Surf City Tours — Attraction in Santa Monica

I would NOT recommend!! Arranged to be picked up at our Motel. Confirmation said we would be picked up at 9:40 for a 10:00 tour. When driver hadn’t arrived by 9:55, I called SCT. They told me there was a slight issue this morning and our driver was on the way. (In traffic, our Motel was 10 minutes away.) At 10:09, I received a call saying our driver would pick us up in 5-10 minutes. She arrived at 10:19.

The vehicle that picked us up looked much different than the one shown on their website. There was a huge dent in the side, the canopy was damaged (flapped the entire trip and later leaked during a rainstorm), the seatbelts were mismatched and did not work properly, the running board/step to get into the vehicle was damaged and difficult to navigate and the doors did not open or close correctly. In my opinion, this vehicle needs a complete overhaul or should be retired!! We did not feel safe at all. (See pictures.)

But the time we made it to their office, to pick up other passengers, we didn’t officially start the tour until 10:34. They offered free tshirts as compensation. Several they offered were filthy and or ripped. I asked to use their bathroom before the tour began and walked in on a young shirtless man brushing his teeth.

The tour guide/driver could not get her headset to work for a quarter of the 5.5 hour tour. Only the couple in the row immediately behind the driver could hear her.

There were several items of interest along the route that she did not point out, but shared commentary about meaningless things that seemed to surprise her while doing the tour - as if she hadn’t driven the route in awhile (new swing sets … a high rise that had taken a long time to complete … etc.) She also made a couple comments that were inappropriate. IMO, she was not a good ambassador for the city of Los Angeles or this country. (Six people in our group were not Americans, as an American, I was embarrassed.)

The tour was originally scheduled to run from 10-3:30. Because it started late, she extended it by 30 minutes (after confirming that the time worked for everyone). At approximately 3:30 it started to rain & hail. As previously mentioned, the canopy leaked. All passengers got wet, some of us soaked! She laughed it off and told us to use a hairdryer when we got back to our hotels. Ironically, had the tour started and ended on time, we would have been back before the rain started.

Surf City Tours needs to do better or get out of the...

Let me first start of by saying that David and Surf City Tours are a hidden gem and a no-brainer if you're looking for an exclusive tour of Malibu, California! It's only a matter of time before their tour blows up more than it already has and becomes a requirement by the tourism board if it's your first time visiting Malibu. You don't want to miss this experience. I had no idea of what to expect from this tour other than the amazing reviews and pretty much took a leap of faith when booking it since I figured it was just going to be sitting and looking at scenery in a vehicle for 4.5 hours or so. I can assure you that our group and I were blown away by the amazing views, history, and experiences of Malibu. I would add so many fantastic pictures from this tour but I feel that it would take away from the experience of seeing it in person and being surprised of the rich content that this tour delivers. You just have to experience it to understand exactly what I mean. The history and views are just something else... you have to see it to believe it that high quality tours like this do exist. David and Surf City Tours know their stuff and are extremely talented and professional in what they do. It's their knowledge that makes this tour so wonderful, which is why you would miss out if you just took a car and drove around by yourself. I recommend them 1000% and will be telling everyone that I know who is wanting to visit Malibu to make sure that they book this tour if they want to have a great visit! Just book this and you will be so happy. Thank you so much again David and Surf City Tours! I look forward to booking this tour again the next time I'm in the area to keep learning more and continue to be amazed on how much there is to learn and enjoy about Malibu,...

The tour guide was geared toward 65 and up. 85% of the passengers were under 50. The sights and points of interests were very outdated and the focus on celebrity culture was nauseating. We booked the tour to get away from the (house) tour spectacle but the guide didn’t get the vibe of the passengers. Notably the vehicle was not in the best shape and the sound system was jarring. His driving was horrible and scared us several times during the tour. The guide was yelling into the headset the entire 5 hours even after we said that we could all hear him clearly. As well other cars in traffic. Sound was not an issue. We attempted to get him to lower the volume several times but he insisted upon his “normal” volume and routine. As the evening became colder he did not hesitate to take his time to get us back to our hotels with long goodbyes to every passenger he let off prior to us. Upon our escape at the end of the tour … we were let out in the middle of ocean ave to cross traffic so it would be easier for him to drop off other guests at the surf shop. I enjoyed all the stops. The worst parts were his driving and his commentary. I would not recommend if you’re under 60 for this...