Tour Guide Training

Take the free self-led course to help share our community with visitors

This Tour Guide Training Course will teach you how to create an experience for visitors that shares a unique perspective of your community.

Visitors and multi-city tour groups frequently request local guides that can provide insight and context into experiences in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. While our destination has some tours that are well built-out, many are in need of step-on guides.

Tour guides can look like:

  • Individuals who can join a group via bus and discuss/point out specific locations
  • Hiking and bicycling guides
  • Guides focused on telling specific local history
  • Guides focused on niche demographics

There is ample opportunity to tell your favorite stories and share your top experiences with visitors – and get paid to do it! Participants who complete this course will be put on our referral list for local guides.

Course Overview

This course provides an overview of tour guiding and tour creation based on tourism theory and best practices as well as real world examples. The one-hour course, broken up into smaller modules, is self-guided and can be taken at your own pace. You'll come out of this course with an idea of what it would take to create and run your own tours, as well as the tools you'll need to get started.

Those who complete the course will have the opportunity to join a live-session in June 2024 where you can ask any questions in a group-setting. There will also be an in-person workshop later this year.

"There is no better way to shape how visitors see your city than having them hear from locals."

Nikki Padilla, Course Instructor
Intro: Tour Guide Training (4 minutes)

Take the Course

Watch the following videos at your own pace for a complete overview of what you need to get started in building your own Tour Experience. Then, access relevant worksheets below.

Module 1: The Tour Guide's Role & Power
Module 2: Tours & Activities 101 (11 minutes)
Module 3: Tour Guide Skills
Module 4: Creating an Experience (37 minutes)

Next Steps

Now that you've completed the course, we want to hear from you. Please complete this form to let us know you completed the modules. We will let you know about more opportunities to engage in our growing tour operator community.

You can also watch the Bonus Module for next steps and additional resources to help you plan your tour.

Bonus: "What Now?" (9 minutes)

Meet Fellow Tour Operators

For more inspiration, get to know these locally-owned tour businesses that are already serving visitors in Charlottesville & Albemarle County.