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Frequently Asked Questions
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What do I need to bring on the Tour? A spirit of adventure, sunglasses and, in summer, perhaps a hat and sunscreen. During the cooler months, you may also want a sweater or jacket. We highly recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes, so you can travel the sidewalks and the beaches with equal comfort.
When does the tour leave? When does it return? Sunseeker’s Day Tour leaves Long Beach at 8:30 a.m. and returns about 4:30 p.m. The Half-day Tours are four hours long and leave Long Beach at 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Will we be stuck on a tour bus the whole time? Absolutely not! Sunseeker Tours are designed to give you plenty of free time to experience the sites we visit. Stops at The Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Strip and Venice Beach give you plenty of opportunity to visit the shops, take pictures, or simply relax and enjoy the wonderful sights you have come to see.
Is there a lot of walking on this Tour? That’s totally up to you – there’s time to explore if you wish. Or you may choose to sit and enjoy the wonderful views and passing parade – you’ve come to one of the best places in the world to people watch!
What about lunch? Where and when do we stop to eat? There are places to grab a snack along the way, but you’ll want to save your appetite for lunch! On the full day Sunseeker Tour, we stop at Sunset Plaza, right in the middle of the famous Sunset Strip. There are several choices here, but we recommend Mel’s Diner, a 1950s classic with working juke boxes, all those great diner favorites, low prices and pictures of the stars (many of them also are Mel’s regulars) on the walls. It seems stars are just like you and me – everybody loves a real milkshake, a great burger and a cool place to relax with friends!
No, because we have something much more comfortable to offer our Sunseeker Tour guests – the spacious, air conditioned Sprinter coach, perfect for small groups. A Sunseeker Tour is limited to no more than fourteen people because we believe that a tour group should be kept small, so that everyone has the opportunity to tour in comfort, enjoy the tour (without long waits and line-ups to board a bus) and, if they wish to, get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere.
Where will we be picked up for our Sunseeker Tour? We meet our guests at all of the major Long Beach Hotels. If you are staying elsewhere, please call us for specific information about Pickup from your hotel. The number is (562) 331-1230. If you are coming from a cruise, full details will be provided before you leave the ship.
Every day is beautiful in sunny Southern California! Summer temperatures during the day range from the mid-90s F. (about 35º C.) in Hollywood to the low 80s (about 27º C.) at Venice and Long Beach, though it can be a bit cooler in the evening, particularly near the ocean. In the cooler months, November to March, temperatures may not rise above the low 60s F. during the day (about 16º C.) and are cooler at night and near the ocean, so you will want a sweater or jacket.
What stars will we see during the Tour? Like you and me, the stars walk their dogs, go shopping and run errands like the daily school run. You never know who you will see on a Sunseeker Tour or what they will be doing – that’s just part of the fun!
Definitely! We are happy to stand in as your unofficial photographer so you can be in your pictures, rather than just taking them. We also offer for purchase a CD slide show of all the places included in a Sunseeker Tour. The CD will play on your computer or TV. It is also easy to print pictures of any of the attractions from this CD. |
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What Are The Answers to the Trivia Questions?
The Hollywood Sign How did Hollywood get its name? ANSWER: Land Developer H.H Wilcox established the community in the 1890s as a sunny escape for wealthy people from the Midwest – but it was his wife, Daeida Wilcox, who named it Hollywood. When was the sign erected – and why? ANSWER: The sign, which originally was four letters longer, reading “Hollywoodland,” was erected in 1923 as a billboard for a new housing development that was to be “a superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills.” Each letter was 50 feet (15 m.) high, 30 feet (9 m.) wide and the sign was studded with 4,000 light bulbs, lit daily at sundown.
Grauman's Chinese Theatre Who were the first stars to leave their footprints in the Forecourt of the Stars at Grauman’s Theatre? ANSWER: Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, who were owners along with Sid Grauman, left their footprints right in front of the theatre’s entrance in 1927. Who has left the smallest footprint? (Hint—there are two; one an adult, the other a child star). And who has left the largest? ANSWER: Smallest are Jeanette MacDonald and a barefoot Shirley Temple. Darth Vader’s is the largest. In a recent movie, a gorilla climbs up the side of Grauman’s Theatre. Name the movie. ANSWER: Mighty Joe Young, starring Charlize Theron and Bill Paxton. Someone who left the imprint of a fist, and another who left an impression of her famously beautiful legs? ANSWERS: John Wayne, Betty Grable Three horses, two cigars, and a current top star’s hair? ANSWER: Horses are those ridden in movies by Tom Mix, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Cigars were a signature accessory for Groucho Marx and George Burns, as is the hair braid of Whoopi Goldberg. Three barefoot stars? ANSWER: Harpo Marx, Sean Connery, Shirley Temple Bob Hope and Jimmy Durante both made plenty of jokes about this prominent bit of anatomy – and both left impressions of their own at Grauman’s Forecourt. It’s not a hand or a foot – what is it? ANSWER: Nose
Hollywood Boulevard You Are the Star is a wall mural where you are on stage – and Hollywood legends are in the audience. How many of them can you identify? ANSWER: Among them are: Sidney Poitier, Woody Allen, Bernadette Peters, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Shirley Temple, Lassie, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, W.C. Fields
Hollywood Boulevard is also home to one of the more unusual museums in the nation – here the object of interest is underwear. Can you guess the name of this museum, run by a famous American mail-order company? ANSWER: Fredericks of Hollywood Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame.
