Meet Jill Collins | Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jill Collins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jill, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I met my husband while we were both living in Sydney, Australia in 2003, and we’ve spent the years since then traveling around the world to 69 countries and counting, whenever we had the chance, around our full-time jobs. Our favorite, most memorable, and most meaningful way to connect with and appreciate the local cultures of the cities they traveled to, was through walking tours. Our love of travel, love of our own city, love of being outside, and love of sharing and connecting with people from all over the world led to the launch of Discover Denver Tours, as when we were founded, there were no walking tours in Denver that allowed us to explore and get to know our new city.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My career is a variety pack! I have a medical background/degree. My husband moved from Australia to the U.S, as my medical credentials wouldn’t transfer to Australia or New Zealand and I would have had to start over. I went into non-profit to start my career after getting a job offer at a place I interned at on the sunny beaches of Florida. When I moved to Colorado, it was that non-profit background that made me want to offer free/pay-what-you-wish walking tours to visitor and locals in Denver, to be as inclusive of all budgets as possible. We quickly grew and began offering low-cost specialty walking tours, like our Ghosts of Capitol Hill Tours and Denver’s Famous Street Art & Graffiti Tours, and then, a few years later, our bus tours, to be more inclusive of families and older guests who aren’t able to explore Denver on foot with us.

We’re focused on local tours, green tourism and our city environment and are humbled to have hosted over 90,000 guests on tours over the past nine years.

At our core, we are story tellers dedicated to creating amazing memories for guests as we explore the great sights, landmarks, and history that make our Mile High City so unique with them on foot.

“We believe that everyone should have access to a great walking or bus tour experience, and be able to explore our beautiful city, regardless of budget, which is why we launched Discover Denver Tours and our free walks. Our amazing team of diverse, local guides offers high-quality, interactive, free walking tours and affordable, paid Denver walking and bus tours. Whether someone is a visitor or a local in our Mile High City, we would love the opportunity to explore the great sights, landmarks, and history that make our Mile High City so unique.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’s take my best friend on a local’s only tour would start with breakfast-to-go from Lucille’s and we’d take it down to eat at Washington Park for the best inner-city views of the mountains and the best people watching. From there, we’d take a short rental bike ride on the Cherry Creek Trail to check out some amazing street art and so that I could show my friend some of the oldest and most beautiful neighborhoods in Denver without having to worry about cars, traffic, and street crossings. We’d hop off our bikes for a short a walking tour and stroll of 13th St and Colfax and the Capitol Hill area and pop into some of the record stores, vintage shops, and other unique vendors. Then we’d take a short hop over to the famous Mile High Steps at the Colorado State Capitol followed by lunch at our favorite vegetarian joint two blocks away; City O City. I’s have scored us tickets to tour Denver’s U.S. Mint by popping by early that morning to get walk-up tickets, and we’d head in the Mint to hear the robbery stories and marvel at the capacity and daily production that occurs inside the Mint. In the evening, a tour of Union Station, and a ride on the A line to RiNo, for evening drinks and I’d show off my favorite graffiti and murals dotting the neighborhood’s streets and alleys.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I thin ka few shoutouts are in order to those that inspired and supported me. First, I was raised to be independent, hard-working, a leader, and with the mindset that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. That, combined with the opportunity to travel when I was younger and being labeled a “freebird” gave me a deep gratitude for what travel can bring to your life. Lastly, on a completely different note, but one that still led me to where I am today, is the FIRE community and ChooseFI, which is all about controlling your financial future and being financially independent in a way that supports your best life.

Website: https://www.discoverdenvertours.com

Instagram: @discovrdenvertours

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverdenvertours

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/denver-free-walking-tours-denver-3?osq=denver+walking+tours