Dearly Departed Tours

I had heard rave reviews about this tour and had high hopes. I was disappointed. I guess I'm glad that there weren't more recent shocking death sites to show, but I thought there'd be more on the tour. I REALLY did not like listening to the audio of Charles Manson. I think it would have been better to leave off the LaBianca home and maybe see the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, however briefly.

We would suggest this tour to anyone who is going to be in the Hollyhwood area that would like to learn more about Hollywood and it's history. Not only did we get to see places like the house where the Labianca murders took place and where Michael Jackson died the tour guide also took us by the numerous places that Marilyn Monroe called home, as well as George Burns' home and many more places like that. I was a little skeptical of this tour at first, even though my friends were ALL for it. I was skeptical because I didn't know how morbid the tour would be, since it is about the "dearly departed" but it wasn't morbid at all. It was comical, informative and fun. Our tour guide arrived promptly on time and the 12 passenger van in which the tour takes place was very comfortable. We had a couple of bathroom breaks and was even able to stop and get some refreshments at one of the bathroom stops (only drinks, no food on the van). Overall it was a very enjoyable experience and we definitely would like to go on another tour by this company.

Great tour with a very knowledgeable guide who takes you to the sites of some of Hollywood's spots of tragedy. The guide shows you upbeat sites as well along the way, and can answer almost any question that comes up. If you want a star tour with a different twist, then this one is for you. Come prepared with lots of questions and don't be shy.

While we did see a lot on this tour, the majority was random star homes, hang outs, etc. Only about 10% of the places we saw were related to Hollywood's "tragical history". Where was OJ's house and Nicole Simpson's condo? Having been past those places on my own, I know they are in the same vicinity, but we did not see them. There are so many other places that would have added to the theme, but we saw Halle Berry's favorite restaurant, the apartments where "Joey" was filmed and Gunther from "Friends"'s house instead. I, personally, was disappointed...in hindsight, I should have done my own research for addresses and taken a tour around town myself. It would have been much cheaper as well.

My daughter and I really enjoyed the tour, the driver was very entertaining and the van was comfortable.

Missed tour due to being ten minutes late. Thank you for the offer to take a later tour but I will not have that opportunity due to returning home to Chicago. Losing the cost of the tour just added to my frustration. Highly disappointed I missed the tour due to horrible traffic.

Liked th Manson Murders, Where Sharon Tate lived, and where Michael jackson Lived, the Mendez brothers murders, liked th 911 calls, ingeneral it was very much worth the money.

Traveling from Chicago, my 14 year old son and I took the Dearly Departed's Hollywood Tragical History Tour on Saturday, March 27, 2010. We were looking forward to it and were not in the least bit disappointed. We went without hesitation because the reviews were spectacular, and we have nothing to add to or detract from the reviews. If you have even the slightest bit of so-called morbid curiosity, this tour is for you. Do yourself a favor and buy your tickets now.

This was one of the most fun things we did while in sunny California. Our tour guide was very knowledgable and informative about what we were looking at. If i had one criticism, it would be that the tour needed to be longer!

This tout was more fun than what I thought it would be. It felt like not a regular tour but I was in a van with friends. The tour guide was awesome! Heard that they may change the tour and add some new sites so will definetaly do this again next time I'm in LA.

It was a super tour with a truly outstanding tour guide who knew his subject totally, was entertaining, was accommodating, and seemed to enjoy all the questions asked of him.

While we DID enjoy this tour, I anticipated MORE substance than I felt it delivered. Realistically I think the tour could be accomplished in approx. 2 hours, (and of course the price should be reduced accordingly) if they stayed on subject matter as advertised and avoided the time spent on star homes, and intersections where stars got arrested or wrecked etc. which seemed like a stretch to fill tour time. A quick Google on the internet yielded more detailed information on a number of tragic Hollywood activities than we were exposed to on this tour. The likes of Freddie Prinze, Bob Crane and other notable Hollywood tragedies weren't addressed, although within a reasonable distance to the area we covered. The tourguide wasn't bad, but not terribly engaging either, especially considering the small group of just 8 attendees. His reliance on timing the sound-clips from the iPod seemed to require more of his attention than we received as individuals...again on a small group tour like this, I'm accustomed to a more personal atmosphere. So Am I glad I took this tour? Yes, we've been wanting to do so for a long time. Would I do it again? Probably not, certainly not at the 3.25 hour price-point. Our guide mentioned that the tour was due for a re-vamping, and we agree. By saying so however, he seemed to admit that even the company considers it a little flat. Kudos to the tour company for a creative and unusual tour idea, it just needs refinement and tweaking to make it something really memorable...which it really should and could be!

At times, the tour strayed from its theme and seemed more like a celebrity homes tour.

Loved this tour. The enthusiasm for the subject matter displayed by the tour host was very noticeable and greatly appreciated. The accompanying audio and handouts are a great touch as well. Was great to get accurate, up-to-date information, as some tours are known more for the less-than-honest information they dole out.

The first half of the tour was fun and interesting. The second half dragged a little and seemed more like a tour of Hollywood landmarks. We wished they actually stopped at some of the locations, instead of just driving by at 40 miles an hour. Very hard to get any good pictures. Part of the tour drove us past the hedges of the Hollywood Forever Cemetary, it would have been nice if they drove us through the area or even stopped at a few of the headstones ( my husband and I made our way back afterward and went searching for our own dearly departed). Good company. Would take one of their other tours.