"It's hard to do so much in 1 day but stop off locations felt rushed. We were unaware we had to tip minimum of $20 per person of our family to the driver, I didn't read this anywhere so it cost considerably more than I thought I was paying when booking. We didn't actually have the extra. It felt awkward as the driver kept mentioning it and also telling us that if you want an ATM you need it at this 2nd from last stop as the last stop at the observatory doesn't have an ATM. He also said to a party are you going without tipping when they already had earlier in the day. The tour was good though, we got around key areas and the driver was knowledgeable."
Compared October 2026 · from US$21
Hollywood Tour Bus Guide: Which Open-Air Bus to Book
Open-air bus tours of Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica from six operators, compared by length, bus and price: two-hour loops from US$21, half days with stops, hop-on hop-off tickets and our pick, the seven-hour LA Grand Tour (prices checked October 2026).
From
US$76
per person
Free cancellation
- 4.5 / 5 1062+ Reviews
- 7 h Open-Air Day
- Live Driver-Guide
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the LA Grand Tour by Open-Air Bus Covers
Hollywood City Tours' full day: the Sunset Strip, the beach, the Farmers Market, Rodeo Drive and the Hollywood Sign from Griffith Observatory.
Highlights
- Enjoy the best of Los Angeles Highlights, on a 7 Hour Guided Open-Air Bus Tour.
- Explore historic Hollywood, Sunset Strip, and 1 Hour Stop at Santa Monica Beach.
- Offers a chance to shop on Rodeo Drive and dine at the vibrant Farmers Market.
- Scenic stop at Griffith Observatory with a photo op near the Hollywood Sign.
- Finish at the meeting location located near the Walk of Fame.
What's Included
- Driver/guide
- Admission tickets
- Live commentary
Good to know: Infant seats are available on request if advised at time of booking · Not Included: Hotel pickup and drop-off, Tips (optional)
How a Hollywood Bus Tour Works
Pick the length, pick open-air or a closed coach, get to the curb on Hollywood or Sunset Boulevard early, and dress for the sun.
Pick the Length
Two hours is the classic open-air loop through the Hollywood Hills, Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip. A half day adds stops with free time; a full day, like the LA Grand Tour, adds Santa Monica and lunch at the Farmers Market.
Pick Open-Air or a Closed Coach
Open-air buses give the views and the photos but no shade and no air conditioning. Closed coaches and minibuses are cooler and quieter, with smaller groups. A hop-on hop-off ticket trades a live guide for the freedom to get off where you like.
Get to the Curb Early
Most tours leave from Hollywood Boulevard or Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, a few from Santa Monica. Operators ask you to check in 15 to 20 minutes before departure and do not wait, and LA traffic makes that harder than it sounds. The departure guide lists the meeting points.
Dress for the Sun
There is no roof on an open-air bus: bring sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses, and a layer for the wind on Mulholland Drive and at the beach. Celebrity homes are seen from the street, behind gates and hedges, and celebrity sightings are never promised.
Photo Gallery
On the Open-Air Bus
Photos from the LA Grand Tour listing: the open-top bus, the beach stop and the Hollywood Sign view.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. Instant confirmation — free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
Full Day, Two Hours, Half Day or Small Group?
Four Hollywood bus tours compared on price, length, bus, stops and departure point. Prices as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026.
