Side Trips from Los Angeles - Los Angeles 2010 - page 296

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Fisherman's Village at Marina del Rey. Schedule varies. Travel time to Avalon is 1 3 / 4 hours.
Round-trip fare is $75 for adults, $68 for seniors, $56 for childr en 2 to 11 years old, $4
for infants.
VISITOR INFORMATION The Catalina Island Chamber of Commer ce and Visi-
tors Bureau, P.O. Box 217, Avalon, CA 90704 ( & 310/510-1520; fax [phone];
www.catalinachamber.com), located on the G reen P leasure P ier, distributes br ochures
and information on island activities, hotels, and transpor tation. Call for a fr ee 75-page
visitor's guide. Its colorful website, www.catalinachamber.com , offers hotel av ailability
information and local weather, in addition to updated activities and ev ents listings.
ORIENTATION The pictur esque to wn of Avalon is both the por t of entr y for the
island and the island 's only city. From the ferr y dock, y ou can wander along C rescent
Avenue, the main road along the beachfront, and easily explore adjacent side streets.
Northwest of Avalon is the village of Two Harbors, accessible by boat or shuttle bus.
Its twin bays are favored by pleasure yachts from L.A.'s various marinas, so there's more
camaraderie and a less touristy ambience o verall.
GETTING AROUND Once in A valon, take Catalina C ab Company taxi ( & 310/
510-0025 ) from the heliport or dock to your hotel, and enjoy the quick and colorful trip
through town (don't blink or you'll miss it). Only a limited number of cars are permitted
on the island; visitors ar e not allo wed to driv e cars on the island, and most r esidents
motor around in golf carts (many of the homes only have golf cart-size driveways). Don't
worry, though—you'll be able to get everywhere you want to go by renting a cart yourself
or just hoofing it, which is what most visitors do .
If you want to explore the area around Avalon beyond where your feet can comfortably
carry you, rent a mountain bike or tandem fr om Brown's Bikes, 107 Pebbly Beach Rd.
( & 310/510-0986; www.catalinabiking.com). If you'll be exploring, you'll want to rent
a gas-powered golf cart from Cartopia Golf Cart Rentals on Crescent Avenue at Pebbly
Beach Road ( & 310/510-2493 ), or Island Rentals ( & 310/510-1456 ), across from the
boat terminal. Both companies offer a map of town for a self-guided tour. Rates are about
$45 per hour plus a deposit. You must be 25 or older to driv e.
EXPLORING THE ISLAND
ORGANIZED TOURS The Santa Catalina Island Company's Discovery Tours ( & 800/
322-3434 or 310/510-T OUR [310/510-8687]; www .visitcatalinaisland.com) has a
ticket and information office on C rescent Avenue across from the G reen Pier. It offers
the greatest variety of excursions from Avalon; many last just a couple of hours and don't
monopolize your whole day. Tours are available in money-saving combo packs; inquir e
when you call.
Noteworthy excursions include the new Cape Canyon, which takes you into the heart
of Catalina's “outback” in an open-air four-wheel-drive Mercedes Benz Unimog Vehicle.
The tour's rugged route includes the American Bald Eagle and Catalina Island Fox habi-
tats at Middle Ranch, lunch at Airpor t-in-the-Sky, and plenty of photo stops ($110 for
adults, $99 for seniors and $82 for children over the age of 6 years; includes lunch). You
can also tr y the Undersea Tour, a leisur ely 45-minute cr uise of Lo ver's Co ve M arine
Preserve in a semi-submersible v essel that allo ws you to sit 5 feet under the water in a
climate-controlled cabin where you comfortably observe Catalina's kelp forests by day or
night ($38 adults, $29 kids, $34 seniors; discount on night rates). The Casino Tour is a
fascinating 1-hour look at the style and inv entive engineering of this elegant ballr oom

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