We took the 2-hour Original Hollywood Tour today and it was SO great! Our guide, Jason, knew all the good points of interest and had lots of extra facts and fun info along the way. He was really friendly and had a great sense of humor. This is a great tour to get an overview of Hollywood, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills. Now I have an idea of what places I want to explore more next time we’re in town. The open-air bus is small, but still comfortable. The weather today wasn’t ideal (probably in the low-60’s and cloudy/hazy), but the views from the Hollywood Hills were still beautiful. Jason gave us cozy blankets to put over our laps in case we got chilly. My 10-year-old enjoyed the tour, since she got to see celebrity homes and cruise down Rodeo Drive. My 2-year-old did well on the two-hour drive; he mostly enjoyed feeling the wind in his hair, and being able to scream “Hey” at all the people we passed on the street. The company did provide a car seat for us to use, though we could have brought our own. The quick ten-minute stop to walk up the steps at the overlook to see the Hollywood sign was just enough time to snap some great photos and stretch our legs. We paid $14 to park at the hotel directly across the street from the tour bus depot, but they do have cheaper parking (I believe it was $10) about a block or so east of the depot.
I definitely recommend this tour company to anyone visiting Hollywood, or even if you’re locals like us, who don’t get out much for fun touristy stuff. We were very pleasantly surprised.