Welcome Letter
TO Our Guests,
Welcome to “The Richmond Tour Guys”
OUR HISTORY –
The Richmond Tour Guys was the brain‐child of Matthew Maggy. Begun as a tip‐based, free tour in 2014, that first two‐hour tour was an uphill trek from the James River to Capitol Square, and despite the climb, saw a modicum of success. In the beginning, the tour was offered on weekends only. The following year, it was split to become two separate tours, Downtown and Shockoe Bottom. Over the years, the company added two tours and a few guides and saw increasing attendance each season.
Ray Kaufman joined the company in the latter part of 2016, having presented tours with the Valentine since 2011. At the beginning of 2019, Ray brought a friend, former history educator Jeff Matson into the fold and for the next two years, they conducted the bulk of the tours then offered.
Completing a handful of tours in early 2020, all tour activity ceased at the end of March and remained so throughout the first year of Covid. In late September of Covid year one, Ray and Matthew met over lunch, discussing the future. A proposal was made and by the end of the year, Ray and Jeff purchased the company. Their first order of business was to move away from tip‐based tours, becoming a paid tour company and set about reintroducing Richmond Tour Guys with a redesigned website featuring the four walking tours of Downtown, Church Hill, Shockoe and the Capitol. Private and Custom tours were introduced, promoted and at the end of 2021 the partners were pleased with the acceptance by the public of the “New” company.
In the shoulder season prior to the March start of the 2022 Public tour season, the company greatly reworked their website, still touting the four walking tours, but also giving more weight to the Private sector, as it began to show interest. It was then that the Experience Richmond Overview tours were developed to much success.
In 2023, following the advice of other tour operators, emphasis was placed on not promoting all four walking tours, rather focusing on one or two. This, together with a growing private tours segment, proved to be very successful.
TODAY ‐
In 2024/5 a makeover is underway with the publication of this revised website. The featured Public walking tour is the Downtown Tour offered in season, twice‐a‐day, Thursday through Sunday. All four walking tours are also available as Private tours year‐round. Be sure to peruse the Private tour sections as these are the most popular tours offered.
DISCOVER ‐
Please take the time to explore this 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 tour companies in Richmond and have been named the “Travelers’ Choice,” ranked “within the Top 10% of all properties by TripAdvisor.”
We were the first to 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 earbuds enable listening to the tour guide’s narration through‐out the tour.
JOIN US ON A TOUR ‐
We are proud to call ourselves “Richmond’s Storytellers sm” and hope to see you on one of our tours soon!
Ray Kaufman, Owner
A Remembrance
Jeff Matson
January 1956 – February 2024
In Life, a friend, a keen thinker with a quick and quirky sense of humor.
In Business, the Richmond Tour Guys co‐owner, a number crunching, facts‐first, business savvy maestro who
LOVED being a masterful storyteller and one heck‐of‐a‐guide.
I was fortunate that he said yes to the partnership.
He is GREATLY missed and always remembered.
Ray K.
Our Tour Guides
Ray – Owner / Guide
Ray’s our most experienced guide, with a wealth of tours and guide experiences from years of creating and giving tours across the country. He’s created coastal cruises, harbor tours and the first publicly presented whale watching tours in Southern California. On moving to history-rich Richmond with his wife in 2010, he learned a number of locally-based tours and presented them for public and private tours. Ray said, “I don’t think there’s any more historic or interesting city in the country. There are 100’s of stories waiting to be told.”
Kathy – Tour Guide
Kathy came onboard and began guiding with us in 2021. She is a native Richmonder who has experienced the dramatic growth and changes in the city during her lifetime She is a “graduate” of the Valentine Richmond History Center “Guide School,” class of 2014, a combination of history and hands-on learning that readies one to confidently present tours in Virginia’s Capital city. Kathy brings a local’s perspective and personal stories only a life long Richmonder could tell.
Erin – Tour Guide
Erin hails from Northern Virginia and graduated cum laude from VCU with a double major in cinema and history. She joined The Richmond Tour Guys in 2023 to expand upon her knowledge of the rich history of Richmond and enjoys learning about the many neighborhoods. Each area holds a unique part of Richmond’s 400-year history which Erin is eager to lead her guests, point-topoint describing in story some of the many facets of the River City.
Jason – Tour Guide
Jason was a history major with specialties in American and German history. His has lived in and watched Richmond transform into hip RVA over the last 27 years. During that time, he has started several successful local businesses and continued to feed his passion for Richmond and Virginia history. A gifted story raconteur with an eye for the quirky, he firmly believes in the adage “you can’t make this stuff up.”
Doug – Tour Guide
A native of Morristown, NJ, Doug grew up in that historic area and developed a fascination with the American saga. Since moving to Richmond in the early 80s, that interest expanded during his nearly 10 year residency on Church Hill.
Doug joined the “Tour Guys” in 2023 to continue guiding groups in Richmond’s neighborhoods. Additionally, Doug has conducted tours for the Valentine Museum since 2011 and does volunteer work for the National Park Service, both in Richmond and in Arlington, Va.
Emily – Tour Guide
Emily is a lifelong Richmonder excited to share her knowledge of Richmond sites and history with tour guests. She is an Adult Education teacher in neighboring Henrico County. Growing up in Richmond’s Fan District, Emily has first hand knowledge of the change and growth of the City of Richmond. Her love for her hometown comes through in her tours.