Can you take a boat from San Diego to Catalina Island?

Catalina sits about 22 miles off the coast and looks close enough from a clear day in Oceanside to row to. People assume there's a boat from downtown San Diego. There isn't. Every scheduled ferry to Catalina leaves from Orange County or Los Angeles, so the real question is which port is easiest from here and whether the trip works as a day out. Fares and times below come from the ferry operators' own pages, checked October 6, 2026.

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Leaflet | © OpenStreetMap contributors

Start in San Diego

1. 1Santa Fe Depot — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner north
2. 2San Juan Capistrano station — Closest train stop to Dana Point Harbor

Ferry ports

1. 3Catalina Express, Dana Point — Closest ferry to San Diego, about 90 minutes across
2. 4Catalina Flyer, Newport Beach — About 75 minutes across

Catalina Island

1. 5Avalon (Green Pleasure Pier) — Where the Dana Point and Newport boats land

Pins are approximate. Source: Catalina Express, Catalina Flyer, Amtrak station listing and OpenStreetMap, checked October 6, 2026.

See these on the full San Diego map

Your realistic options

Dana Point is the answer for most San Diegans. It is the southernmost Catalina port, and Catalina Express lists the crossing at about an hour and a half. Fares on its Dana Point to Avalon page are $44 for adults 12 to 54, $39.75 for seniors 55 and up, $34.50 for kids 2 to 11, and free for infants under 2, each way. Parking at the harbor structure runs $24 per car per day, reserved or same-day, subject to space.

Day trip or overnight?

The island's visitor bureau says you can leave San Diego in the morning and be in Avalon by lunch, about 2.5 to 3 hours door to dock. That works, but do the maths on the way back too: with roughly three hours of travel each way, a day trip leaves you around five or six hours on the island. Enough for Avalon's waterfront, a glass-bottom boat and lunch. If you want to hike the interior or reach Two Harbors, stay a night.

• —Book the ferry before the hotel. Sailings vary by season, and Catalina Express splits its fall schedule at October 20, 2026.
• —Arrive early. The Catalina Flyer asks passengers to be there at least an hour before departure.
• —Golf carts, not cars: visitors generally can't bring a car to Avalon, so plan to walk or rent a cart.
• —Seasick-prone? The Newport boat's shorter 75-minute crossing is the gentler choice.

Looking for something closer? See 5 day trips from San Diego, all under two hours away.