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Photo by Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Santa Catalina Island
United States · North America
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Santa Catalina Island
Tap a month for its page
- JanJSanta Catalina Island in January: good
- FebFSanta Catalina Island in February: sweet spot
- MarMSanta Catalina Island in March: good
- AprASanta Catalina Island in April: sweet spot
- MayMSanta Catalina Island in May: good, busy
- JunJSanta Catalina Island in June: sweet spot
- JulJSanta Catalina Island in July: good, busy
- AugASanta Catalina Island in August: good, busy
- SepSSanta Catalina Island in September: sweet spot
- OctOSanta Catalina Island in October: good
- NovNSanta Catalina Island in November: good
- DecDSanta Catalina Island in December: good
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Plan this trip
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Flights from
Flights
Your city is a guess from your time zone. Choose your city
Where are you flying from? Choose your city for its flights.
Book with the airline
Where to stay
Book direct
Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
Rent direct
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Month by month
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17° | 4d | 72% | 8.6h | good | 17C max, 4 rainy days |
| Feb | 17° | 4d | 73% | 9.1h | sweet spot | 17C max, 4 rainy days |
| Mar | 17° | 5d | 76% | 10.3h | good | 17C max, 5 rainy days |
| Apr | 19° | 1d | 75% | 11.1h | sweet spot | 19C max, 1 rainy day |
| May | 19° | 1d | 78% | 11.5h | goodbusy | busier than usual |
| Jun | 21° | 0d | 79% | 11.9h | sweet spot | 21C max, 0 rainy days |
| Jul | 23° | 0d | 80% | 12.9h | goodbusy | busier than usual |
| Aug | 24° | 0d | 80% | 12.0h | goodbusy | busier than usual |
| Sep | 24° | 1d | 79% | 11.0h | sweet spot | 24C max, 1 rainy day |
| Oct | 23° | 1d | 74% | 10.3h | good | 23C max, 1 rainy day |
| Nov | 20° | 2d | 72% | 9.3h | good | 20C max, 2 rainy days |
| Dec | 18° | 4d | 74% | 8.2h | good | 18C max, 4 rainy days |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at Avalon, the island's town: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Santa Catalina Island's August days now average 24.0°C, 4.5°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 14.8° | 14.6° | 14.7° | 15.4° | 15.7° | 16.8° | 18.8° | 19.5° | 19.5° | 18.8° | 17.0° | 15.2° |
| 2017–26 | 17.1° | 16.8° | 17.3° | 18.6° | 18.9° | 20.7° | 22.7° | 24.0° | 23.8° | 22.9° | 20.0° | 17.6° |
| Change | +2.3° | +2.2° | +2.6° | +3.2° | +3.2° | +3.9° | +4.0° | +4.5° | +4.3° | +4.1° | +2.9° | +2.4° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
Fly into Long Beach (LGB), then drive. The flights under Where to book are to Long Beach.
| Long Beach (LGB) | the drive is not measured yet |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles (LAX) | the drive is not measured yet |
| Santa Ana (SNA) | the drive is not measured yet |
The drive from each airport is the road's, from openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT: typical, not a schedule.
How far Santa Catalina Island is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Las Vegas
- from Phoenix
- from San Francisco
- from Salt Lake City
- from Denver
- from Portland
- from Seattle
- from Vancouver
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Santa Catalina Island, flying or not.
Before you go
Type A and B plugs at 120 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the United states dollar. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise normal security precautions. Everything for United States: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work almost everywhere, though a few small places take cash only. Keep some $1 and $5 notes for tips; Venmo and PayPal are for locals.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Expected: 15–20% in sit-down restaurants (18–20% is standard in New York) and 10–20% for taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers. Large groups may find it already on the bill.
Getting around Santa Catalina Island
- Apps — Rides: Lyft, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: Text messages (SMS), WhatsApp. In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and some other cities you can also book a driverless Waymo in its own app.
Walking – Most visitors to Catalina usually do their touring on foot. Bicycle – There are several bicycle rental agencies on the island or you may bring your own bicycle over with you (usually for an extra fee). More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Catalina Island, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Open in Google MapsSanta Catalina Island on the map
- Open in Apple MapsSanta Catalina Island on the map
Help
- Emergency — 911 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
- Hospitals near Santa Catalina Islanda search on Google Maps
- Pharmacies near Santa Catalina Islanda search on Google Maps
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (50)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/getting-help
- omny.info
- omny.info/fares
- clippercard.com/contactless-payments
- clippercard.com/pay-with-phone
- mtc.ca.gov/news/starting-wednesday-bart-riders-can-tap-bank-cards
- sfcta.org/blogs/next-generation-clipper-tap-pay-here
- metro.net/fares/how-to-pay
- transitchicago.com/howto/pay-for-your-fare
- info.myorca.com/contactless
- miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1565197498854306
- mbta.com/fares/charlie/tap-ride
- holocard.net/for-visitors
- holocard.net/help
- sdmts.com/fares/pronto-ways-pay
- ridepronto.com
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/fares
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/lepass
- capmetro.org/fares
- wmata.com/fares
- wmata.com/pay/tap-ride-go.html
- muni.org/Departments/transit/PeopleMover/Pages/FaresandPasses.aspx
- uber.com/global/en/cities/new-york
- lyft.com/rider/cities/new-york-ny
- waymo.com/faq
- visittheusa.com/travel-trade/faq
- nyctourism.com/tipping-sales-tax
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/United_States
- infobip.com/blog/most-popular-messaging-apps-by-country
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/septa
- lvmonorail.com/ticket-information
- lvmonorail.com/frequently-asked-questions
- apps.apple.com/us/app/ridertc/id909691507
- lasvegasnevada.gov/News/Blog/Detail/your-guide-to-exploring-las-vegas-bus-it-bike-it-or-share-it
- visitlasvegas.com/plan/getting-here-and-around/maps
- visitlasvegas.com/experience/post/getting-around-vegas
- visitlasvegas.com/experience/post/vegas-on-budget
- wegotransit.com/buy/fare-information
- wegotransit.com/wego-now-accepts-credit-card-mobile-wallet-contactless-payment
- wegotransit.com/ride/transit-services/airport
- trimet.org/fares
- trimet.org/schedules/maxredline.htm
- rtd-denver.com/fares-passes/fares
- rtd-denver.com/fares-passes/tap-n-ride
- app.rtd-denver.com/en-US/route/A/schedule
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
Santa Catalina Island in pictures
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Brian MacIntosh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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WPPilot, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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WPPilot, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Santa Catalina Island is like
Catalina Island (officially Santa Catalina Island) is near the southern end of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. It is part of Los Angeles County, and is a popular day trip and vacation destination for locals and tourists. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- There are Bison on the island which were brought over for a 1920s film and left behind. Some of the island's tours will take you to see them. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Catalina is a haven for SCUBA divers in Los Angeles area. The main SCUBA diving site from Avalon is Casino Point, right next to the Casino building. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Catalina Classic Cruises. From San Pedro to Avalon. Round trip fares - Adult: $70, Children (2-11): $55, Seniors (55+): $64, Infants (under 2): $5. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Catalina Island, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Santa Catalina Island
Also in United States
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- Sequoia and Kings Canyon best Aug, Sep, Oct
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Nearby
- La Paz Mexico · 1,284 km
- Cabo San Lucas Mexico · 1,423 km
- Victoria Canada · 1,729 km
- Vancouver Canada · 1,808 km
Kind of place
Santa Catalina Island is in United States, North America. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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