| Feature | FULL DAY, OPEN-AIR LA Grand Tour by Open-Air Bus | Two-Hour Celebrity Homes Loop | Best of LA City Tour | Small Group City Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From (October 2026) | US$76 per person | US$32 per person | US$59 per person | US$89 per person |
| Length | 7 hours | 2 hours from Hollywood, 3.5 from Santa Monica | 5.5 hours | 5 hours |
| Bus | Open-air bus | Open-air bus | Closed, climate-controlled coach | Climate-controlled minibus, about 10 guests |
| Stops with free time | Santa Monica Pier 1 h, Farmers Market 1 h, Rodeo Drive, Griffith Observatory | Beverly Hills Sign, 10 to 15 minutes | Walk of Fame 45 min, Beverly Hills 30 min, Santa Monica Pier 45 min, The Grove | Downtown, Griffith Observatory, Walk of Fame, The Grove, Rodeo Drive |
| Hollywood Sign | Photo stop at Griffith Observatory | View from Mulholland Drive, no stop | Viewpoint stop at Griffith Observatory | Stops at Griffith Observatory and a Hollywood Sign viewpoint |
| Celebrity homes | Not the focus | Drive past homes in the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills | Not the focus | Not the focus |
| Leaves from | 6609 W Sunset Blvd, Hollywood | Walk of Fame, or Santa Monica | Walk of Fame, or Santa Monica | Hotel pickup in Hollywood or Downtown LA |
| Tips | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Free cancellation | Up to 24 hours before | Up to 24 hours before | Up to 24 hours before | Up to 24 hours before |
| Check Availability | See Dates | See Dates | See Dates |
Other Hollywood Bus Tours
More Ways to Tour Hollywood by Bus
The most booked two-hour open-air loop, a half day with stops, a small-group minibus, the cheapest seat, a hop-on hop-off ticket and a Santa Monica start.
MOST BOOKEDHollywood, Beverly Hills & Celebrity Homes Open-Air Bus Tour
Your Ticket to The Hollywood Hills!
HALF DAY, 4 STOPSLos Angeles: Best of LA City Tour with Stops & Free Time
Discover the BEST of Los Angeles on this half-day interactive sightseeing experience aboard our NEW luxury coaches.
SMALL GROUP, 4.9LA: Small Group City Tour: Hollywood Sign & Beverly Hills
This is Los Angeles seen with context, comfort, and a local point of view—not simply a list of famous names or a quick landmark loop.
LOWEST PRICEHollywood, Beverly Hills & Celebrity Homes by Open-Air Bus l Small Group
Experience the best of Los Angeles on one of the most popular Hollywood sightseeing tours, covering Beverly Hills, celebrity homes, Sunset Strip, and Hollywood Hills.
HOP-ON HOP-OFFLos Angeles: Hop-on Hop-off Sightseeing Tour by Open-top Bus
There’s no better way to experience the magic of Los Angeles than from the top deck of a Big Bus.
FROM SANTA MONICASanta Monica: Hollywood, Beverly Hills & Celebrity Home Tour
Embark on a 3.5-hour interactive sightseeing adventure through Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the Sunset Strip.
The Guide
Choosing a Hollywood Bus Tour: Length, Bus and Stops
Every Hollywood bus tour drives the same few miles of Hollywood Boulevard, Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip. What differs is how long you are on board, whether the bus has a roof, and whether you ever get off.
A Hollywood tour bus is an open-air or closed sightseeing bus that leaves from Hollywood Boulevard or Sunset Boulevard and loops through the Hollywood Hills, Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip with a live driver-guide. The classic version takes two hours and stays on board; longer ones add stops with free time, Santa Monica and lunch. The one this page puts first is Hollywood City Tours’ LA Grand Tour by Open-Air Bus, a seven-hour day from Sunset Boulevard with an hour at Santa Monica Pier, an hour at the Original Farmers Market, Rodeo Drive and a stop at Griffith Observatory for the Hollywood Sign. It is from US$76 a person (checked October 2026) and rated 4.5 from 1,062 reviews.
Check dates for the LA Grand Tour
It is the tour for a first visit to Los Angeles without a car: one day covers Hollywood, the beach and Beverly Hills, and the bus does the driving and the parking. If you only have a morning, the two-hour loops further down see the Hollywood half of it for less than half the price.
Which Hollywood bus tour to book
The tours split by how much of your day they take. The two-hour open-air loops cost about US$21 to US$40 a person; half and full days with stops cost US$59 to US$93; a hop-on hop-off ticket sits around US$57 to US$59 for 24 hours.
