Translation services offered in most languages. Yes, we give private solo and group tours.
KCRW members take 15% off regular bus tour tickets (limit 4 per member)
Noir November Tour Series
Ride any three of the five Noir November bus adventures when you purchase the sampler package. Just buy your ticket by clicking here and then email to reserve your spots of the three tours you want to ride. You'll save between $39 and $44 when you do.
Your ticket can be refunded up to 72 hours prior to departure if you contact Esotouric by phone or email. We regret that there are no refunds for people who miss the bus.
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 11:30am for a 12pm sharp departure from the Alexandria Hotel at the corner of 5th & Spring downtown.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
Ride any three of the five Noir November bus adventures when you purchase the sampler package. Just buy your ticket by clicking below and then email to reserve your spots of the three tours you want to ride. You'll save between $39 and $44 when you do.
We are now accepting online ticket sales for this tour, departing the King Edward Saloon at 5th & Los Angeles Streets in downtown Los Angeles. Tickets are $62, and we regret that we can accept no discounts, coupons or season pass tickets on this special event. See the "add to cart" link at the bottom of this description to purchase tickets.
Note that there are no paper tickets; your name will be on a list at the bus door. You'll get an email reminder a couple of days before the tour rolls. Note that check in is at 11:30am for a noon sharp departure. There are no refunds if you miss the bus.
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 10:30am for a 11am sharp departure from Philippe The Original in downtown Los Angeles, just across from Union Station.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
PARKING: There are a couple of pay lots in the immediate vicinity of Philippe’s, along New High Street one block north and parallel to Alameda. Please do not park in the restaurant lot. You may also choose to arrive by train at Union Station, which is a block from the restaurant.
Vegetarian passengers, please contact us several days before departure to ensure we order dumplings you can enjoy. If using a gift certificate, please note that this tour has an additional $5 dumpling fee, payable in cash or check at the bus door.
Want to join us on the tour day, but haven't purchased tickets? We may have room for you. Please phone Richard at 310-995-4591 to reserve, and be prepared to bring cash to the Lincoln Heights departure location by 11:30am.
Instructions for passengers:
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 11:30am for a 12pm sharp departure from the Lincoln Heights/Cypress Gold Line Metro station.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 10:30am for a 11am sharp departure from Philippe The Original in downtown Los Angeles, just across from Union Station.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
PARKING: There are a couple of pay lots in the immediate vicinity of Philippe’s, along New High Street one block north and parallel to Alameda. Please do not park in the restaurant lot. You may also choose to arrive by train at Union Station, which is a block from the restaurant.
The tour is approximately 4 hours, and will we return in time for riders to take high tea in the Rendezvous Court (the Olive Street Lobby where Beth Short spent some the last known hours of her life).
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list. Check in is at 11:30am for a 12pm sharp departure from the Olive Street entrance to the Millenium Biltmore Hotel on Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 10:30am for a 11am sharp departure from Philippe The Original in downtown Los Angeles, just across from Union Station.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
PARKING: There are a couple of pay lots in the immediate vicinity of Philippe’s, along New High Street one block north and parallel to Alameda. Please do not park in the restaurant lot. You may also choose to arrive by train at Union Station, which is a block from the restaurant.
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 11:30am for a 12pm sharp departure from the intersection of Fair Oaks and Arlington Street, in South Pasadena. Parking can be found along Arlington Street, on the north side of Hurlbut, along the Jane Place spur off Hurlbut, or if you are lucky on Fair Oaks. Please meet the bus on Arlington, just west of Fair Oaks. Watch for red zones and park legally.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
Saturday 8/23 9:30am, we currently have one seat left, and others may open up if passengers don't show up on time. If you want to join us, call 310-995-4591 to reserve. Standing room only passengers may follow the meeting instructions below and wait to see if a spot opens up. If not, please join us at Skylight for the reception after the tour, starting at 2:30pm.
Instructions for passengers:
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 10.30am for a 11am sharp departure from Skylight Books.
