Catalina Island, or other suggestions around Dana Point?

[mdgirl]

We're going to Dana Point next month -- my husband will be there for a week for a conference and I'm joining him at the end for a long weekend. I'd be fine just hanging around the hotel, but I think he will want to get out after being there a week. It looks like we could easily do a day trip to Catalina since Dana Point is one of the ferry ports.

But the ferry is quite expensive (about $75/person roundtrip), and then we'll have to spend more money there to rent a golf cart or whatever. Would we be better off doing something else? I've been to Orange County a couple times, but never LA itself, and I don't think DH has either. It might be fun to be a silly tourist and see Hollywood and the La Brea tar pits. Also since it seems like one of the main things to do on Catalina is hike. Is it worth $150, or could we find better hiking by renting a car and staying on the mainland?

Thanks for any insight you can offer!

[dearprudence]

Catalina is great to visit, but I feel like it's a little much for a daytrip. The schedule to/from Dana Point is a little limited.

You could certainly do a daytrip to LA, if there are things you want to see. Just remember, Dana Point is in Southern Orange County, so you're looking at a bit of a drive to get up to Los Angeles. Not just mileage, but traffic-wise. It's a lot of sitting in a car.

There are some nice hikes around Dana Point. You won't see any Buffalo (Bison?) like you might in Catalina, but Crystal Cove will give you some ocean views. Other good, nearby hiking is Barbara's Lake in Laguna, O'Neil Park, Peters Canyon, Holy Jim/Trabuco Canyon, or Red Rock Trail. Just take heed that in August you'll want to head out early and pack lots of water because it gets very very warm.

Other "things to do" around Dana Point would be heading north to Laguna Beach or south to San Juan Capistrano. Dana Point is closer to San Diego County than LA County so you could also do a daytrip there.

[mdgirl]

Thanks!