Hollywood Bus Tours

A Los Angeles sightseeing company with two starting points

Hollywood Bus Tours runs its own guided sightseeing tours of Los Angeles from 2 bases: 7044 Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood and 1447 Ocean Ave in Santa Monica, which the site calls its "brand-new Santa Monica Visitor Center & Cafe, located steps from the Santa Monica Pier." Its tours cover Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Malibu. It also sells hop-on hop-off tickets for Big Bus Los Angeles, a separate brand, alongside its own tours; the site does not say it operates those buses. Prices are in US dollars.

The about page says the company "wasn't started by investors or a big corporate tour brand. It was built by someone who started in the driver's seat," and that the founder began as a Driver Tour Guide in San Francisco on land and water sightseeing tours. Its heading is "From One Van to Hollywood's #1 Experience." The stated mission is to "Build a sightseeing company run by people who genuinely love sightseeing," and the homepage describes the team as "lifelong sightseeing nerds who built this company from the driver's seat up." It says its "driver-guides are trained to be entertainers, storytellers, and local experts," and that it runs "a variety of vehicles," from sightseeing coaches to open-air buses and smaller VIP vehicles. The footer dates the business as Hollywood Bus Tours, LLC from 2020.

The tours and what they cost

Prices are set by age, with separate rates for ages 0-2, 3-11 and 12+:

• Hollywood, Beverly Hills, & Celebrity Homes Open Air Tour: 2 hours from Hollywood, $5 / $34 / $44. The page calls it "LA's most popular sightseeing tour," passes Mulholland Drive, Rodeo Drive and the Sunset Strip, and stops at the Beverly Hills Sign for a 10-15 minute photo and bathroom break. It lists celebrity homes "we may see," from Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift to Bruno Mars. A Santa Monica departure of this tour runs 3.5 hours at $5 / $49 / $59, from the Ocean View Hotel, passing Pico Boulevard, Century City, the Beverly Hills Hotel and Runyon Canyon, with 30-minute stops at the Beverly Hills Sign & Rodeo Drive and at the Hollywood Visitor Center & Walk of Fame.
• Half Day Sightseeing Tour of The Best of Los Angeles: 5.5 hours from Hollywood, $69 for ages 3-11 and $79 for 12+, with stops at Beverly Hills & Rodeo Drive (30 minutes), Santa Monica Pier (45 minutes), The Grove & Farmer's Market (60 minutes, "guest pays for desired lunch") and the Griffith Observatory (30 minutes). A Santa Monica version stops at the Walk of Fame instead of the pier.
• The Perfect Day in L.A. Combo: 7.5 hours, $10 / $94 / $118, which the site says saves $10 by combining its most popular tours.
• Malibu Beaches, PCH & Celebrity Homes Open Air Tour: 2 hours from Santa Monica, $29 for ages 3-11 and $39 for 12+.
• Self-Guided Hollywood Walk of Fame Walking Tour: 1 to 2 hours, "$9 or free with the purchase of any of our bus tours," covering the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Dolby Theatre.

The resold Big Bus tickets are a 24-hour pass ($0 / $49 / $59) on 2 routes, the Hollywood Loop and a Beach Shuttle, and a 48-hour pass ($0 / $65 / $75) that adds a 30-minute TCL Chinese Theatre Walking Tour, a bike rental offer and an Unlimited Biking free one-hour rental.

Private tours and groups

For private groups, the site lists a 13 Seat Open Air Van at "$499 for the first 2 hours and $199 per additional hour" and a 22 Seat Bus with windows and air conditioning at "$790 for the first 2 hours and $290 per additional hour." The LA VIP Private SUV Experience costs $599 for 5.5 hours or $799 for 7.5 hours, with a custom itinerary, snacks and a local guide, and the page notes "No audio guide available for this tour."

On the day

Every shared tour has "an English Live Guide + Audio Guide," and the app-based audio guide runs in 10 languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Russian, Italian, Catalan, Chinese and Korean. The site says staff help guests download the app before the tour. Tours meet at the Hollywood and Santa Monica addresses above, and the site lists public parking in Hollywood at 1670 N Sycamore Ave. The about page says guides tailor their storytelling to what each group is interested in, and adds "We invest heavily in guide development because the person on the microphone can make or break a tour." It explains the tour lengths too: "Travelers didn't want to spend an entire day on a bus, so Hollywood Bus Tours condensed the best of LA into half-day and full-day experiences." On timing, it says years on LA's roads have helped it design routes that keep the day moving despite the traffic. The site also runs a Celebrity Sightings page and claims "Over 10 years experience of celebrity sightings!" A homepage notice, posted after the Los Angeles wildfires, says "We're Open For Business" and that much of the city is untouched.

Booking and contact

Tours are booked online with "Real-Time Availability," and after booking the Combo you get an email to choose dates and times. A banner offers 10% off online with the code SUMMER2026. Contact is by phone on (213) 986-7688 or at reservations@hollywoodbustoursla.com. The site links to Tour Policies & Guidelines, an FAQ and Terms & Conditions, and to a menu of discounted tickets for other Southern California attractions.

What the site does not settle

The tour pages do not state the cancellation window or refund terms, which sit on the separate Tour Policies page, and they do not give departure times or a maximum group size for the shared tours. The site also does not explain how the resold Big Bus tickets are redeemed or whose terms apply to them.

Hollywood Bus Tours suits first-time visitors who want a guided, open-air look at the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills in a couple of hours, or a half day that strings together the Griffith Observatory, the Grove and the beach. Families get lower prices for ages 3-11 and a $5 infant fare on the company's own tours, and small groups can hire an open-air van of their own.