I've spent almost two decades selling tours in the two most competitive tour markets in America.

I started in New York hospitality in 2000, moved into the tour business in 2008 as Managing Director of OnBoard Tours, and since 2016 I've been VP of Sales & Marketing at USA Guided Tours, one of the top-rated tour operators in Washington DC and New York City. In that time I've built tour products from scratch, negotiated distribution with the major online travel agencies, and watched tens of thousands of travelers vote with their bookings on what a great tour actually is.

This site exists because of a question I kept asking: what moves the needle in the other cities? I know DC and NYC cold. But when friends asked me what's worth booking in San Diego or Nashville or Savannah, I found myself wading through the same cluttered listings every traveler faces — hundreds of results, paid placements, no way to tell the genuinely excellent from the merely available.

So I built the tool I wanted: the 25 US cities that consistently top published visitor-volume rankings, each one curated down to the tours that earn their place — chosen the way an insider chooses for friends. Think of it as the giant tour marketplaces boiled down to what's actually worth booking, with a human being accountable for every pick.

USA Guided Tours DMC is independently operated by Ek Marsal Corp, and features tours from partner operators — including USA Guided Tours in Washington DC and New York City, where I serve as VP of Sales & Marketing. When you book through links on this site, I may earn a commission at no cost to you. How I choose what appears here — and what never will — is documented on the How We Curate page.