Hollywood Walk of Fame There is only one star who has FIVE stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – one for each of the five categories celebrities can be honored for here. Who is he? ANSWER: Gene Autry. The five categories celebrate contributions made in film, television, music and recordings, radio and live theatre. There are two stars honored on the Walk of Fame who are not human. Who are they? ANSWER: Lassie and Rin Tin Tin, both dogs.
Sunset Strip Viewers of 77 Sunset Strip were so smitten with Kookie, a wisecracking beatnik and car jockey who stopped by to help solve mysteries that a song was written about him. In it, the female singer begs sexy Kookie to lend her something. What is it? ANSWER: His comb. Kookie was portrayed by actor Edd Byrnes. Who was the infatuated female singer of this song? ANSWER: "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb" was a hit for Connie Stevens.
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Hollywood’s premier annual celebrity event actually got its start at the Roosevelt Hotel. What is it? ANSWER: The Roosevelt is the birthplace of the Academy Awards, at a banquet held May 16, 1929 in the Blossom Room. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Douglas Fairbanks was the host and sole presenter of the coveted statuettes.
Kodak Theatre Name the famous and star-studded event that happens before the Academy Awards presentation, just outside the Kodak Theatre? ANSWER: The Red Carpet (stars arriving, being interviewed while walking into the theatre.) What is it about this particular event that usually gets the most attention in the tabloids and the newspapers the day after? ANSWER: The gowns worn by female stars (and who the designers are).
Rodeo Drive What is the name of the world’s most expensive store, famously located on Rodeo Drive? ANSWER: Bijan
Scenic Ocean Drive, Santa Monica A famous (and funny) break-up scene was filmed here, at Santa Monica Pier. Name the movie, the actors and do you know the rest of the story? ANSWER: This is where Bette Midler shoved Danny DiVito off the pier, a dramatic ending to their marriage in Ruthless People. Please Note: if you have something similar in mind for your companion on this tour, please resist the urge – it is illegal to push someone off the Santa Monica pier. Southeast Santa Monica is not known for homes of the stars, but one, known for her beauty and political activism, did live here until recently. Who is it? ANSWER: Jane Fonda
Venice Beach Among the charming Art Deco storefronts of Venice are some unusual buildings. One of the strangest is shaped like an instrument used to aid vision. What is it? ANSWER: The meeting rooms for one company are housed in a building that looks like a giant pair of binoculars. Dozens of movie scenes and TV shows have been filmed in Venice. Can you name two? ANSWER: Any of these: MOVIES: 2004’s Million Dollar Baby, 2007 Because I Said So. TV: Starsky and Hutch, Baywatch, 24, X-Files, South Park.
Muscle Beach Name the famous bodybuilder, actor and politician who trained at Muscle Beach? ANSWER: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Santa Monica Pier There is a pop song about the famous highway, a symbol for youth and freedom since the 1950s, that starts in Chicago and ends at Santa Monica Pier. What is the song, and who sang it? ANSWER: (Get your kicks on) Route 66, Nat King Cole
Ports of LA/Long Beach & Harbor Bridges Ironically, the product that is the number one import is also the number one export at Ports of Long Beach – what is it? ANSWER: Petroleum and petroleum products. (Other major imports are electronics, furniture, toys and clothing. Other exports are chemicals, plastic, scrap metal and waste paper). How many stories above water is the top of the tower at the highest point on the Vincent Thomas Bridge? ANSWER: 35 stories high!
Homes of the Stars While most of the homes we will see are people’s homes, and we do respect their privacy, some are open for touring. Name the famous singer and actor whose Hollywood home is open for tours? ANSWER: Barbra Streisand Name a famous millionaire whose home is one you are able to tour? ANSWER: Edward Doheny Jr. and the Greystone Mansion |
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