8 City Tours in Rio de Janeiro to Build a Day Around

1.Private Guided City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 207 reviews · 4 - 8 hours · from $56Our pick

Build your Rio day around beaches, Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf, Santa Teresa, gardens, or local neighborhoods. A private guide such as Dario, Meilin, or Riccardo travels with you by car, adjusts for weather and traffic, and shares practical local insight.

“Riccardo is an amazing guide. He made sure we had a great time and he showed us Rio de Janeiro through his eyes as he was born and lives there. We saw a lot and enjoyed every moment of it. Thank you so much Riccardo! We had a wonderful day”

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2.Half-Day Christ the Redeemer and City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 101 reviews · 5 hours · from $63

Spend five hours visiting Rio’s essential sights, beginning with Christ the Redeemer above Tijuca Forest. A multilingual guide leads you to Maracanã, the Sambadrome, Selarón Steps, and the Metropolitan Cathedral, with hotel pickup from central and South Zone neighborhoods.

“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.”

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3.Imperial City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 95 reviews · 9 - 10 hours · from $68

Travel from Rio to Petrópolis by air-conditioned bus with a guide in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Visit Quitandinha Palace, the Imperial Museum, the imperial mausoleum, Crystal Palace, Santos Dumont’s house, and the Flowers Watch. Add Brazil’s oldest beer factory for tastings.

“I enjoyed most was the Imperial Palace tour next was the beer brewery tour.”

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4.Rio Samba Bus: hop-on hop-off city tour in Rio de Janeiro

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 94 reviews · 2 hours · from $31Best value

Ride the Rio Samba Bus through Copacabana, Urca, Lapa, downtown, Ipanema, and Christ the Redeemer. You get live commentary in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, Brazilian music, Wi-Fi, and 26 listed stops. The $31 ticket is best for a broad city overview, not a perfectly timed transport service.

“It was fun. Saw lots of things. Driver slowed down or stopped so that everyone could take photos.”

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5.Learn the History of Rio with an Unforgettable City Center Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 82 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $49Top rated

Explore Rio’s historic center on a private three-hour walk with a guide such as Rafael or Danielle. See Cinelândia, Selarón Steps, Lapa’s arches, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Colombo Café, and Paço Imperial, with room to adjust the route to your interests.

“Amazing, friendly and very informative walk around the historical center of Rio! 5 / 5 stars! Thank you!”

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6.City Tour Full Day in Rio: Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 81 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $126

Spend about nine hours seeing Rio’s major sights by shared transfer, with entry to Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf, a Brazilian buffet lunch, and an accredited guide. The group can reach 19 people. Pickup runs from Rio’s South Zone to Centro, not Barra or Recreio.

“Long day but worth it. Our guide had lots of information to share. We were a group of 20. The only downside was that sitting in the very back of the bus we couldn’t really see any of the scenery and had a hard time hearing the guide.”

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7.Rio de Janeiro City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 67 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $125

Spend about five hours seeing Rio’s headline sights in a van for up to 19 people. Visit Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf, Mirante Dona Marta, Santa Teresa, and Selarón Steps, with guides such as Alex or Fernando sharing local context. Pickup details should be confirmed before departure.

“Booked this due to 11:30 start but was moved to 10am which was at least still later than other tours. Had a great day seeing the sights and time for a wonderful lunch in Santa Teresa. We learnt a lot and got some great pictures taken for us at the key sights which was a lovely bonus and memory.”

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8.City Tour Full VIP – Corcovado Train + Churrascaria Rodízio

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 43 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $147

Spend about nine hours touring Rio in an air-conditioned vehicle, riding the Corcovado train to Christ the Redeemer, taking Sugarloaf’s cable cars, and eating at a churrascaria rodízio. You’ll also see Selarón Steps, the cathedral, Copacabana, and the Sambadrome from outside.

“An excellent way to visit the key sights in Rio. Lots of time both at top of Sugar Loaf and at Christ the Redeemer with our excellent guide Aldo. Lunch was superb - a huge and varied salad bar plus endless portions of meat brought to the table. Small group and very friendly.”

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