| Rating |
Date Attended |
Reviewer [v] |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Had a great time
|
| Tue, Aug 11 1:00 PM |
zumarox |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| Richard was our guide and was great. I highly recommend this tour for locals or tourists. The van left exactly on time and was comfy and cool. Two thumbs up! |
|
Best Tour of Hollywood and Celebrity History
|
| Mon, Aug 10 9:00 AM |
zkimzim |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| We have attended this tour over the years ever since it was the Graveline Tour in old Cadillac hearses and each time it is better and better!! The hosts are the most accurately knowledgeable and historically correct and able to answer even obscure questions about the famous and infamous. Little details, such as Marilyn Monroe's favorite flower shop (which is still in business!) and the Black Dahlia's favorite bar (also still open) add a great deal and open the opportunity for us in this decade to visit these places and pretend we are experiencing the past. Very up-to-date - included a visit to Michael Jackson's last residence. This tour is full of interesting tidbits about Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Los Angeles, many not known even to those who have lived here. Everyone in our group, young and old, enjoyed this tour very much!! |
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|
Unique and Exciting Tour of Hollowood
|
| Sat, Feb 21 1:30 PM |
Zeppo1 |
Male |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| This is one of the best if not the best tour I've ever taken of Hollywwod and the surrounding areas. The guide was extremely informative and friendly and seemed to be having as good as time as the tourists. Next time I am going to take the "Manson Tour" since I have been very interested in the Tate Murders etc. This tour touches on it a little.
There is much more to the tour than just the dark side of the movie industry. The mini-bus goes past many Hollywood landmarks including film locations, movie-star homes, notorious locales, and of course celebrity death locales.
This tour is highly recommened and I am planning on taking some friends on the tour next time I return to L.A. |
|
|
Loved the entire experience
|
| Sat, May 3, 08 1:00 PM |
yorodgers |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| Just the concept of the tour was exciting. The information was fantastic and the tour guide drives smooth and safely. So much information, can't remember all of it.
The tour guide was so freindly and very funny. I would recommend this tour to anyone who lives anywhere. I live in California for 30 years and this was one of the most exciting excursions I can add to my list. Its fun to do a tourist adventure in your own city. |
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|
Very thorough and entertaining.
|
| Sun, Sep 7, 08 1:00 PM |
x96hankins |
Male |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| I have no experience with vacation tours like this, but I've always expected them to be kitschy and lame; therefore, the Dearly Departed Tour greatly exceeded my expectations. The bus is very intimate, and the drivers are warm and enthusiastic, so the tour feels much more like you're getting shown around town by friends than by some generic tourist company. It was obvious the driver cared very much about the subject matter, and his genuine enthusiasm translated into an experience that was both entertaining and academic. The tour, itself, lasts far longer than I expected and I feel like I got a wonderful value for my money. My original plan during my trip to LA was to plot out points on my handheld GPS unit and do a self-paced driving tour. But I'm so thankful i chose the Dearly Departed tour instead -- I got to see nearly everything I wanted to see, without having to deal with traffic and with more insight than I'd have been able to research last-minute.
Here are a few opportunities for improvement and suggestions if you're planning to enjoy the tour for yourself:
- Although the bus is very comfortable, it can sometimes be difficult to view sights on the opposite side of where you're sitting. This is largely due to the geography of the hills. Sitting along the aisle may give you more flexibility to see everything. If you are tour-shopping, I noticed that some tour companies have "convertible" vehicles, which are basically like flatbed trucks with seats. But although that experience may have given their clients access to a handful of more sites, those poor people looked terribly uncomfortable: sweating and sunburns = not fun.
- The tour is definitely very accommodating to individual customers, so don't be shy if you don't have a group. If you *can* get a friend or two, the tour will be much more entertaining for you. The rest of the bus was full of what seemed like a single family (mom, dad, many kids). And although nobody was complaining, I got the impression the kids would have rather been elsewhere. So our bus was very quiet and subdued. The driver tried his best to crack them and get people talking, but they were very introverted. So it kinda felt like being at a college lecture. I would have enjoyed more discussion, but it felt kinda... weird. Nothing the driver could've done, though.
- The tour certainly provides a lot of information about LA deaths and mysteries, but that's actually somewhat of a minority of the material. This tour is a very thorough jaunt through LA and you'll see far more than just the nefarious. I would recommend this tour to anybody, regardless of whether they'd be "into" the more sinister parts of Hollywood history. A lot of the tour deals with older history.
- The only dearly departed sight I expected to see, but didn't was the intersection where The Notorious BIG was gunned down. Wilshire and Fairfax, I think. We may have driven through that intersection, but I don't remember having it identified. |
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|
Excellent Tour Leader and Something Different
|
| Wed, May 6 1:00 PM |
wvickers |
Male |
50-59 |
International Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| An excellent combination of the off beat and more conventional Hollywood/Beverly Hills "celebrity" tours. Tour designer and Leader provides great detail and effective use of Police records and photos to add depth to the experience. Perhaps a little too much time spent in the vehicle : some more time on foot would be great if possible to organise. |
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|
Very interesting!
|
| Sun, Jul 12 1:00 PM |
wjbvail |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| If you are at all interested in the death of notables in the LA/ Hollywood area, this trip is a must.
It takes you on the famous & not so famous celebrities places of not only death, but unique happenings in their life.
The tour host was very knowledable and gracious, and the cost was extremely reasonable.
I would highly recommend this tour. |
|
|
Jam Packed
|
| Thu, Jan 22 1:00 PM |
wjay29 |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| It didn't feel like three hours and that's a good thing. There were so many sites to see and the tour guide, Richard, was Great! I doubt I'll ever remember everything we rode by so I'll just have to take the tour again the next time I'm in the area. Thanks for a fun afternoon. |
|
Recommend but with reservations
|
| Sat, Jul 11 1:30 PM |
wcfields |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| Went on this tour with my wife and 2 teenagers. The driver arrived promptly and the instructions on where to wait for pickup were clear. Driver was full of information, but dropped too many names on who he knew along the tour. Gave the impression that he was friends with many stars. If he were friends with that many you would think at least one would have acknowledged him along the way. Van was small and very hot. Difficult to see if you weren't by a window, and heaven help you if you are unluckly enough to sit next to someone larger. The tour itself was very interesting and the follow along book of photos helped to pass the time. I would recommend this tour soley for the places visited and the expertise of the driver. Ways to improve would be to beef up the air conditioning or get a little bit bigger van. They do allow you to bring soft drinks, but a nice touch would be complimentary water. |
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|
tour was interesting
|
| Sun, Nov 23, 08 1:00 PM |
watergirlmv |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| sis and i are from norcal and decided to do the tour in LA while we were passing through. the tour was good... interesting...however we didn't appreicate rushing to get there on time, only to have to wait for 3 people who showed up 20 min late. also, the tour needs at least one more break from riding in the van... for a snack, water and toilet stop. it's hard to sit in the van that long... the last 45 min seemed extremely long... i was thinking... i need to pee, i need to stretch my legs, i need some fresh air...
on the positive side, the guide was excellent... very friendly and entertaining...we enjoyed the info, songs, recordings and picture books. keep up the great work! add another rest stop and the tour would be nearly perfect. |
