Visit to Itaipu: Special Circuit

Interesting lectures only in Portuguese

I did the tour on March 19 at 10am. When booking I chose English as my language because I don't understand Portuguese. First of all, I'm an electrical engineer. That's why I did this tour with technical knowledge. The structure and technical facilities are really impressive and worth seeing. Just remember that each of the 20 units has about 2⁄3 the power of a conventional nuclear power plant unit.  However, there was one point on the tour that disappointed me, even really annoyed me. There were about 35 visitors and three guides on the bus. At the beginning of the tour, still outside the power plant, the first guide asked if anyone would not understand Portuguese. Me and two other people raised their hands. There were instructions and safety instructions in Portuguese and English on the bus. At the power station, the second guide gave a long and detailed technical talk in Portuguese at the first station. It was exactly the same at the second and other stations. There were extensive and certainly excellent lectures, unfortunately only in Portuguese. Shortly before the end of the tour I was approached directly by the second guide. I replied that I don't understand anything and only speak English and some Spanish. And that's when it turned out that the third guide, who has stayed in the background until now, could speak English quite excellently and obviously had the necessary knowledge. But that's when the tour was almost over. My point is: It was already clear on the way out that three visitors did not understand Portuguese. The third guide should have taken the three of us aside from the start, and given us the information the Portuguese visitors got in parallel in English.  If you are interested in technology and book this tour, then you should be aware that the interesting lectures may only be given in Portuguese.  I took the tour on March 19th at 10:00 AM. When booking, I selected English as the language, as I don't understand Portuguese. For context, I'm an electrical engineer, so I approached this tour with some technical background. The structure and the technical facilities are truly impressive and well worth seeing. Just keep in mind that each of the 20 units has roughly two-thirds the output of a conventional nuclear power plant unit. However, there was one aspect of the tour that disappointed, even annoyed, me. There were about 35 visitors and three guides on the bus. At the beginning of the tour, still outside the power plant, the first guide asked if anyone didn't understand Portuguese. I and two other people raised our hands. Following this, instructions and safety briefings were given on the bus in both Portuguese and English. Inside the power plant, the second guide gave a long and detailed technical presentation in Portuguese at the first station. The same thing happened at the second station and at subsequent stations. There were detailed and undoubtedly excellent presentations, unfortunately only in Portuguese.  Shortly before the end of the tour, I was approached by the second guide. I replied that I didn't understand anything and only spoke English and a little Spanish. It then turned out that the third guide, who had remained in the background until then, spoke excellent English. But by then the tour was almost over. My point is: it was clear even on the way there that three of the visitors didn't understand Portuguese. The third guide should have taken the three of us aside from the beginning and given us the same information in English that the Portuguese visitors were receiving. If you're interested in the technology and book this tour, you should be aware that the interesting presentations might only be given in Portuguese.

Response from the operator: Hallo, vielen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit genommen haben, Ihre Erfahrung so ausführlich mit uns zu teilen. Es freut uns sehr zu hören, dass Sie den Besuch interessant fanden und den technischen Inhalt wertgeschätzt haben. Gleichzeitig bedauern wir Ihre Enttäuschung bezüglich der Sprache während des Besuchs sehr. Wir verstehen, wie sehr dies Ihr Erlebnis beeinträchtigt haben kann, insbesondere nachdem Sie Englisch bereits bei der Buchung ausgewählt hatten. Ihr Feedback ist für uns sehr wertvoll und wird an das zuständige Team weitergeleitet, da es uns hilft, Bereiche zu erkennen, in denen wir uns verbessern können, um allen Besucherinnen und Besuchern ein noch inklusiveres und umfassenderes Erlebnis zu bieten. Vielen Dank, dass Sie uns dabei helfen, besser zu werden.

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Fantastic tour

It is better to do the special, impressive to see the size of the work. Going inside it makes a difference, book in advance.

Response from the operator: Muito obrigado por compartilhar sua experiência e pela dica aos próximos viajantes. Ficamos felizes em saber que o passeio especial à Itaipu superou suas expectativas e que entrar na usina fez tanta diferença na percepção da grandeza da obra. A recomendação para reservar com antecedência com certeza ajuda outros clientes a se programarem melhor. Agradecemos por escolher a MMC Turismo e esperamos recebê-lo(a) novamente em outros passeios inesquecíveis! 💚

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Itaipu is fantastic, knowing from the inside makes the experience much better and more attractive. It is worth knowing and knowing from the history of construction to the present day.

Response from the operator: Olá, Muito obrigado por compartilhar sua experiência na Usina Hidrelétrica de Itaipu! Ficamos felizes em saber que o passeio interno agregou tanto à sua visita, tornando-a ainda mais especial e enriquecedora. Realmente, a história da construção e a grandiosidade de Itaipu são fascinantes, e é um privilégio poder apresentar esse marco da engenharia aos nossos visitantes. Seu entusiasmo reforça o quanto vale a pena conhecer cada detalhe dessa obra espetacular. Agradeço exclusivamente seus comentários e elogios em nossa plataforma, aguardo para uma próxima oportunidade de lhe atender! Atenciosamente, Luan Rolan Coordenador de Operações | MMC Turismo

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Binacional Itaipu is amazing. Wonder made of concrete, nature and valuation of human relationships.

The place is fantastic. The size of the complex is surreal, huge. The tour is very interesting, the Itaipu guides are great. The organization is very efficient. Worth every moment.

Response from the operator: Demais o seu comentário! 🙌 Realmente, Itaipu impressiona, né? Aquele tamanho todo parece coisa de outro mundo! 😲 É muito bom saber que você curtiu o tour e que os guias deixaram a experiência ainda mais especial. Organização afinadíssima, como tem que ser! Obrigado por compartilhar — e bora continuar explorando lugares incríveis como esse! ⚡️🚌💙 Atenciosamente Thomas William de Oliveira

via Tripadvisor (translated)

What a disappointment, cancellation at the last moment

The tour booked on this site was cancelled the day before. We had already been there... we replaced by a bus tour on the dam. The building is impressive, but that is not what we wanted to do. That was really part of our visitation goals. Coming from France it is obvious that we cannot return.

Response from the operator: Bonjour, Nous sommes sincèrement désolés pour la déception causée et comprenons votre frustration, surtout après un tel déplacement pour vivre cette expérience. Cette visite est effectivement très spéciale, et nous regrettons profondément qu’elle n’ait pas pu se dérouler comme prévu. Nous vous remercions d’avance si vous pouvez nous fournir plus d’informations sur ce qui s’est passé. Savez-vous si l’annulation a été effectuée par notre équipe ou par la plateforme où vous avez acheté vos billets ? De plus, avez-vous reçu une explication concernant la raison de cette annulation ? Même avec ce retard dans notre réponse, nous souhaitons vraiment comprendre cette situation pour éviter qu’un tel désagrément ne se reproduise. Notre engagement est de faire de chaque expérience un moment unique et mémorable. Merci pour votre compréhension, et nous espérons avoir une autre chance de vous accueillir pour une visite à la hauteur de vos attentes. Avec nos salutations distinguées, Équipe MMC

via Tripadvisor (translated)