I knew we were coming to Richmond and researched walking tours online. I wrote to two providers and heard back only from one: Raymond of Richmond Tour Guides. Since no public tours were scheduled for the season of our visit, we were offered a private tour. Although I am usually too cheap (frugal?) to say yes, I did. And I am glad I did. Raymond was excellent about communication prior to our tour. He assigned Emily, a former social studies teacher and lifelong Richmonder, to guide us. She was wonderful. We spent 2 1/2 hours seeing more sites than weever would have found on our own. We spent no time getting lost, which we would have done on our own. And learned more than we could have by reading online. Plus we could ask Emily questions. This cost about the same as one night in a hotel so consider shortening your stay to take such a tour!

We did this tour on a Friday am so it was quite nice, small group with opportunity to ask questions of our tour guide. She brought a rich history to the walk, in that she had three generations of family in the area, and she was a social studies teacher. I loved the stories and details that brought a city with such an important role in so many aspects of our nation's history to life. I would highly recommend this tour not only to those visiting the area, but to residents who may not have been here their whole life. It is a cultural experience not to be missed.

We really enjoyed the tour. The headphones were a big plus so you could always hear. Our guide had lived in the neighborhood in the past so had a lot of great insight. Highly recommended.

Excellent tour by Ray. Informative and fun!! Learned about the city and lots of its history. Best time was seeing th statehouse.

This tour covers very little to see or learn. As such, the guide just drones on to fill time. We do a lot of walking tours to learn about the cities we visit... this is the first one I am leaving a bad review to include what we saw and the guide.

We took a fabulous 2 hour driving tour of historic Richmond, led by our host Ray. He was incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining. He provides a lot of historical information and puts it into a modern context. If you are interested in learning about the role Richmond played in US history, as well as the role of the people that led it, then this tour is for you.

It was a brisk, cool day in Richmond but Ray didn’t let that stop us. He went out of his way to make the history of Virginia and the great city of Richmond come alive. The time went by very fast and Ray left us with great possibilities for future visits. I would highly recommend this service.

After reading reviews, and talking to the concierge at the Jefferson Hotel, we called the Richmond Tour Guys. There is a reason why they have earned so many five star reviews, and have such a great reputation - They are Excellent. Our guide for a fabulous three hours was Ray. Ray makes the history of Richmond come alive, he has the ability to share the fascinating stories that make each location come alive with interesting details. We're history lovers, and part of the family lives just north of Richmond; yet, we learned so much. Ray is a fascinating guide who loves to share the history that you don't always find in books, or on the net. A wonderful afternoon with Ray, we came away a much richer appreciation of the history of Richmond. And, yes, we are already planning our next visit to Richmond, and of course, we will book another tour with Ray.

Our tour of Richmond with Ray Kaufman was 5-star in every way. From Jackson Ward to VCU to Church Hill, Ray gave us a running commentary covering interesting historical facts and added fascinating stories he'd dug out of archives. With Ray at the wheel of our double cab pickup truck, the five of us glided seamlessly from one site to another. Delivered in Ray's calm warm voice, our tour was most informative and relaxing and worth taking again.

We took the Church Hill Public Tour. Ray was very friendly and knowledgeable. The tour moved at a comfortable pace. He was able to answer questions and offered additional information. You can tell that he enjoys what he does. I had some questions about the tour ahead of time and he contacted me and answered them quickly. I grew up on Church Hill in the 1950's (Not the part that we toured) and I learned a lot.

The walking tour was amazing! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and we thoroughly enjoyed our tour. The neighborhood we walked was beautiful and filled with architecture from various periods and styles. Kathy filled us in on the history of various structures and stopped at points with amazing views of the city and river.

Ray picked us up at hotel and 13 of us loaded ourselves in his comfortable van. Ray shared his extensive knowledge of Richmond’s history as we toured, pulling over at various locations to go into detail. We got out at St. John’s Church, which gave us a chance to stretch our legs and learn more about George Wythe and others who are buried in the graveyard.

Ray — funny, knowledgeable, organized, punctual, and outgoing — gave 13 college friends an amazing tour of RVA via van! We viewed historic Jackson Ward, known as "Black Wall Street"; the houses of John Marshall, Mann Valentine, and Jefferson Davis; MCV and Monumental Church; St. John's Church, where we walked around the graveyard; and many other interesting sites. Thank you, Ray, for all the interesting stories! I'll be back with more friends!

Ray did a great job of showing our group Richmond. He was knowledgeable of the city's history. He sprinkled his tour with interesting stories of the people who lived there, like Mary Bowser.

Erin was our tour guide and was great. She was very knowledgeable and friendly. We took the downtown tour. The pace was just right and we got to see and hear about Richmond's history. The tour ended right at the Capitol building which was great because we were planning on touring the Capitol next anyway. This is definitely a tour that needs to be taken whether you are from out of town or live in the city.