Spending 5 days in Catalina is a little much, unless you enjoy relaxing on the beach. The entire city of Avalon is only a few square blocks, and there are no public roads beyond the city limits. There are a few bus tours of the island, but that's maybe 1 day of activities. What are you going to do for the other 4 days?
Really would like to find a nice place to stay in Catalina. We had a group of 7 middle aged women and rented a house on-line and it was horrible. The whole place was run down. The hotels all looked like Motels 3's on the outside. We want to go back for the jazz festival in October. Somebody please tell me a NICE place to stay, run down furniture or rooms just wont do.
I went to Catalina for 2 days, and 1 day was plenty. It is bascially an island that is desolate, and for the most part full of scrub brush and little activity. The water was very cold - too cold to swim in. The bus tour was bleak. There are a few quaint shops to visit, but this is pretty much it. There are so many Carribean islands to see that offer much more. I think that this island is all hype!