Great info on the campground. We won't do it this time. It was the Hermit Gulch one.
I oprdered the guide to be mailed and never thought to check out the online version, guess I will be doing that tonight.
I was looking at the cheaper motels. Too bad it's a long weekend, it's cutting into my choices. Just about booked the Zane Grey motel until I read it had no tv - not sure how that'll go over so I'll wait til I get home to mention it.
I have the San Diego Entertainment book so I will look tonight to see what's available. It has a Long Beach Aquarium buy 1 get 1 so we're doing that after Catalina just so we don't have to drive up from SD.
Sherry we're going to try to do your top 3 list, DS already mentioned he wants to try snorkeling. Actually just about every tour he's said he wants to do. Surprising there's so many options. The electric bike might be fun too.
The Zane Grey has no TV???
Funny, because I almost stayed there on one Catalina trip in the past. It's one of the handful of hotels on the Island that has a pool. You know why I didn't end up staying there? It is up in the hills! You can actually pass by it if you turn up or down that street in a golf cart. It's not just up
A hill - it's up in the hills. I'm not even sure I could find my way to the Zane Grey without a map! You'd have to take one of the Island taxis to and from the ZG, if that's what you picked. That's probably why it remains one of the cheaper options - because of those darn hills!
But I can't believe it doesn't have a TV!
The Hotel Atwater - while being a 'budget' option - is on flat ground, on a side street off of the main street.
The Hermosa Hotel/Catalina Cottages - the other budget option - is on a side street, up a little bit of an incline. Try that one!
The Hotel Catalina is part-way up a hill, but it's walkable.
The Catalina Beach House, I think, is on a side street, up a bit of a hill.
The Seaport Village Inn is technically up a hill or two, but it's really not bad when you see how close it is to town. I walked back and forth all the time when I stayed there.
I just looked at my 2010 guide and here are the options that have only one $ next to them in the guide from last year:
Catalina Island Seacrest Inn (one of my friends stayed here)
Castaway Cottage
Catalina Beach House Hotel
Hermosa Hotel and Cottages (friends and I stayed here)
The $$ options are:
The Old Turner Inn
Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel
Atwater Hotel (it used to be only one $ - guess it moved up in the world!)
El Terrado Terrace Hotel
Glenmore Plaza Hotel
Hotel Catalina (I stayed here)
Hotel MacRae (a friend stayed here)
Hotel St. Lauren
La Paloma Las Flores
Seaport Village Inn (I stayed here)
So, Wendy, where did you end up booking a room? Last I heard was that Zane Grey was a possibility until you discovered there was no TV!
I am still waiting for my hard copy/magazine version of the Visitors Guide to arrive - and, by the way, I should mention that they used to send those Guides out much, much faster in the mail than they do now - but in the meantime, I looked at what I could get through of the online version of the Guide...until my stupid computer locked up (as usual).
I got as far as the listings of hotels and how many dollar signs/'$' there were next to them. Everything looks about the same in terms of $, $$ or $$$, except for that I noticed this year's version of the Guide listed Seaport Village Inn in the single $ category - meaning it's now one of the least expensive places to stay, whereas last year's guide had it in the double/$$ category, meaning it was in the middle range cost-wise.
I stayed at the Seaport Village Inn in 2001, and unless it has gone way downhill in terms of service and cleanliness of rooms in the last 10 years, it was perfectly fine. I liked it quite a bit. It is located up two hills, both rather short, but it's still very close to the main street and town. And I am one who does
not like climbing endless hills to get to my rooms in Avalon, but I didn't find these hills to be too terrible because there were short walks. I don't know what they are charging these days that puts Seaport in the single $ category, but if it's manageable, I would recommend staying there. Otherwise, try the Hermosa. That has probably improved since I last stayed there.
I just booked my Catalina Express free birthday boat ride today - they don't take your birthday promo code (which you get in the e-mail that Catalina Express sends to you once you register for the birthday thing on their website) until the end of the phone call. They do take a credit card number to keep on file, just for holding your reservation, but they don't charge anything to it.
I booked at 6:15 a.m. boat out of Long Beach to Avalon in July (yes, I am willing to get up that early to get over there!), but they want me to arrive at the terminal one hour early at 5:15 a.m. Then, after I get my departure and return tickets from them, they want me to go and stand in line for the boat about 30-45 minutes before departure.
Anyway, this will put me in Avalon at approximately 7:15 a.m. (sometimes you get there 5 minutes ahead of schedule; sometimes you get there 5 minutes late - it depends on how windy it is out on the water!). The golf cart rental place (shown in PrincessInOz's photos earlier) does not open until 8 a.m. or 9 a.m., so I will have time to kill before I get one, which is what I want. I can snap lots of photos around town before everyone 'wakes up' for the day.
When you get to the Island that early, sometimes the only people awake are the fishermen! The tourists are likely still in bed, as are the Island residents. So the only ones besides the fishermen walking the streets at 7:15 a.m. are other boat passengers such as myself, or Island residents who are out taking their morning runs/walks/bike rides. It is a nice, peaceful time to take photos.
Actually, I am hoping that if I can secure a good outdoor seat on the boat over to Avalon, I will be able to get some nice sunrise photos since the timing will be about right.
Once the golf cart place opens, I will be among the first to nab a cart and hit the trails! I will take lots of photos up in the hills and at the Wrigley Memorial/Botanical Garden. When my three hours are up, I suppose I will explore some shops, see what's changed on the Island since I was last there and take a stroll to the Casino, snapping more photos as I go along! I would like to have the option to do another tour if money allows - maybe either the Semi-Sub or something that will allow me to get some good pictures.
Unfortunately, the latest return time from Avalon back to Long Beach is only 7:30 p.m., which means I have to line up at 7 p.m. That is not good for me! I used to take boats back that left the Island at 9:30 or even 10:45 p.m.! Even though it will be a Thursday when I am there, it will still be the middle of summer so they should add more boat arrivals and departures! I am hoping they add something later than 7:30 p.m. I want to try to get some nice sunset photos and that will be hard to concentrate on if I am high-tailing it to the boat dock to wait in line.
I asked the Catalina Express person on the phone if the birthday promo has been popular so far (it's only been in effect for a couple of weeks), and if a lot of people are taking advantage of it. She said yes, lots of people have been using it...so that fact alone might mean that they add some more boat times on my day!