Dearly Departed Tours

I love this tour - it's like sitting in a giant People magazine for a few hours! I've taken the tour several times and brought two work groups on for team building. It's such a fun way to see the area and everyone has LOVED it!!

I was curious about going on the Dearly Departed Tour after seeing it on E! Hollywood and reading about it online. The first trip out to L.A., I did. I was concerned about the grisly nature of the overall tour, obviously, but our tour guide, Richard, was very friendly and accommodating and kept details to an appropriate level. Not too much, not too little. He was very willing to take any questions, not only about the sites we were seeing, but also about L.A., as he was a lifetime resident of the city. He was very knowledegable about where he was going, and used a variety of methods to convey the subject matter of what we were seeing. Namely, binders with photographs of said site, (very graphic) audio for us to hear sequence of events from a commentator, actual 911 calls from Joaquin Phoenix and Lyle Menendez, and of course the main method, actually seeing the sites. Richard was very accommodating in going slowly so we could get a good glimpse of everything. One of the most interesting things about the tour was that it not only covered death locations, but also locations where infamous events had occurred. On the tour, he took us through the neighborhood where Rihanna and Chris Brown had their unfortunate dispute and to see the house that Rihanna went to for help. The only negative I would say about the tour is that some of the jokes Richard made didn't seem funny to me at all, and bordered on disrespectful. I understood he was trying to keep the levity of going on a tour like this, but I think there could have been other ways to do this, while being fun and still respectful of the deceased. If I return to L.A., I would definitely go on another tour. They said they are working on the Dearly Departed Tour, Part 2.

We had Richard and he was excellent. I liked that the tour specified 2.5 hours and it did indeed last all of it. I hate paying for tours that never seem to last as long as they specified. Between the clips played while going to various places, Richard's knowledge of everything hollywood, and the picture book, it was an excellent tour and I would go again. I do NOT recommend this particular tour for those under 18, as some of the stories and photos are graphic. You also go by the star homes. Bathroom break in the middle of tour. Please remember your tour guide is expecting a tip of 15-20%, but if he is as good as Richard was, he is well worth it. And no need to take a seperate tour of the star homes, as that was covered too. If I had more time, I would definitely try another tour by this operator. Get there early for parking around the corner at $10 per day. Enjoy!

Good tour except tour van should be more comfortable with bigger windows. Could not see what the guide was talking of at times. Did not visit the manson site , the oj site, which was dissapointing.

My wife and I vacation in the LA area every summer. After researching several tours online we chose Dearly Departed because it sounded totally different from the usual tours. It totally lived up to and exceeded our expectations/ It was CREEPY. (which we were warned about) but just enough to satisfy , morbid(but not taken to extreme) , factual (cleared up misconceptions about several Hollywood deaths) and totally enjoyable and worth every penny. We were especially impressed with the "special effects"! Suggestion....don't forget to tip the guide/driver. It is well deserved. Next trip we plan on doing the Helter Skelter tour, and honestly we will probably do the Dearly Departed Tour again also. We are from the Philadelphia area and have already raved about this tour to all our friends. Thanks for a GREAT time!

The tour actually ended up going almost three and a half hours, but that was just fine. The family had a lot of fun. The Black Dahlia and Albert Dekker stories aren't suitable for kids, so know that ahead of time. But for those interested in hearing those type of stories, it was very interesting. Our sixteen year old handled it well, but I wouldn't have wanted to take her if she were younger. Although the tour is focused on the sites of death and scandal in Hollywood and Beverly Hills, the tour points out plenty of celebrity homes and other sites. I was a little skeptical before the tour, especially about whether or not the family would be interested. They had a blast, though, so everything turned out very well.

We wanted to do something fun on our last day in the USA after a 3-week holiday, and this fitted the bill nicely. We enjoyed a relaxed and entertaining afternoon with our tour guide, Brian. Brian clearly has a deep interest in this subject, and enthusiatically recounted stories of meeting some celebrities, as well as offering his own thoughts and opinions (based on research) of celebrity deaths and other Hollywood incidents. The group were encouraged to participate, with prizes (Tootsie Rolls) offered to those who correctly answered random questions about scandals along the way Highly recommended for a fun trip through the dark side of Hollywood.

If your like me, and your into seeing places where things happened, then you will enjoy this tour. I don't care if something happened 50 years ago, i still get excited at the thought of seeing where things happened. I've seen Stand By Me 100 times, and was a huge River Phoenix fan. Standing at the spot where he overdosed, is a major thing for someone like me...... That is all i will say about the places the tour takes you,,,i dont want to ruin the fun of not knowing what is coming next. In addition to the graphic details of murder, and locations of crimes, the tour operator also pointed out some stars homes, and that was a huge bonus...Who has the most expensive house in Hollywood? I know...do you? What Hollywood A-lister regularly walks his dog like any other joe-blow, and has no problems saying hello to people on the street? This is a bonus on this tour. It's not only the "darkside" of Hollywood.. And why not, if your driving by someones house, what the heck, might as well throw the tourists some inside info!! With that said, I'll talk about the tour guide....I can't remember his name, but he's the guy who says he checks google earth to see what cars are in his ex's driveway,,cause he has issues.......He's a very funny man. He made the tour for me.... I almost asked him if i could buy him dinner, so i could pick his brain, and here some more stories, which im sure he has many...... Again, this tour guide was fantastic.. I have also heard that the owner of the tour, is also very entertaining. Yes, the guide was an entertainer. The next time i go to LA, i'm going to spend the night in a hotel room where a VERY FAMOUS person died. I won't say who, but thanks to the tour guide ( maybe his name was Pat?) i will add it to my next itinerary. He had his 47th birthday party there. Talk about envy when i heard that one! If i had to make one change to the tour, i would have a convertible bus. I would have rather been in the open air, with better photo-ops, and lighting. Next year, i will take the HELTER SKELTER tour that they are supposed to be offering in a month or two... I would have chose that tour if it was available. I consider myself a semi-expert on the published versions of that historical, media charged story. So, i will be jumping on that bus in the future. That's a guarantee. This tour is not for young children. The guide is like a "mature" comedian. His language ( he doesn't drop the F-bomb) is not for children. What he says is NOT innapropriate, and it fits in great when it's delivered. He is a true professional!!!!! 42 bucks is peanuts for this tour, and i recommend it for anyone over 15 yrs old, that has an interest in the macabre stories of Hollywood. Can't wait for HELTER SKELTER!!!!!

This tour was highly entertaining tour, not as macabre as you might think but definitely for adults. Richard was an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable, and a good storyteller. His love for the area was obvious, and his insights gave a more complete history of the events and locations on the tour. A great time, highly recommended!

This tour was nothing like the typical and boring bus touristy tours. This one involved interesting stories about celebrity scandals and interesting celebrity tibits. Our tour guide had binders with extra photos of some of the places we drove by and he told us stories about each one that you would not hear about on a typical tour. We had an awesome time and I would highly recommend this! I believe a Part 2 of the this tour might be in the works, according to the brochure we read. Can't wait to come back for that one if it does happen.

By far the best tour LA has to offer. Should be everyone's first choice.

We really enjoyed this tour of murder and mayhem around L.A. It was made interesting, informative and at times very funny by our hugely enthusiastic guide/driver.

Great tour! Great guide! Chock full of Hollywood history: the dark side.

Our guide was terrific and this tour could not have been more fun! There was a lot of information packed into the two and a half hours, some fine details I may forget, but overall this tour was something I will remember forever due to the group participation, enthusiasm and interaction from our guide and overall positive feel. Could not be more satisfied.

The guide had an excellent personality and very informed on the facts. He made the trip very interesting.