Welcome Letter

To Our Guests,

Welcome to “The Richmond Tour Guys” We are Ray Kaufman and Jeffrey Matson, the co-owners of the company.

OUR HISTORY –

Both Ray and Jeff are experienced tour guides.  Ray began guiding in Richmond with the Valentine, attending their Guide School in 2011 and joined the Richmond Tour Guys five years ago. Jeff is a lifelong history educator at the secondary and university level and has been with the company since 2019.

The Richmond Tour Guys began in 2014. That first two-hour tour was an uphill trek from the James River to Capitol Square, and despite the climb, was an immediate success. The following year, it was split to become two separate tours, Downtown and Shockoe Bottom. Over the years, the company added new tours and guides and saw increasing attendance each season. In February of 2021, Ray and Jeff purchased the company.

For 2022—

Our NEW program of redesigned and enhanced tours: the Signature Tours, Church Hill, Downtown, Shockoe and Capitol. Each of these unique tours are expanded, and contain the stories and contributions each area made to Richmond’s colorful history. We have expanded to present a number of new tours including Specialty and Seasonal tours offered as Private Tours as both Walking and Rice-Along options

DISCOVER –

Please take the time to explore our website to learn all we have to offer. We think you’ll discover why The Richmond Tour Guys have consistently been ranked the best walking tour company in Richmond, in the top five of all the tours in Richmond and have been named the “Travelers’ Choice,” ranked “within the Top 10% of properties by TripAdvisor.”

We will always be aware of any CDC guidelines and will act accordingly.

We provide a “new-to-Richmond” method of delivering walking tours, using small  “Listening Packs,” worn with a lanyard. These receivers, together with sealed disposable single-use earphones enable listening to the tour guide’s narration throughout the tour. This allows for social distancing.

JOIN US ON A TOUR –

We are proud to call ourselves “Richmond’s Storytellers” and hope to see you on one of our tours soon!