We had been traveling the California Coast and loved every moment of it....until we went on our Los Angeles tour with American Riviera Tours. Our guide, Vladimir, was a nice guy, but not a good tour guide. He not only made several wrong turns, but seemed lost at times. He did not even know the city very well. He had a few rehearsed stories to tell, but we have been on other tours and the guides knew the city. We had many awkward silent moments, where we were trying to start conversation. Not what I want in a tour. The icing on the cake is that he seemed to want to give us an out of the box tour with the predetermined stops that he was familiar with. Although, the reason we booked this tour is that it is advertised as personalized. With our initial e-mail to the company, I asked to see several things including the La Brea Tar Pits. (this was one of our must sees!) On our tour, Vladimir had no intention on taking us to the tar pits. When I asked him, he stated that it was very far away and he could not take us there. So, I googled it, and it was only 5 minutes away. I told him that and he said, ok I will take you, tell me how to get there. So, we had a guide that did not know the city, and only rehearsed talking points. I read all the other great reviews. I really wish I would have received a guide that would have given us one of the tours the reviews talked about! I may never be back to LA, and I am so sad that I may never have a good tour of the city!!

What tour company drives an hour outside of L.A. just to pick up a client? WOW, what service! Big Black SUV, private guide/chauffer, water bottles, personal conversation (as if we were family), videos of LA sites during slow traffic times, and more. Yuriy was a blast! He knew all the shortcuts to get around traffic, the best places to take pictures, GREAT lunch stop near the Chinese Theatre, and he was an encyclopedia of news, history, and LA culture. We weren't so interested in the usual Hollywood tourist stuff (looking for movie stars, handprints and homes), so Yuriy showed us other beautiful places...even a trip to the beach (Santa Monica--wow!) about 35 minutes North before returning us to our hotel in Anaheim. Who needs to look for celebrities when you can be treated like one with AR-LA Tours! Six hours of relaxed, pampered, enjoyment! Thanks Yuriy and Galina. The Roberts/Texas

Yuriy was beyond amazing -! He exceeded our expectations and we were so lucky to have booked him! He is a very knowledgeable, interesting individual. We felt safe and comfortable while in his care and he was very positive and personable. We will be keeping his info for future excursions!! Applauds to Yuriy!