Santa Monica Pier Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour
- 0.5–1 hour
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
No trip to sunny Los Angeles is complete without a visit to the Santa Monica Pier, and no visit to the Pier is complete without this self-guided audio walking tour! As you stroll along this bustling pier, you’ll dig deep into its history, from its humble origins to devastating storms and ambitious amusement parks. Spot the historic Santa Monica Pier Carousel and Pacific Park before making your way to the very end of the pier, offering unbeatable views of the ocean and Santa Monica Beach. After booking, check your email/text to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action while connected to WiFi or mobile data. Enter the password, download the tour, and enjoy it offline. Follow the audio instructions and route from the designated starting point. New, Lifetime access, no expiry. Use it anytime, on any trip, as many times as you want.
Inclusions
What's included
- Support is available via chat, email, or phone if you need help.
- Planning tools, route maps, scenic stops, and area previews included.
- Just bring your phone and headphones; the app guides your walk.
- Lifetime access: use the tour anytime and keep it for future trips.
- Works offline with GPS route guidance and automatic audio stories.
- Flexible tour: start, stop, and pause anytime during your trip.
- Private walking tour experience for your family or group.
- Access your tour in our separate audio tour app after booking.
- Hidden gems and local stories included along the route.
What's not
- No live guide. Entrance fees, parking, food, and car rental are separate.
Itinerary
Our tour begins at the Santa Monica Pier Arch. You can’t miss it! This historic structure has been standing tall for over 80 years, adding a little touch of drama to the pier’s entrance. The tour is over 0.38 miles long, with more than 14 audio stories, and takes about 1-2 hours to complete. New, Lifetime access, no expiry. Use it anytime, on any trip, as many times as you want.
Now let’s get to know Charles Looff, Danish immigrant, furniture carver, and the pier’s hero. By day, he carved away in a factory, but at night, he created life-size animal sculptures full of imagination, whimsy, and magic. Can you guess what he was building?
To our left stands Santa Monica’s iconic carousel. While this one only dates back to the 1940s, the original was built by none other than Charles Looff. He built it as part of a hugely ambitious project in 1916. His goal was nothing less than turning this sewage site into a tourist attraction!
For decades, the pier sat mostly empty and unused. By the 70s, Santa Monica’s City Council was looking for excuses to tear down the old eyesore. They put forth a plan to destroy the pier and build an artificial island instead. During a meeting, a resident asks the City Manager whether the public should have a say. His response?
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 52
- 40
- 30
- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 2 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Begin from Santa Monica Pier Arch, 81-99 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica. After booking the tour, search your emails and texts for "audio tour". Your tour is VALID FOREVER, so follow these instructions NOW to finish setting up the tour while you have Wi-Fi/data. Do NOT wait until you are onsite.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Adventures with Action
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Easy to use: GPS-triggered audio plays automatically along the route for a hands-free experience.
- Private tour: Follow the route on your phone without an in-person guide or crowded group.
- At your own pace: Start anytime and pause for hikes, picnics, photos, or scenic stops.
- Works offline: Once downloaded, the tour works using GPS without Wi-Fi or cellular service.
How it compares in Santa Monica
- Its from-price is 93% below the median of the 175 experiences we list in Santa Monica.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 77 of 175.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Santa Monica
Santa Monica is a seaside city beside Los Angeles, known for its pier and Ferris wheel, wide beach, clifftop park and pedestrian shopping street.
Santa Monica sits on the Pacific coast at the western edge of Los Angeles, with a wide beach below a line of palm-topped bluffs. Its pier, built in 1909, carries a small amusement park with a solar-powered Ferris wheel, a carousel and arcades, and a sign marks the western end of Route 66. Palisades Park runs along the clifftop with ocean views.
Top-ranked sights in Santa Monica: Santa Monica Beach and Pier, Third Street Promenade, Marvin Braude Bike Trail.
Special offers in Santa Monica
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