Pick the one that fits your day:
The whole city in a day
LA Grand Tour by Open-Air Bus
Seven hours on an open-air bus: the Sunset Strip, an hour at Santa Monica Pier, lunch at the Farmers Market, Rodeo Drive and the Hollywood Sign from Griffith Observatory.
See dates →Two hours, the classic loop
Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Celebrity Homes Open-Air Bus Tour
The most booked Hollywood bus tour: from the Walk of Fame up to Mulholland Drive, past celebrity homes to a stop at the Beverly Hills Sign and back along the Sunset Strip.
See the two-hour loop →Small group, with a roof
Small Group City Tour: Hollywood Sign and Beverly Hills
Five hours in a climate-controlled minibus with about ten guests and hotel pickup in Hollywood or Downtown, with Griffith Observatory, the Walk of Fame and lunch at The Grove.
See the small-group day →Prices, ratings and review counts from GetYourGuide, checked October 2026; operators price by date and departure point, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Between those sits the half day. Hollywood Bus Tours’ Best of LA City Tour with Stops and Free Time runs five and a half hours on a closed, air-conditioned coach, with 45 minutes on the Walk of Fame, half an hour in Beverly Hills, 45 minutes at Santa Monica Pier and lunch at The Grove, from US$59. The best tour guide sorts them by who they suit.
Open-air or closed
Open-air buses are the point for most people: nothing between you and the palm trees, the hills and the Hollywood Sign. They also have no shade and no air conditioning, and the wind on Mulholland Drive is cooler than the curb on Hollywood Boulevard. The listings say to dress for the weather, and several run rain or shine.
Closed coaches and minibuses trade the open top for comfort. Guideline Tours’ small-group minibus has large windows and about ten seats, and its guide talks without competing with the wind; the half-day coach has climate control and an audio guide in eleven languages. If you are touring in July or August, or with older relatives, that matters more than the photos.
What you actually see
The route barely changes between operators. The Walk of Fame and the TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, the Hollywood Hills and Mulholland Drive for the view of the Hollywood Sign and the city, a drive past celebrity homes, a photo stop at the Beverly Hills Sign, then Rodeo Drive, West Hollywood and the Sunset Strip on the way back.
Two things surprise people. The celebrity homes are seen from the street, mostly as gates, hedges and long driveways, and no operator promises a sighting. And most two-hour loops stay on board except for the Beverly Hills Sign; if you want to walk the Walk of Fame or stand at a Hollywood Sign viewpoint, pick a tour with stops. The route guide goes through it stop by stop.
Where the buses leave from
Nearly every tour leaves from within a few blocks of the Walk of Fame. Hollywood City Tours’ buses, including the LA Grand Tour, leave from 6609 West Sunset Boulevard, Golden Ticket LA’s small-group open-air bus from 6808 Hollywood Boulevard and Star Track Tours’ Hollywood and Beverly Hills bus tour from 6735 Hollywood Boulevard, and Hollywood Bus Tours’ two-hour loop boards at the Hollywood Visitor Center on the Walk of Fame. Several operators also run from Santa Monica, which turns the two-hour loop into three and a half hours because of the drive in.
Check-in is 15 to 20 minutes before departure, and Golden Ticket LA’s listing says a no-show is not refunded. LA traffic is the usual reason people miss the bus. The departure guide lists each meeting point and what to do about parking.
Hop-on hop-off instead
Big Bus and Starline both run open-top double-decker hop-on hop-off buses with a Hollywood route and a beach route to Santa Monica. Big Bus’s hop-on hop-off ticket starts at US$59 for 24 hours, and Starline’s hop-on hop-off tour at US$57, with a direct shuttle to Griffith Observatory. Commentary is recorded rather than live, and both carry lower ratings than the guided loops: 3.8 from 1,357 reviews for Big Bus and 3.4 from 2,348 for Starline. The hop-on hop-off guide compares them.
