The AFK Santa Monica Ice Cream Tour is a small-group walking food tour through one of Southern California’s most iconic beach cities — combining artisan ice cream, authentic Italian gelato, and creative dessert concepts with palm trees, ocean breezes, and vibrant promenade energy.

Santa Monica offers a dessert scene that feels elevated yet playful. On this tour, you’ll experience a range of frozen treats — from rich, small-batch California ice cream crafted with high-quality dairy and nostalgic flavors, to silky Italian gelato made the traditional way, to creative soft-serve desserts served in warm, freshly baked pastry cones.

This two-hour guided tour follows an easy, flat walking route of approximately 1 to 1.5 miles through the heart of downtown Santa Monica and toward the ocean. With wide sidewalks, pedestrian promenades, and scenic coastal views, it’s one of the most walkable beach cities in California.

You’ll visit four curated dessert stops, each offering a completely different style of frozen treat. At every stop, guests choose their own flavors — making the experience personal, flexible, and fun.

What to Expect

On the Santa Monica Ice Cream Tour, you’ll:

• Visit four distinct dessert destinations

• Experience traditional California ice cream and authentic Italian gelato

• Try creative soft-serve and specialty frozen treats

• Choose your own flavors at every stop

• Walk an easy, flat route through downtown and toward the beach

• Enjoy palm-lined streets, public art, and ocean air

• Meet fellow dessert lovers and explore the city like a local

Our guides are energetic, welcoming, and knowledgeable — more like a local friend showing you their favorite sweet spots than a traditional tour guide. Along the way, they share insider recommendations for restaurants, coffee shops, rooftop bars, beach paths, and hidden gems around Santa Monica.

Why Santa Monica Is a Perfect Ice Cream City

Santa Monica blends laid-back beach culture with upscale coastal living — and that combination creates an incredible dessert scene.

With its proximity to the ocean, strong local food culture, and health-forward community, the frozen treat options here go far beyond basic scoops. On this tour, you’ll discover:

• Rich, heritage-inspired California ice cream made in small batches

• Authentic Italian gelato with ultra-smooth texture

• Creative dessert mashups and modern soft-serve concepts

• Classic flavors done exceptionally well

• Options for dairy-free and plant-based guests

The mix of promenade energy and oceanfront views makes this tour feel vibrant but relaxed — indulgent without being overwhelming.

Tour Details

• Four dessert stops

• Sample available flavors at each stop

• Pick your own full scoop at every shop

• Individual flavor selection at every stop

• Approximately 1–1.5 miles of easy, flat walking

• About 2 hours

• Small group experience

• Downtown & beachside route

• Daily departures

• Vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free options are available on this tour.

A Beachside Dessert Walk

This tour is perfect for anyone who wants a relaxed, feel-good experience that blends high-quality desserts with classic Southern California scenery.

You’ll stroll past palm trees and open-air shopping streets, feel the ocean breeze as you approach the coast, and enjoy something cold and sweet in your hand the entire way.

Whether you’re visiting Santa Monica for the weekend or you live nearby, the AFK Santa Monica Ice Cream Tour is one of the most fun and effortless ways to experience the city.

Come for the ice cream. Stay for the sunshine. Leave very happy.