Sightseeing Tours of LA from Anaheim
- Thread starter sunny45
- Start date
Sherry E
Currently tag-less...
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2008
sunny45 -
I moved this thread over to our Southern California sub-forum (in the California & the West section) and out of the main Disneyland trip planning forum, as it is not directly related to Disneyland planning. You've gotten a lot of replies and info at this point, so I think that people will follow the thread over to the SoCal section.
I don't know if I missed it somewhere, but did you ultimately decide against a day trip to Catalina Island? I know that at one point you were considering it (you posted in one of my threads about the Island). I'm going there again next month with the Free Birthday Boat Ride promo (3rd year in a row that this promo is being offered, which is incredible), which is what I did last year, and will post photos and a recap in my existing Catalina Trip Report thread (see the blue link in my signature below). So, if you're still interested in possibly visiting Catalina in the future, on another trip, be sure to follow along/check in with the TR if you have time!
I moved this thread over to our Southern California sub-forum (in the California & the West section) and out of the main Disneyland trip planning forum, as it is not directly related to Disneyland planning. You've gotten a lot of replies and info at this point, so I think that people will follow the thread over to the SoCal section.
I don't know if I missed it somewhere, but did you ultimately decide against a day trip to Catalina Island? I know that at one point you were considering it (you posted in one of my threads about the Island). I'm going there again next month with the Free Birthday Boat Ride promo (3rd year in a row that this promo is being offered, which is incredible), which is what I did last year, and will post photos and a recap in my existing Catalina Trip Report thread (see the blue link in my signature below). So, if you're still interested in possibly visiting Catalina in the future, on another trip, be sure to follow along/check in with the TR if you have time!
tksbaskets
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2002
sunny45
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2005
sunny45 -
I moved this thread over to our Southern California sub-forum (in the California & the West section) and out of the main Disneyland trip planning forum, as it is not directly related to Disneyland planning. You've gotten a lot of replies and info at this point, so I think that people will follow the thread over to the SoCal section.
I don't know if I missed it somewhere, but did you ultimately decide against a day trip to Catalina Island? I know that at one point you were considering it (you posted in one of my threads about the Island). I'm going there again next month with the Free Birthday Boat Ride promo (3rd year in a row that this promo is being offered, which is incredible), which is what I did last year, and will post photos and a recap in my existing Catalina Trip Report thread (see the blue link in my signature below). So, if you're still interested in possibly visiting Catalina in the future, on another trip, be sure to follow along/check in with the TR if you have time!
Hi Sherry
Yes we did decide not to go to Catalina Island and just do the LA
Tour and the OC Beach Bus Tour.
I will always follow these threads and hopefully come back to the area after this upcoming trip.
sunny45
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2005
We did the two tours I listed above the first week of September, both leaving out of Anaheim.
The 6 Hour LA Experience Tour w/ VIP Tours went very smoothly. The driver was really good, he knew a lot about the area, we stopped at 5 stops (Hollywood Blvd, Olvera St, Farmers Mkt, Marina Del Rey & Venice Beach) for 35 minutes to up to 2 hours depending on where it was and drove through the rest of the areas listed on the tour. He was very informative as we did this. The pick up was Anaheim, where we did have a separate driver that picked us up at our hotel to take us to their offices. Once we got our vouchers the driver who conducted the tour was also the same driver who took us back to our hotel at the end of the tour. He only mentioned the tip one time, in the beginning of the trip when he introduced himself. The bus was air conditioned. We stopped at Hollywood Blvd saw the Hollywood Sign, Walk of Fame, Graumann's Chinese Theater, then went to The Farmers Market/The Grove, Fisherman Village/Marina Del Rey and Venice Beach. Venice Beach wasn't that bad. It was very busy when we went and people were walking around, bicycling, skate boarding, sunbathing, flying kites, there was a muscle man competition going on. It was interesting. I would have liked to go to Santa Monica Pier but it is not part of their tour. We drove through Downtown LA-saw the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Staple Center, Civic Center, drove through Beverly Hills, down Rodeo Dr, Santa Monica Blvd, Sunset Strip. However, I still read Tripadvisor reviews about them and they still get bad reviews, they have more bad then good reviews. I feel fortunate that ours was a good tour. We got to see so many things we never would have on our own.