What a Hollywood bus tour costs
Two-hour open-air loops cost about US$21 to US$40 a person on GetYourGuide in October 2026, half and full days with stops US$59 to US$93, and a private open-air bus for up to 14 people about US$359. Tips are not included on any of them, and lunch is extra on the tours that stop for it. The price guide sets out what each price buys, and the worth-it guide says when the tour disappoints.
For the celebrity homes themselves, including whether the star maps sold on the street are real, losangelescelebrityhomestour.com covers that side in depth.
Guest Reviews
What Guests Say About the LA Grand Tour
4.5/5
from 1062 verified guests
"Was my second time with them and was perfect as usual I do recommend them"
"Sammy was hilarious from start to finish, didn’t need to ask questions as he covered everything, tour was fantastic seen all the sights we wanted to. A must do to fit in locations when on a short trip."
"Sammy our driver was amazing.......made the day enjoyable"
"guter Überblick von LA (Sunset Blvd., Santa Monica Pier, Fstmers Market, Griffith Observatory)"
"Fantastic 6 hours with Bryan! It was great to meet a fellow Brit who has lived in LA for so long that you could write everything he doesn't know about the city on a postage stamp! As always, it's the tour guide who makes a tour memorable, and Bryan certainly did that. I loved the way he referred to people by where they were from – I was "Mr Leeds" and my friend was "Mr Sydney." It added a really personal and fun touch to the day. Maybe Bryan should be driving a big red London bus and call it "Bobby"! A fantastic day out, packed with interesting sights, stories and local knowledge. Highly recommended."
"I liked everything the places we visited, I suggest to stop more than 40 minutes in Griffith Observatory, it takes a bit longer. The driver has to drive slower to give the chance to see properly and take pictures /videos specially for places where we didn't stop. The driver Mr Hollywood was very funny and knowledgeable, explained everything. He took good care of us with sweets, snacks and water. Also he was very flexible about the time, we finished a bit later, good for us. Very nice tour but it's good with GYG because I use the app a lot for holidays."
"this trip was amazing, we had plenty of time at each site, our tour guide Alana was fantasting was showed us sites and told us facts about the area, highly recommend!"
Read all 1,062 verified reviews
See All ReviewsHollywood, the Beach and the Sign in One Day
Hollywood City Tours' LA Grand Tour leaves from Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood on an open-air bus, stops for an hour at Santa Monica Pier and an hour at the Original Farmers Market, passes Rodeo Drive and stops at Griffith Observatory for the Hollywood Sign, then drops you near the Walk of Fame. Rated 4.5 from more than 1,000 reviews, from US$76 a person as of October 2026, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Starting from US$76 per person.
Check Availability & BookCan't Make These Dates?
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Find a tour that fits your schedule. Check each listing's cancellation terms: some dates are non-refundable.
Hollywood Bus Tour FAQ
The questions people ask before booking a Hollywood bus tour, answered in the first sentence.
For a full day that covers Hollywood, the beach and Beverly Hills, Hollywood City Tours' LA Grand Tour by Open-Air Bus; for two hours in the Hollywood Hills, Hollywood Bus Tours' open-air celebrity homes loop. The LA Grand Tour is seven hours with an hour at Santa Monica Pier and an hour at the Farmers Market (US$76, 4.5 from 1,062 reviews, October 2026). The two-hour loop is the most booked Hollywood bus tour on GetYourGuide (US$32, 4.5 from 2,905 reviews). For a smaller group with a roof, Guideline Tours' small-group city tour is rated 4.9. The best tour guide sorts them by who they suit.
About US$21 to US$40 a person for a two-hour open-air loop, and US$59 to US$93 for a half or full day with stops (GetYourGuide, October 2026). The cheapest is Golden Ticket LA's small-group open-air tour at US$21; the five-and-a-half-hour Best of LA City Tour is US$59 and the seven-hour LA Grand Tour US$76. Tips are not included on any of them. The price guide lists what each one buys.
