Catalina Island sits 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, and it feels like a different country. The crossing from San Pedro or Long Beach takes about an hour by ferry, but the moment you step onto the pier in Avalon, the freeways and smog are a world away. The water in the harbour is an almost absurd shade of blue.
Avalon is the island's only real town — a compact, walkable strip of restaurants, shops, and art deco architecture dominated by the circular Casino Building on the point. The Catalina Island Museum covers seven thousand years of island history. The Catalina Island Conservancy manages 88 percent of the island as a protected reserve, home to bison, endemic island foxes, and surprisingly rugged terrain.
You can hike into the interior, kayak and snorkel in clear kelp forests, or take a glass-bottom boat tour over the underwater gardens. The remote settlement of Two Harbors on the far side of the island is a completely different experience — fewer than a hundred permanent residents, one bar, and excellent sailing anchorage.
The island has been a getaway for Angelenos since the 1920s, and it still draws a mix of day-trippers and weekenders. Come midweek if you want Avalon to yourself.