did ALL the island life things. We spent most of the week soaking up the sun, sipping pina coladas, snorkeling, riding bikes through the island, and eating yummy seafood.
If you’ve never been, here’s a rundown on the deets. Catalina Island is right of the coast of Long Beach, and the only part of the island that is really inhabited is Avalon — just 3 miles long. AKA you can literally walk everywhere, and as long as you stay near the mainland you will be able to get to everything in town! So how did we spend our week in Avalon?
SHOP THE LOOK
We headed out the day before my birthday and took an early afternoon boat out from Long Beach. (By the way, if you travel on your birthday you can get a free ride on the Catalina Express!) We dropped off our bags at the Bellanca Hotel right when we landed on the island, and immediately started soaking in all of the views! It’s pretty sleepy on a Wednesday, and I wanted to kick things off with a sunset picnic on the beach so we headed straight to the local Vons grocery store on the island to pick up some cheese and charcuterie and packed the spread for the beach.
Stay at the Bellanca Hotel
When I discovered the Bellanca I got so excited! There aren’t many modern, hip places to stay on the island and Bellanca is a newly renovated hotel with the cutest details. It has a restaurant on site, The Naughty Fox, with ocean views to boot. There’s the perfect rooftop area with a view of the ocean where you can lounge, soak up some sun, or get the ultimate people watching view.
Lounge At The Beach
For my birthday I wanted to spend the entire afternoon relaxing, so we booked a lounger at Descanso Beach Club. They have the perfect vacation setup: lounge chairs, cabanas, drinks, and good food. Definitely reserve a chair or cabana ahead of time! We sipped Aperol spritz, ate guacamole and ceviche all day and soaked up all of the sunshine. Vacation mode: enabled.
Where To Eat
For my birthday dinner we dined at Bluewater Grill right on the water. It was so nice at sunset! Their menu is 90% seafood, like most places on the island, and ironically I’m allergic to shellfish but they had lots of non-shellfish options as well — I opted for the locally caught swordfish, and Joe got the salmon. Both were so yummy! You know I’m a big fan of tiki drinks, so after dinner we had to stop by the local tropical bar Luau Larry’s after dinner. It’s such a fun time, and they have a drink called the Wiki Wacker that comes with a hat. So cheesy and fun!
One of our favorite places to eat was NDMK Fish House. They have all sorts of local fish, and their fish and chips were delish. We ate their a few times and got their sushi, fish and chips and poke bowl, and loved all of it. You can get it to-go and then eat out on the beach too.
We tried quite a few of the restaurants on the island, and to be fully transparent with you there were not a lot of great food options. I’m including the few that we liked on this guide (Naughty Fox, Bluewater Grill, and NDMK Fish House), but if I were to go back I would definitely rent a house to stay in, and get groceries at the local island grocery store Vons and cook. We didn’t have a kitchen in the hotel, but we got all of the essentials to make a cheese and charcuterie board, and had a few picnics on the beach. We could have eaten every meal on the sandy beaches, it was such the perfect view.
Snorkel at Lover’s Cove
Snorkeling is a must-do! We went to Lover’s Cove and were blown away by how many fish there were just a few feet from the beach. You could hire in instructor to take you out, but we bought these snorkels on Amazon beforehand, as well as these water shoes because the beaches are really rocky and did our own thing at Lover’s Cove. I’m so glad we did. We spent a few hours snorkeling, and we wanted to go back because it was so fun! 10/10 recommend. You can also rent snorkeling essentials over at the Descanso Beach Club if you don’t want to bring them ahead.
I love to start the day off with a healthy breakfast, so we were super excited to find Cafe Metropole for smoothies, acai bowls and avocado toast. That day we rented a golf cart and explored the island. There were so many dreamy colorful houses, and we had to stop by the Hotel St Lauren, a pink hotel straight out of my dreams!
SHOP THE LOOK
Rent Golf Carts + Explore
We rented a golf cart and drove around Avalon. It was so fun to cart around and take in all of the views. We rode up the mountain and searched for the perfect lookout. Definitely cart up to the Catalina Chimes for a dreamy view of Avalon. Then we rode through the neighborhoods and peeped at all of the cute and colorful beach bungalows. So many cute cottages.
Check Out The Catalina Casino
When you first arrive you spot a huge round art deco building — the Catalina Casino. We didn’t get a chance to book a tour but we did walk around the building and check out the architecture. Up until recently it was a local movie theatre, and the building is so pretty with tile artwork and art deco details. You can book a tour right here.
Eats + Drinks
- The Naughty Fox – restaurant with the perfect views
- NDMK Fish House – poke bowls, sushi and hand rolls
- Cafe Metropole – avocado toasts, salads and fresh pressed juices. We liked the breakfast burrito
- Toyon Grill – a good breakfast spot
- Bluewater Grill – the best place on the island for a special dinner on the water
- Luau Larry’s – tropical tiki cocktails
- Bistro at the Atwater – a coffee shop to grab a latte and pastry
Things to Do
- Ride bikes around the island
- Book a lounge chair at Descanso Beach Club
- Rent a golf cart, and cart around!
- Snorkel at Lover’s Cove
- Go parasailing
Looking for more travel guides? Check them all out right here!
