Looking for fun, touristy things to do in Catalina Island? Find out all about our freestyle adventures and what is our number one favorite thing to do while vacationing in Catalina Island, California!
Hiya Friends!
Mr. Organizen and I just got back from our 16th cruise, (yes, you read that right) and seriously, we just had the best time!
I know it sounds hard to believe that after soooo many cruises, we don’t get bored of them, but let’s break down why we love them so much…
People Entertain You
People Make You Your Favorite Cocktails (cheers to the drink package!)
People Clean Your Room
People Cook for You
Does life get any better??
Truly, cruising just never gets old for the two of us, and this last cruise was a quick 4-day getaway just for the two of us, and it happened to be my birthday too (yes, I turned 21…how did you guess!?), so it made it even more special.
One of the ports of call was Catalina (which is an island just off the coast of California), and although we’ve been to this same port a few times, we did something we’ve never done. (No, not parasailing or sky diving…I’m not that brave!)
We took a golf cart tour of Catalina, and it was the BOMB!!
If you are ever on Catalina for a day or even for a longer period of time, you just HAVE TO DO IT TOO!!
Trust me on this one!
At the end of our trip, as we looked back over the week, we both agreed it was our favorite day and activity of the vacation.
In case you are ever in Catalina, let me walk you through why you’ve got to do the Golf Cart Tour too!
Our story first starts with a very, very long line to get off the boat….(I’m not posting a photo because it might give me PTSD)
At Catalina Island there is not a big dock for cruise ships, so that means that our cruise ship had to use “tenders” (a fancy name for small ferry-like boats) which caused quite a backup getting off the boat since all of the cruisers aren’t able to just walk right off the ship.
After waiting about 30 minutes or so in line (HOT TIP: If you are planning to cruise to Catalina, check to see when the least busy times are to tender off the boat), we finally made it to Catalina Island…specifically the town of Avalon.
We had been there before so we were pretty familiar with the adorable little downtown area, but we had never ventured off the main street.
Am I right, it is adorable, don’t cha’ think??
We knew we wanted to try to rent a golf cart to explore the island, and walked a little ways from the port and found “Catalina Island Golf Cart Rentals and Tours”.
Their pricing was the same as the other businesses we had passed, but because it was a little farther walk it was less busy so we opted for this one!
For an hour self-driven tour it was $50 with a $50 cash deposit for the 4 seater golf cart.
So after signing the paperwork, they handed us the map and we were off!
They do have specific rules and other golf cart packages that we won’t bore you with here but you can visit their website at www.catalinaislandgolfcart.com/ to find out more!
The thing that we loved about this golf cart rental is that they gave us a detailed map of the island that highlighted a dozen or so sights around the island.
It gave us a roadmap of the BEST things to see and experience which made it so much easier.
The gals at the golf cart rental said it would take about exactly one hour if you don’t linger too long at each spot and that any overage time would be prorated so if we went a little over an hour it wouldn’t be another $50 (unless we were an hour late!)
I have to admit, I may be a little directionally challenged, but the map was laid out pretty simply which made it easy to follow and the route was highlighted on the street stop signs which helped too.
So if I didn’t get lost, then you are very likely going to be able to navigate it too!
Along the path, we saw the Catalina Museum, Mt. Ada (which is now a B&B but was previously owned by the Wrigley Family), Bird Park, the Botanical Gardens, Airport Gate Zip Line, the Casino (an entertainment facility not a gambling spot), Descanso Beach, and tons of adorable hillside homes along with spectacular views from some of the high vistas on the island.
It took a little over an hour for us to complete our freestyle tour of Catalina, but we stopped quite a bit and took a lot of pictures.
On the last night of every cruise we’ve taken, we always chat about the moments that stood out from the trip, and this time we reminisced about our golf cart tour.
It definitely took the #1 spot on both of our favorites lists!
If you are ever on Catalina Island, I highly recommend you check it out!
Until next time…cheers to freestyle adventures and cheers to you!
XOXO,
Magan
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