The 14 Best City Tours in Rio de Janeiro

1.6-Stop Highlights of Rio with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 5,157 reviews · 8 hours · from $130Our pick

Spend eight hours seeing Rio’s essential sights by air-conditioned minivan, with a multilingual guide such as João, Roger, or Ursula. Ride to Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf, visit the Cathedral and Selarón Steps, view Maracanã and the Sambadrome from outside, and stop for a buffet lunch.

“Personally the stop at the soccer stadium was not necessary, especially to only see it from the outside. Having to make Otherwise everything we were very pleased with our experience and our guide. Thanks again.”

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2.Hop-ON Hop-OFF Sightseeing Bus in Rio de Janeiro – Rio Samba Bus

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 457 reviews · 1 day · from $30Best value

Spend one day seeing Rio from a panoramic bus, with 24 stops near Copacabana, Lapa, Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and more. You get Portuguese, English, and Spanish commentary, plus MPB and samba music. Attraction tickets, food, and drinks cost extra.

“It is a bus with only one level- up top with no shade at all. It was hot! Since there weren’t ear plugs, it was just a recording over speaker- you couldn’t really hear what they were saying. I thought we’d get closer to Christ the Redeemer but it was just in the distance. At least they sold cold beer on board….”

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3.Private Guided City Tour

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

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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4.Rio de Janeiro Full-Day Sightseeing Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 121 reviews · from $165

Start early at Christ the Redeemer, then ride the Sugarloaf cable car, stop for lunch in Ipanema, and tour central Rio by air-conditioned minivan. A multilingual guide such as Carmen, Vincent, Ana, or Kikko may lead your small group, with hotel pickup from selected Leblon, Ipanema, and Copacabana hotels.

“Enjoyed learning about Rio history and information and taking in everything around us Good structure of your/ timing/ organisation”

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5.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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6.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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7.Rio Samba Bus: hop-on hop-off city tour in Rio de Janeiro

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

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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8.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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9.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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10.Christ Redeemer by Train & City Highlights Morning Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 74 reviews · 5 hours · from $92

You’ll ride the Corcovado Train through tropical forest to Christ the Redeemer, then tour Rio’s center by air-conditioned bus. See the Selarón Steps, Metropolitan Cathedral, Sambódromo, and Maracanã with a multilingual guide such as João or Alberto. Hotel pickup serves Rio’s South Zone.

“de tour was erg leuk!! we hebben heel veel gezien van de stad.”

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11.Private Full-Day Highlights Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 70 reviews · 7 hours

See Rio’s biggest sights in seven private hours with a guide and driver. Ride the Corcovado train to Christ the Redeemer, walk Santa Teresa, visit Selarón Steps and the cathedral, then take the Sugarloaf cable car. Patricia, Thalyta, and Leandro are among the guides who have led this route.

“We were warmly welcomed and picked up, and the exciting tour started right away. Our guide was incredibly friendly, and we were truly amazed by the entire history and everything we got to see. We can definitely recommend this tour and the guide; it was a wonderful experience and worth every cent!”

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12.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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13.Rio de Janeiro Tour – Discover Christ the Redeemer and the Marvelous City

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 61 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $90

Start at 8:00 am for a five-hour Rio tour in a comfortable vehicle, visiting Christ the Redeemer, Selarón Steps, the Sambadrome, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Tijuca Forest, Maracanã and Rio’s beaches. Guide Márcio is noted for clear Spanish and Portuguese explanations.

“Very nice everything and excellent predisposition by guide Marcio. He was able to transmit all his extensive knowledge to the group, being able to express himself using his native language as well as Spanish. A genius guide Marcio👏🏻. The tour was very beautiful and the Christ impressive.Auto-translated”

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14.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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