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I’ve stayed all over the place in Avalon. My wife booked me at a "luxurious" hotel once, and all the rooms still had a motel 6 look and feel. Don’t be fooled by great photos in websites. They can make any place look nice in photos. I also went the down-n-dirty-cheap route once and ended up carrying my dive bag up 40 flights of stairs. Most of Avalon is hilly. Also consider that in addition to your room cost (all expensive on the island) the Catalina Express charges $68 per person round trip, plus $12 per day parking on the mainland. The best deal I have found by far is where most of the divers stay, the Seaport Village Inn. They are the only hotel I know to offer package discount deals including RT on the Cat.Express, plus free pickup and delivery from the Cat.Express at the dock, plus they will deliver and pickup for free down to Casino Point with your dive gear. Walking isn’t too bad. But a free ride is a nice luxury when you’re tired. And taxi’s aren’t cheap in town. Their website is www.seaportvillageinn.com In town I suggest you don’t miss the mini golf course in the middle of town - it’s awesome. Do miss the full island jeep tour....desert...dessert...and maybe a buffalo...zzzzzzzz.
As for instruction for your girlfriend, the dive shop I see out there more than anyone is Hollywoodivers. They are top notch and are probably your best shot at getting her certified in one week. Better start her reading soon ;-) You might give them a call to see if they will have an instructor out there when you are. Their website and phone is www.hollywoodivers.com (323)969-9875. Jeanne and Nikki are the two instructors I see at Casino Point most often and people rave about them.
Good luck and have fun. E-mail me if you need any further advice.
Rich
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hey thanx for the info. looked up their website, and they had great deals on rooms. no i just got to find a place to rent some equipment. so you suggest hollywood divers?
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They are my LDS so I am naturally biased toward them. I would use their gear over Sport Chalet rentals any day. I was almost killed by a Sport Chalet rental power inflater that got suck once and shot me to the surface (later found sand inside). But I suppose it only makes sense to use Hollywoodivers if you were going to use them for your girlfriend’s training. Otherwise, I don’t know the name of the shop, but you could probably rent the gear on the island to make it more convenient than lugging it to the island on the Cat.Express.
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LDS?
so do i make arrangements with thm here, or on the island? my girlfriend isnt going to get certified, we wont be there tht long, but we want to get her on an intro dive. hopefully i can just follow them and not pay for an extra guide.
is avalon, and catalina two seperate islands? which is better?
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Sorry...LDS is short for Local Dive Shop. I picked up reading these types of sites. I didn’t know either for a while.
If you can dive there at least two days you might consider getting her certified and getting a bigger bang for your buck. If you just want to rent equipment for yourself and her to do a tour, you might as well go with the dive shop on Catalina. Their website is www.catalinadiverssupply.com Hollywoodivers would be much cheaper for the info if you were using their instructors. But if you just want a guided tour, especially mid week, you might as well go with the shop on the island.
Have a blast!
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