About Catalina Island's Best Hotel Value

Many of these activities require reservations, or at least a ticket. Stop at the ticket booth at Crescent and Catalina Streets and you can reserve them all at once.

Waterfront Walk: The walk along the waterfront from Casino Point to Lover's Point is a personal favorite. Along the way, you'll see orange garibaldi fish swimming in the kelp beds and boats in the harbor, pass through the center of town and out again, to where the beaches are less busy and the views unobstructed. Keep going all the way to Pebbly Beach if you have time.

Rent a Golf Cart: Catalina residents drive golf carts because it's difficult to get permission to bring an automobile onto the island, but most visitors do it just for fun. You'll find rental places along the waterfront. While you've got wheels, check the map and head up the hill to take in the vista from just below the Inn on Mt. Ada, run out to the Botanical Garden, then go across town toward the Zane Grey Hotel for a different point of view.

Take an Inland Tour: Hikers and residents with special driving permits can go inland, but for the rest of us, a tour is the only way to get to see Catalina's back country. Destinations and itineraries vary, but these are your options: Discovery Tours offers an Inland Motor Tour and an off-road tour. Catalina Adventure Tours calls it the Inside Adventure Tour. Your tour dollars go toward a good cause if you take the Catalina Conservancy's Eco Jeep Tour and their tour guides are the best-versed about the island's flora and fauna.

Botanical Garden: Located at the end of Avalon Canyon Road, this small garden features some excellent specimens of succulents and cactus. The Wrigley Memorial above the garden overlooks Avalon much as Mr. Wrigley once looked out over his Chicago Cubs baseball team practice at the field you passed on the way up. If you have the energy, take the trail above the memorial all the way to the ridge.

Flying Fish Tour: The little fishy critters really do "fly," speeding toward the water's surface, into the air and every once in a while into a startled visitor's lap. Make a reservation for the boat tour that's designed just to see them, but time it right: their antics only happen on summer nights.

Look Underwater: Catalina's clear waters and abundant marine life make it a favorite for divers and snorkelers. The two most popular spots to go into the water are Casino Point and Lover's Cove. On busy days, you'll find wetsuit rentals and diving supplies for rent at both locations. If you can't swim/dive, you don't have to be stuck looking at the water's surface. Semi-submersible sub tours with Discover Tours or Catalina Adventure Tours offer diver-like views and glass-bottomed boat rides have been a Catalina tradition for almost a hundred years. Take a night ride to see lobsters scuttling along the ocean floor and sharks gliding below.

Go On the Water: You can rent almost any kind of watercraft from businesses around the harbor, from old-fashioned paddle boats to jet skis and small motor boats. If you'd rather let someone else do the driving, try a Sundown Cruise, Seal Rocks Cruise or an excursion with Catalina Ocean Rafting.

Take a Hike: Get ideas for day hikes, from a short ramble around town to a nine-mile walk that's mostly downhill. Serious hikers may enjoy the Trans Catalina Trail, a 37-mile route which runs the length of the island.

Nothing: Catalina Island has a way of invoking profound relaxation. Maybe it's the smell of the eucalyptus trees and wild fennel, both relaxing scents according to aromatherapists. Whatever the reason, you may find yourself so chilled out that nothing is the only thing left to do.