Arraial do Cabo Boat Tour & Beach Day

The trip was very unorganized. We stopped for a whole hour. We booked for a boat tour and they said that they were not able to come last minute. Everything was just very unorganized

I was staying near Ipanema beach and was picked up at 5:45 am. It is a 3hr drive plus a 30 min stop at a rest stop after about hr 2. There you can grab food and drinks. Once you arrive you will be required to pay 15 reals per person for a tax (bring cash). The boats are fun filled with some grilled foods, alcoholic tropical drinks, music, 2 story slides to get in the water, life jackets are for rent as well as snorkel gear (you can use a credit card to pay for food, drinks and gear before you leave the boat). The water is very clear in most spots and calm. I was there in late April and the water was warm enough to swim in. They take you on a smaller boat to hang out on a beach for 30 min. They feed you around 5 pm with about 8 food choices from a nice restaurant in the town near the dock. Then you head back and the trip back in the van is the same as the way there. The food was good, the day is very relaxing and fun, the 7 hrs of driving is a lot but it is a great way to get out away from the busy tours in Rio.

This tour was advertised for English speakers on TripAdvisor, but the tour guides and attendees did not speak English. The crew were friendly and tried to communicate through Google Translate to make sure I understood the key information for the tour, but it was still disappointing this was advertised incorrectly and made for a lonely and alienating day whilst travelling solo. Food breaks were also sparse throughout the day so I would recommend bringing snacks with you. We did not eat lunch until 3.30pm and only had a quick break during the drive in the morning to pickup food (however I spent most of the time in the bathroom queue so did not have time to grab any proper food). Arraial do Cabo was a beautiful spot to visit but unfortunately the day was a bit disappointing due to the experience above.

Wonderful experience, everything very well organized. We went with the guide Zeni who is a love of person, caring, caring. The driver André, very responsible. And about Arraial do Cabo, excludes comments. For those who are at RJ, take a day to do this fight that is very worth it.

The bus that took us to the beach did not arrive to pick me up from the hotel until 2 hours later. I could have slept longer. Then the bus driver picked people up individually which took another 2 hours. Why wasnt the trip coordinated to where all attendees met at one location and we could have been picked up at the same time instead of individual pick ups that wasted time. Terrible. Then nobody spoke English. Not the bus guide nor the people who operated the boat. I have been to France and when I rode on a dinner cruise on the Seine there was a French speaker and an English speaker. We did not arrive at the beach until 3pm from a 7am pick up. So essintially I paid $82 to sit on a bus. Then when we finally got on the boat there were bees. Everywhere. Terrible.