Yes for a first visit without a car, if you know you will see celebrity homes from the street and are unlikely to see a celebrity. In two hours the bus covers the Hollywood Hills, Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip, which would take a visitor much longer to drive and park. It disappoints people who expected to stop at the Hollywood Sign or walk the Walk of Fame on a two-hour loop that stays on board. A tour with stops, like the Best of LA City Tour, fixes that. The worth-it guide goes further.
Two hours for the classic open-air loop from Hollywood, three and a half from Santa Monica, and five to seven hours for the tours with stops. Hollywood City Tours' open-air tour and Golden Ticket LA's small-group bus take two hours, Guideline Tours' small-group day five, the Best of LA City Tour five and a half and the LA Grand Tour seven. Allow extra time: LA traffic stretches the longer days.
You see where they live, mostly as gates, hedges and long driveways from the street; you do not go in, and no operator promises a celebrity sighting. The buses drive public roads in the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills while the guide points out whose house is behind the wall. Some buses add screens: Star Track Tours shows the insides of homes on a 32-inch television on board. The route guide has the stop-by-stop detail.
Some do, for a photo from a viewpoint; none takes you to the sign itself, which is in a restricted area. The two-hour loops show it from Mulholland Drive, and Golden Ticket LA's small-group bus lists a ten-minute photo stop. The LA Grand Tour, the Best of LA City Tour and the small-group day stop at Griffith Observatory, one of the official viewing points. To get closer on foot, Hollywood Hikes' guided hike goes up behind it (US$22, 4.9 from 1,294 reviews).
Big Bus and Starline run the two main ones, with similar routes and lower ratings than the guided loops. Big Bus has a Hollywood route and a beach route to Santa Monica, from US$59 for 24 hours (3.8 from 1,357 reviews). Starline's adds express shuttles and a direct shuttle to Griffith Observatory, from US$57 (3.4 from 2,348 reviews). The hop-on hop-off guide compares them.
Yes: Big Bus runs open-top double-decker hop-on hop-off buses in LA, with a Red Route through Hollywood and a Blue Route to Santa Monica. Tickets are valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours, with recorded commentary through an app and souvenir earbuds; the 24-hour ticket starts at US$59 in October 2026. A package with the two-hour TMZ Celebrity Tour costs US$99, though it has only a handful of reviews.
From a few blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, with some departures from Santa Monica. Hollywood City Tours leaves from 6609 West Sunset Boulevard, Golden Ticket LA from 6808 Hollywood Boulevard, Star Track Tours from 6735 Hollywood Boulevard, and Hollywood Bus Tours from its visitor centre on the Walk of Fame or the Santa Monica Visitor Center. The departure guide lists them all.
Several bus tours stop there for the view and the Hollywood Sign photo; none includes a tour inside. The LA Grand Tour, the Best of LA City Tour and the small-group city tour stop at the observatory, and Starline's hop-on hop-off ticket includes a direct shuttle up. The observatory grounds are free; the Hollywood Sign Trust lists it as one of the two official viewing areas.
The Walk of Fame and the TCL Chinese Theatre, a Hollywood Sign viewpoint at Griffith Observatory, Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip, which is the route of most bus tours. A two-hour loop covers the drive; a day with stops, like the LA Grand Tour, adds time on foot and Santa Monica. The Walk of Fame had more than 2,800 stars in October 2026, so pick the names you want before you go.
Every tour on this page has free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts. After that, or if you miss the check-in, the money is gone: Golden Ticket LA's listing records a no-show 15 minutes before departure and charges to reschedule. Most also offer reserve now, pay later. Open-air tours run in light rain, and some reschedule or cancel in bad weather.
Still have questions? Email us at info@hollywood-tour-bus.com