Rio de Janeiro Full-Day Private Tour Tailored to Your Interests

DO NOT BOOK A DAY TOUR

So, you wondering why I do not recommend this but am giving 4 stars. Simple: the service was good, the guide was great and the driver excellent. A full day tour is a disaster. You end up with endless masses of people at one of the main sites and in-between is just fodder and a disastrous lunch. We opted to go somewhere else and paid for our own lunch. I recommend you do Christ the redeemer one morning, (use a van!!!) sugarloaf on another and the other sites on your own. We were happy but it was too much and a lot of time-filler crap in between. PLEASE DO NOT BOOK YOUR AIRPORT TRANSFER WITH THIS COMPANY. They outsource it to another company and the service is disastrous

via Tripadvisor

Awful experience

Awful experience. We had to cancel the tour as our driver was rude and disrespectful! No tefund ! Awful customer service !

Response from the operator: Hello, We're deeply sorry that you didn't have a positive experience. We will investigate what may have happened with our driverguide. This is not our standard of service and we will do our utmost to ensure that it does not happen again to our other customers. We look forward to welcoming you again in the future for better impressions and experiences. Best regards.

via Tripadvisor

The worst tour provider in Brazil

The worst customer service ever . We have used a few different tour providers in Brazil and this one was the worst from all of them . Renato is absolutely disrespectful and rude . The customer service is awful . We were running slightly late and I have shared my location, was asked to upgrade either for private tour or pick us up at next stop . Renato called us and was shouting at me over the phone in disrespectful and rude Manner ! I had to asked him 5 times not to shout at me . My daughter got scared ! Wasted £150 , taxi fee and day of holiday!

Response from the operator: Hello. We're sorry that, despite all the discussions we've had, this comment has still been published here on the platform, which is extremely detrimental to our work. As you have been informed from the outset, since your booking, we do not pick-up in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood. Our pick-up area is in the South Zone and some places in the Center, and this is very clear both here on the platform and in the messages we send by email and WhatsApp. Even so, we asked you to come to our meeting point, which is the Rio Othon Palace. We waited there for you, but you didn't show up. Then, so that you wouldn't miss the tour, we arranged another meeting point, this time at the Hilton, and you were late. On a shared tour, we can't wait that long because we have other clients to pick up and a schedule to keep. Our guide followed all the recommended guidelines and even did his best to help, so much so that the only complaint on this tour is yours. All these conversations are recorded and we did not break any agreements. In any case, we are sorry that your experience was not a positive one with us and in our city. Best regards.

via Tripadvisor

Fantastic full day tour of Rio

We had an excellent overview of Rio, with the exceptionally nice, knowledgeable and informative guide Monica. She took us through the forests, stopping at beautiful viewpoints, through downtown Rio, with visits to amazing places, like Santa Tereza and Lapa, and the antique center, and finally showed us Rio’s beautiful beaches. Monica was very good about giving us plenty of historical information, and answered any question we had. She is obviously extremely well read and informed. She also took us for a nice and easy lunch. Overall, it was an amazing day that I would recommend touring with Monica to anyone looking to get to know Rio. I would gladly go again!

Response from the operator: Hello! We're glad to hear that your experience went well and that our guide gave you an exceptional tour of Rio! It's wonderful to know that she enriched your day with her extensive knowledge and attentive responses. The private tour is the perfect option for those looking for a personalized itinerary and exclusive attention. We thank you for your recommendation and look forward to welcoming you back for more incredible days in our city! On behalf of the Rio Carioca Tour team, thank you very much for your complimentary words and for choosing us!

via Tripadvisor

An Awful Experience

I was throughly excited to go on this tour as I had been communicating via WhatsApp with this company. I let it be known the time we were landing, that we needed to be picked up from the airport and that we wanted to remove a location to visit little Africa. We paid the additional BRL for the airport pick up and the location change. An hour prior to landing, I reached out to the company to let them know we would be landing to find out that the start time was incorrect and the location pick up listed was incorrect as well. We wanted to be picked up from the airport to start our tour because we only had one day in Rio. Somehow there was a lack of communication as the person I spoke to the next day had not referenced prior messages from the day before. However, after waiting, they arranged the transportation pick with an SUV not to start the tour but to take us to our drop off location to wait for the driver which was a waste of time. We had to wait 30 mins on the side of the street with our luggage which we was told was unsafe to do and when the guide arrived, he arrives in an extremely small car not fitting for 4 people and a driver. It would have even made more sense to keep the SUV to have more space. The driver then takes us to the Rio Carioca office location and from there I had never experienced the lack of customer services as I had from one of the young female with the medium length curly hair in their office. She was very nasty, rude and lacked customer service. I then began to match her energy and that when she saw I was not going to play with her. The tour was subpar as our tour guide was more of a driver and not a tour guide. The ride was silent and we were not given any information about our locations. I was not until one of my friends said something to him that he started to talk. There was no information given to us in Little Africa, we paid extra to ride through Little Africa instead of a tour as we didn't even exit the vehicle and was only told a story about a lady who owned a house that had plumbing problems and as a result of it, they found skulls in her home as we briefly rode through... That was it! When we got to the train for the Christ the Redeemer, the driver left his wallet. I ended up paying for the train (500 BRL) to avoid us having to sit and wait for him as he parked a half a mile away from the sight. At the end of the tour, the driver proceeded to drop us off at a steak house, when I asked was it paid for as I was told lunch was included, he tells me no, that lunch was not included, I then contacted the company, and he ends up taking us to the most unsanitary and disgusting restaurant while he proceeds to tell us he was leaving and drops us off at the restaurant with our luggage. I then asked the driver about my money back and I also contacted the connect via what's app to tell them what was going on. The driver comes back, I had to ask several times about my money. I had previously paid for myself and my daughter, the other two asked several times about payment and was told to wait as he would take them to the ATM. The connect via what's app told us the tour was 550 BRL per person and the balance was 1100 all together, After going to the atm, the driver attempts to make the other 2 pay 1100 BRL per person double the amount. We kept trying to explain it was 550 per person and made the attempt to call the person on what's app but the person would only respond via text and according to the driver Alberto, it didn't matter as he kept saying that was he was told. The driver attempted to hold our luggage hostage after being given 120 usd and 550 BRL in which he was paid more than enough and more. We tried to explain to him that he was actually being paid more but again he was not hearing it. He basically held us and our luggage for over 20 mins in the rain while trying to explain that he had already been paid and had over the amount. I literally had to record him with the money on his lap, send it to the connect via what's app to show them he had been paid. This companies communication is awful, their customer service was awful and their driver/guide Alberto is a fraud. DO NOT waste your money on a private tour with this company. I saw the review but the review are of group tours and not a private tour. Please go with another company to get the worth of the tour.

via Tripadvisor