Private Tours from Santa Monica Hotels: Coast First, City Second

From a Santa Monica hotel the ocean side of Los Angeles is easy and the city side is slower than the map suggests. Plan the day around that and it works well.

What is close

• Venice boardwalk and canals: about 2 miles south.
• Malibu Pier: about 12 miles up Pacific Coast Highway, usually 25 to 35 minutes outside rush hour.
• Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive: about 8 miles, 25 to 45 minutes.
• Hollywood Walk of Fame: about 13 miles, 35 minutes in the morning and up to an hour in the late afternoon.
• Downtown Los Angeles: about 16 miles on the 10 freeway, which is the slowest road in the city at rush hour.

How pickup works

Hotels along Ocean Avenue and near the pier have short driveways or curb zones. Your chauffeur meets you at the entrance and texts on arrival. Santa Monica is inside our complimentary pickup area for SUV tours.

Which tour fits

The natural choice is the Malibu half-day tour: El Matador Beach, Malibu Pier and a sunset viewpoint, starting in the afternoon so the light is right. For a whole day on the coast, the Malibu and Ventura day trip keeps going north past Malibu. If the city is the goal, go in the morning with the Hollywood half-day tour, or build your own route with the custom private SUV tour and put Hollywood first and Beverly Hills on the way back.

One tip: do the inland sights before lunch. Coming back west to Santa Monica after 3:00 PM is the slow direction.

KiteTours is Kite Tours and Travel Inc., a Beverly Hills company and a registered California Seller of Travel, CST 2163900-70. Prices are on each tour page rather than here, so they are never out of date.