Short answer, Yes. Los Angeles is huge, it is really like 10 cities in one. The old me would have gone to a big city with a guide book, a backpack and no plan; opting instead to let a trip unfold organically. I had a lot of fun that way, but I also missed out on main attractions by not planning ahead.
Now that I am a more seasoned traveller, I plan trips with a mix of both down time, and scheduled events. I usually have what I like to call tent pole activities, events to plan a day around, be it a restaurant reservation, concert or a bike tour, and leave a lot of time open to explore or relax. A Handlebar Bike Tour of Los Angeles is perfect for this, because our tours are only 2.5 hours, leaving time in the day to explore on your own, return to something cool you saw on the tour, or head back to relax by the hotel pool after seeing a whole lot of Los Angeles top 10 bucket list locations.
Working at Grand Central Market as a tour guide, I see a whole lot of tourists wandering around downtown Los Angeles looking for things to do. Or I see them on a big walking trek, to a specific downtown L.A. destination, and missing a whole lot of other attractions along the way. If there is a specific area of Los Angeles you want to see, I say definitely do a Los Angeles neighborhood specific tour.
The Hop on Hop Off busses honestly do not come that often, so you can get stranded for hours if you hop off, or if you just ride around the city, you’re going to drive by a lot of buildings, and not really see much. By booking something like a Handlebar Bike Tour, especially our Downtown Los Angeles Bike Tour, which runs 10AM to 12:30, there’s plenty of time to explore, shop, relax, visit one of our recommended restaurants after getting a good overview of downtown L.A..