The OC Beach Bus Tour with Anaheim Tour Company (411 Anaeheim) was fabulous. Tom is a great tour guide. The stops were Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, & Laguna Beach. His tour is an off/on tour. He will circle around and pick you back up if you want to stay at a certain beach. Huntington is the first stop from Anaheim. Everyone stops at the pier there. He takes a picture of everyone there with their own cameras. If you want to stay you can. Then the next stop is Newport Beach where you have choices of a few boat rides, a whale watch or Harbor Cruise or you can take the ferry to Balboa Island. Last beach stop is Laguna Beach. The whole tour from Anaheim and back was 8 hours. All the beaches are beautiful. We did the Harbor Cruise in Newport which was a 45 minutes cruise past lots of $$$ homes and out to the ocean where you can see sea lions just hanging out. Laguna Beach was my favorite with it's beautiful steep cliffs right at the ocean floor. Breathtaking. Tom was very informative about all the beach areas and the general area getting there and back. I am sure any tour with him is a good idea to book. Tripadvisor seems to give Anaheim Tour Company (411 Anaheim) good reviews.
I would highly recommend both of these tours. I am still curious as to why VIP Tours get such bad reviews. I am just happy ours was fine.
The 6 Hour LA Experience Tour w/ VIP Tours went very smoothly. The driver was really good, he knew a lot about the area, we stopped at 5 stops (Hollywood Blvd, Olvera St, Farmers Mkt, Marina Del Rey & Venice Beach) for 35 minutes to up to 2 hours depending on where it was and drove through the rest of the areas listed on the tour. He was very informative as we did this. The pick up was Anaheim, where we did have a separate driver that picked us up at our hotel to take us to their offices. Once we got our vouchers the driver who conducted the tour was also the same driver who took us back to our hotel at the end of the tour. He only mentioned the tip one time, in the beginning of the trip when he introduced himself. The bus was air conditioned. We stopped at Hollywood Blvd saw the Hollywood Sign, Walk of Fame, Graumann's Chinese Theater, then went to The Farmers Market/The Grove, Fisherman Village/Marina Del Rey and Venice Beach. Venice Beach wasn't that bad. It was very busy when we went and people were walking around, bicycling, skate boarding, sunbathing, flying kites, there was a muscle man competition going on. It was interesting. I would have liked to go to Santa Monica Pier but it is not part of their tour. We drove through Downtown LA-saw the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Staple Center, Civic Center, drove through Beverly Hills, down Rodeo Dr, Santa Monica Blvd, Sunset Strip. However, I still read Tripadvisor reviews about them and they still get bad reviews, they have more bad then good reviews. I feel fortunate that ours was a good tour. We got to see so many things we never would have on our own.
The OC Beach Bus Tour with Anaheim Tour Company (411 Anaeheim) was fabulous. Tom is a great tour guide. The stops were Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, & Laguna Beach. His tour is an off/on tour. He will circle around and pick you back up if you want to stay at a certain beach. Huntington is the first stop from Anaheim. Everyone stops at the pier there. He takes a picture of everyone there with their own cameras. If you want to stay you can. Then the next stop is Newport Beach where you have choices of a few boat rides, a whale watch or Harbor Cruise or you can take the ferry to Balboa Island. Last beach stop is Laguna Beach. The whole tour from Anaheim and back was 8 hours. All the beaches are beautiful. We did the Harbor Cruise in Newport which was a 45 minutes cruise past lots of $$$ homes and out to the ocean where you can see sea lions just hanging out. Laguna Beach was my favorite with it's beautiful steep cliffs right at the ocean floor. Breathtaking. Tom was very informative about all the beach areas and the general area getting there and back. I am sure any tour with him is a good idea to book. Tripadvisor seems to give Anaheim Tour Company (411 Anaheim) good reviews.
I would highly recommend both of these tours. I am still curious as to why VIP Tours get such bad reviews. I am just happy ours was fine.
tom-from-anaheim
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2010
Thanks to all for the feedback. To the one person who said I hadn't gotten back, I certainly hope I did. Sometimes messages go to spam but I try to catch them all.
There are a lot.
Really nice to read peoples experience and I hope you all visit again, soon!
There are a lot.
Really nice to read peoples experience and I hope you all visit again, soon!
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