Rio de Janeiro · RIO CITY SIGHTSEEING
31 reviewed
One well-run city tour stitches the icons into a single day so you are not crossing town twice. These are the ones that do it best — Christ, Sugarloaf, the Selarón Steps and the Maracanã in sensible order — with what each covers, how long it lasts, group size, and which include hotel pickup and lunch.
A full day of Rio’s biggest icons: Christ the Redeemer, Selarón Steps, Maracanã and Sambadrome outside, Cathedral stained glass, Sugarloaf cable car, plus lunch.
“Excellent, our guide Juan and driver were fabulous. Really informative tour, planety of time at each stop to visit and take photos.”
Backstage at Rio’s Samba City: see float and 3,000+ costume prep, try on costumes, learn samba, and sip a caipirinha. Small group.
“A fun little afternoon! Very interesting to hear more about what the carnaval actually means and how much detail goes into planning! Also fun to try the costumes and end with a nice drink👍”
Rio Samba Bus is a hop-on hop-off day trip with MPB and samba on board, plus big sights like Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf for $30.
“It is a bus with only one level- up top with no shade at all. It was hot! Since there weren’t ear plugs, it was just a recording over speaker- you couldn’t really hear what they were saying. I thought we’d get closer to Christ the Redeemer but it was just in the distance. At least they sold cold beer on board….”
Private Rio guided tour with hotel pickup, flexible stops, and scenic photo moments across beaches and city icons for 4–8 hours.
“Thank you so much Dario, we loved having you as our private tour guide! I cannot recommend this enough whilst you are in Rio. There was excellent communication beforehand to organise the itinerary and we managed to cover off everything we wanted to see on the day! Not only was the car comfortable, Dario knew everyone which seemed to help us skip the queues especially at Sugarloaf Mountain! Dario also gave us plenty of history on Rio and always had an answer to any questions we had. Nothing was too much trouble for Dario, from taking our pictures for us, holding our bags and not rushing us as we queued…”
8-hour Rio icons tour with hotel pickup, tickets for Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf, plus an all-you-can-eat lunch included.
“We were picked up on time at our hotel, the bus was very comfortable. The whole trip was coordinated smoothly, exactly as written in the tour description. Our guide was nice, although we would’ve appreciated some more (fun) facts about Rio and the attractions. But overall we definitely recommend this tour.”
Early Christ and Sugarloaf views, plus downtown Rio highlights like Selarón and Rio’s cathedral. Small-group tour with lunch and tickets.
“A great trip - and our guide, Kikko, was fantastic.”
Half-day Rio tour with hotel pickup, Corcovado views, Christ the Redeemer, Tijuca Forest, Maracanã and Sambadrome, Selarón Steps.
“Nice guide and driver, and the statue is cool, but some things could be better. The pickup was about 15 minutes late with no communication, even though my hotel was the first stop. and the city tour was kind of meh, with a lot of time allocated. Lots of waiting around. Also, at least my group consisted of both English and Portuguese speaking, so the guide would say everything twice, and often when he got to the English part, we were already past whatever he was talking about.”
Private Rio half-day that flexes to your pace, with Christ the Redeemer, Selarón Steps, a cathedral stop, rainforest views, and gardens.
“Very nice tour! We covered a lot of areas. Both the guide and driver were great! Highly recommended.”
A full day in Petrópolis: palaces, a cathedral mausoleum, imperial jewels, German-style streets, and optional tastings of Brazil’s oldest beer.
“Despite COVID-related restrictions that did not allow us visit the interior of the Imperial Palace, Osleide, our guide, and the driver Antonio did an excellent job m. All went very well. Osleide was very instructive and helpful. Remarquable!”
A 2-hour hop-on hop-off bus in Rio that guides you past Copacabana, Sugarloaf, Christ the Redeemer, Lapa, and more, with music onboard.
“Pena ter pego um dia com chuva! Nao aproveitamos!”
Private 1-day Rio tour for up to 4. Corcovado, Sugarloaf, Selarón Steps, Cathedral. WiFi, transport, expert guide.
“Patricia picked us up at the Port from our cruise ship and took us on a customised tour for the whole day. We visited the Maracana Stadium, learnt all about Carnival, walked up the Seralon Steps then went to Christ the Redeemer. We had Patricia’s wonderful descriptions of all of the history. After driving along Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, we parked at the Cathedral then walked downtown to the beautiful Library and visited Confeteria Columbus. We were returned to the port in time to get ready for dinner on the ship. Thank you for your wonderful and warm conversation- your English is excellent!”
From Rio, tour Petrópolis in one day: Imperial Museum, cathedrals and palaces, plus Bohemia brewery with lunch and 3 tastings.
“It was good and informative. But very long. Took 2 hours to do pick up and get on the road. After that it was fine.”
Private 3-hour Centro walking tour with a guide through Rio’s opera house, Cinelândia, Selarón steps, Lapa arches, cathedral, and historic squares.
“Although we saw some great sites, the guide made us feel like he needed to be somewhere else, and our 2 1/2-hour tour ended after 1 1/2 hours. It was not an inexpensive tour so we left feeling taken advantage of (and perhaps not seeing everything we were supposed to see?). Perhaps a price adjustment is in order.......”
Full-day Rio tour covering Christ the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf, Selarón steps, and more, with included tickets and a Brazilian buffet lunch.
“It is a shame that I have to give them one star at all. Be warned this is advertised as a city tour with several stops. Once in the bus you will notice 19 seats for customers. 7 of them you can’t see out the window. The last two rows are above the windows and the other seats. You have to try and bend over and really contort your body to see out of the bus. You have no control over what seats you pick because it is based on when they pick people up. If you are closer to the excursion, you will be picked up last and have…”
Walk through Old Rio’s churches, imperial plazas, and Olympic-era Mauá Square, with hotel pickup and free-entry landmarks in about 4 hours.
“A little background about myself: this was my first trip to Rio, and before this tour, I had not spent any time in downtown Rio. I am generally interested in history, perhaps more than the average person. Our tour guide, JB, was fantastic. He was very energetic, and was very enthusiastic about the city. He was extremely knowledgeable about the stops on the tour (and a lot off the tour) and effectively communicated with all of us. He walks fast, he talks fast, which is great, because he was able to cover a lot of ground in the 4 hours we had. (Even during the ride to and from our…”
