Catalina Island Company - Avalon, California

GeomanTheBarbarian

We booked the Casino VIP Backstage tour through Catalina Island Company over a month before arriving at Avalon. We spent a day on Avalon during a cruise three years ago but this tour was not offered on that day. We really like Art Deco buildings and the Casino tour was the number one reason for coming back and spending two nights on the island. We arrived at the Casino 30 minutes before our scheduled tour at 12 noon. When no one showed up by noon, I started trying to call the company. I then received a voicemail at 12:08 stating the tour had been cancelled. We were told the tour was cancelled because they were cleaning up the casino after the Jazz concert the day before and a "computer glitch" allowed us to book the tour for this day. Later in the day, we received a text from Westly who profusely apologized and asked if there was anything he could do to make it up to us. We told him that if we could take a later ferry back to Long Beach the next day, we could take the 10 a.m. VIP Backstage tour the next day. We had to check out of our hotel and had two small suitcases. Wesley said we could stow the suitcases at the Casino and take that tour. So we did all that and the tour was great. Our tour guide Kaitlen gave an informative and interesting tour. Casino manager Mitch stowed our suitcases and gave us a ride to the ferry terminal after the tour. Finally, they gave us a complete refund for our trouble. While we were pretty upset at the glitch, we were very happy we were still able to take the tour.

Lynette Statham

My husband and I booked the Eco-Interior island safari jeep tour. Carlos, our driver/guide, was fabulous! Much history shared- and he’s FUNNY! Came across a herd of bison, saw the airport, the trans-Catalina trail, viewed the leeward-side ocean from a mt top, and Two Harbors from a mt vantage point. (This was not a bison tour…) Carlos provided amusing history on the Wrigleys, the island- especially about WWII! Highly recommend!

Kristen Bullard

This is SO MUCH FUN!! Halvy was the very BEST guide! He did an outstanding job and gave us so much extra history of the island I don't think we would have gotten from any other guide! It's an excellent tour and a MUST when you visit Catalina! Thank you for a fantastic experience for my mom and I!

Amber Schick

Going to Catalina Island for vacation is an incredible experience. The views are breathtaking, especially when seen from the tours. The Bison Expedition was one hell of a ride, so much fun, and we got to see so much of the island's nature and animals.

brian moss

Shout out to DONALD the kayak tour guide. Very chill. Had a great family vibe to his tour. I very much appreciated his balance of safety, tid bits, and history—-but it wasnt overwhelming. That was the best part. Just a nice kayak trip. Donald was awesome! Give that dude a raise!

Mitchell Vasquez

Stayed in a Hermit Gulch campsite on Friday, August 16. The campsite was clean and area was decent, but for the amount of money I spent, I expected a better experience. There’s “quiet hours” at 10 pm but there were teenagers yelling until 1 am when someone finally screamed for them to be quiet. Also, there was a baby in the site next to mine that was crying the entire night and I probably didn’t get an hour of sleep. I had a reservation on the 17th as well but ended up leaving the island because it wasn’t worth it to spend another night not being able to get any sleep. I normally expect peace when I’m out in nature but this was the exact opposite.

Edited: The company did respond with the offer to refund the second night, which I greatly appreciate. I hope that the company will find ways to encourage enforcement of quiet hours in the future or establish a more primitive feel to the campground as that will greatly enhance the experience.

CJ W

Had a great time! Went Kayaking to Frog Rock with Javier which was super fun. I went on the Discover Avalon tour with Carlos who was funny and interesting. I learned a lot and enjoyed it.

Stephanie Schofhauser

We had an unforgettable Bison Tour experience with Halvey on 4/15/24. He was an excellent guide - his knowledge of the history, animals, people, and everything else on the island was amazing. He seriously knows everything Catalina. We had success in finding the bison, a fox, and bald eagles. We stopped at the airport and were lucky enough to get to see an extra attraction while we were there. Halvey's enthusiasm about the entire tour was contagious! I would highly, highly, recommend this tour to everyone.