Rio de Janeiro Private 7-Hour Tour

Our ship was delayed in docking, but our guide and driver were still waiting 3 hours after we were able to dock. Guide Antonio (call me Tony) was one of the best we have experienced using Viator. Even though we had missed our scheduled time at Sugarloaf Mountain, his familiarity with the Mountain lines and Mountain staff allowed us to take advantage of the skip the line (best choice we made prior to arriving in Rio…recommend you do skip the line for the Mountain and Christ The Redeemer—and do it well before you arrive in Rio as times for skip the line sell out). Tony went everywhere with us and explained what we were seeing as well as where to stand to take the best pictures. We did not have tickets for Christ The Redeemer as skip the line was sold out, but Tony’s contacts at the site arranged for us to skip the line and a good thing as lines were long and visitors plentiful. Again Tony went with us and we have some excellent photos of the site. Then we experienced the Lapa Steps. Carnaval was in full swing and we were treated to the parades and mingling with locals enjoying the party. Tony also even made sure that we had pictures of ourselves at the sights and at the Lapa Steps. We also have to give excellent marks to our driver, Marcello. Don’t drive in Rio during Carnaval yourself. This was one of the best tours we have had with Viator and Tony and Marcello are the reasons.

We had a great tour with Romo and this company. Ahead of time they advised us to get the skip the line tickets for Christ the Redeemer statue and then the regular ticket starting 2 to 3 hours after the planned time for the Redeemer tour and that was excellent advice. Romo was able to help us snaking through the many lines, skip the usual, longest lines with his many years of experience. This was even true on Sugarloaf Mountain where we did not have an express pass but having a guide who knew many people there made it just as seamless and quick. Even with the the tour guide and these tickets bought in advance you should plan that it will take 4 to 5 hours to see both Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugarloaf Mountain. However some of that's because the distances between the base where you get on and how far it is to get up to the top of the two places. He enabled us to get great views overlooking many beaches including boca cabana, the city , today and the ocean. At our request we also saw several large and his historic churches including the Benedictine Monastery with the gold leaf over all the walls and ceiling, the Metropolitan cathedral which is shaped like a pyramid and seats 20,000 people. And while our driver was driving all around the city and did a great job of pointing out various points of interest, slowing down to talk about them, stopping to let us take pictures, etc. Could not imagine a better tour guide for this 7 hour tour. The only negative had to do with our transportation. We the four of us rode in a Ford Explorer equivalent so we had plenty of room. And although it looked nice from the outside it was very well worn on the inside. Also, the air conditioning quit working during the course of the tour , although with the windows down and the car moving we were still comfortable even with temperatures in the '80s and humidity in the 90s. Strongly recommend the company refurbished the interior and obviously fix the air conditioning. And the suspension also seems to need an upgrade as I suspect the shocks etc I have not been changed in many miles.

Beautiful experience, I didn't understand the language much but I liked it a lot

We had an awesome Rio tour mainly because of our great tour guide Camila and driver Mateo. Camila was so knowledgeable about past and present of this city and about all the important places in Rio. This tour exceeded our expectations and we definitely recommend this tour to others.

Exellent communication prior to trip, and perfect trip with Marco. All sights, very good information and he managed to avoid all queues so we had direct access to all attractions, and that in Carnaval week