There is a Public Parking Lot with meters (10 hour limit) just behind the bookstore. Please bring quarters!
In cooperation with UCLA Film Archives, the tour will end at 2.30pm so riders will have a chance to get across town to the 4pm screening of the newly restored print of the film, The Exiles (1961) by Kent Mackenzie.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested (note that there will be complementary coffee and cookies late in the tour); no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 10:30am for a 11am sharp departure from Philippe The Original in downtown Los Angeles, just across from Union Station.
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
PARKING: There are a couple of pay lots in the immediate vicinity of Philippe’s, along New High Street one block north and parallel to Alameda. Please do not park in the restaurant lot. You may also choose to arrive by train at Union Station.
Welcome, American Library Association members. We regret to inform you that the Raymond Chandler bus tour has been cancelled. Sorry for the inconvenience. We hope you'll join us on a future Esotouric bus adventure next time you are in the Southland. If you are looking for something to do on Saturday, June 28, we recommend the Where the Action Was rock history tour, with special guest Ruthann Friedman, composer of "Windy." The tour departs from Amoeba Music in Hollywood, very close to public transportation. Kindly email to reserve and get payment instructions.
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list. Check in is at 11:30am for a 12pm sharp departure from the Olive Street entrance to the Millenium Biltmore Hotel on Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles.
The tour is approximately 4 hours, and will we return in time for riders to take high tea in the Rendezvous Court (the Olive Street Lobby where Beth Short spent some the last known hours of her life).
Tickets can be ordered online until the morning of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
Want to ride both April 26 tours? Take them both for $70, a savings of $15 on the regular ticket price. You may buy online, or contact us to reserve and pay by cash or check.
BookExpo attendees, show your badge when boarding to receive a free Bukbird beer coaster featuring Tony Millionaire's cartoon bluebird character, and a very special gift from City Lights Books, a pre-release copy of their Charles Bukowski anthology "Portions from a Wine-Stained Notebook: Uncollected Stories and Essays, 1944 - 1990." "Portions," to be published in September 2008, gathers many essential, uncollected pieces including his first and last short stories, and his first "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" column. Many of the writings have only appeared in 'zines, newspapers, chapbooks, and magazines. Never before has this material been collected and made so accessible. And Esotouric's BEA riders will see it first.
Also, BEA-attending passengers who buy their tickets by midnight on Wednesday May 28 will be invited to City Lights' Los Angeles Book Expo party on Thursday May 29, featuring City Lights authors David Ulin, Kamau Daáood, Sesshu Foster, Alan Rifkin, Terry Wolverton and many others, plus live music, drinks, food and no readings!
Instructions for passengers:
There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list at the bus door. Check in is at 4.30pm for a 5.00pm sharp departure from Arnie Morton’s Steakhouse in downtown Los Angeles.
Please note that we are checking riders in at the bar, which will be opening early for this event, so please do not be concerned that the restaurant’s official hours do not match up with our rendezvous time.
Arnie Morton’s is across the street from the Metro Red Line’s 7th Street Station. For BookExpo attendees, note that this is an easy subway or bus trip up Figueroa from the Convention Center.
Parking is in the 7+Fig structure, which is contiguous to Arnie Morton’s. Validations for parking will be handled at check-in and at the end of the tour. Cost for parking after validation is $8. This really is the best place to park if you are driving into downtown.
Tickets can be ordered online until 3pm on the afternoon of the tour. For last minute bookings, please feel free to call 310-995-4591 after 8am on tour day, and if there are seats available, you can reserve a spot and pay with cash at the bus.
Food and drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.
Back from the out-of-print grave and ready to be used, it's the classic Chandler crime scene map of Los Angeles. Why pay $100+ for a dog eared copy when a crisp new one can be yours for $15?
recommended viewing
now you can purchase the the film the L.A. Times called "irreverent, insightful, surely one of the most ambitious documentaries on Los Angeles ever."
