Whenever we travel, we always try to find a good local hike to do. In Rio, Dois Irmaos is it! It is…read morequite difficult, but amazing! To get there, have a taxi/uber drive you to the Vidigal favela entrance on Avenue Niemeyer (about 10 mins from Copacabana). At the entrance, you will see a group of motorbikes. Ask one of them to drive you to the trailhead. It will cost you 5 BRL. The motorbike drops you off at a football field. Cross the field and you will see the trailhead. We had just hiked Machu Picchu before arriving to Rio, so our legs were already pretty beat. Maybe this hike is easier than it felt for us, but by the time we reached the peak, our leg muscles were feeling the burn. The first half of the hike is fairly easy. You'll be in the shade for the most part and it's an easy, steady climb. The second half gets harder, steeper, and you'll be in the blazing sun. Be sure to pack plenty of water and sunscreen. At the half way point there is a local guy selling water and frozen acai. It's a nice treat as it is HOT outside and the frozen acai tastes great! Once you reach the top, you'll be greeted with some of the best views in all of Rio. You can see Copacabana, Ipanema, Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and some surrounding favelas. We stayed at the top for about 20-30 minutes before heading back down. Descending is much easier, however, can be slippery due to a lot of loose sand. If you enjoy hiking, Dois Irmaos is a fantastic climb in Rio de Janeiro.

Is it possible to give this company more than 5 stars because they deserve it! We first read about…read morethem online on a Google search. We reached out to them and had the pleasure of exchanging emails with Anna who was more than helpful in answering our 1000 questions. They provided all the information we needed to be ready for our hike. We decided to go with the Tijuca Forest Adventure Full-Day Hike. When the day came, we met Tito who was our guide for the day. We couldn't have been any luckier! I would have not chosen another person to lead us on this hike. Tito did an amazing job through out the hike with encouraging us and being super supportive. We never felt unsafe because he made us feel completely comfortable and you could tell he loved doing this. The hike itself was not the easiest, but we did not give up and all the spots we stopped at were worth it. He took us on different trails so that we could see the most we could. Tito was also very knowledge and did a great job giving us a little history lesson on Brazil. The sites we stopped at were beautiful and you really get to experience the beauty of nature in the Tijuca rainforest. Tito also recommend some spots to check out while in Rio and they were spot on. I cannot wait to return and book another adventure with them! If you want a great guide who will take you on the best hike of your life, Jungle Me is the place for it.

We took a favela tour in Rio to Babilonia, followed by a jungle hike up the attached hillside…read more Thiago was our guide and showed us an amazing day. We stopped a few minutes into the favela for a historical overview of Brasil from Thiago that was really quite interesting. The tour through the favela was fascinating and it turned to be one the best days we'd had in Brasil of the 10 days we spent there. If you're debating whether or not to visit or take this tour, we highly recommend it. These guys were professional, knowledgeable and made it a great day. It's safe, interesting and will give you a better local flavor than the routine Corcovado and SugarLoaf type day trips (which of course you must do if you haven't been). Amazing experience. Thanks guys!

There isn't much to see in this park except for a few playground equipment and exercise stations…read more The entire park has a solid sand floor which is very uninviting, though a few grassy areas can be had here and there. Seating is plentiful via a low perimeter wall that is shaded in most areas with quite a few trees. Other than that, most people use this park as access onto Ipanema Beach from the main road.

Except for the fact that its on the beach, at first glance it appears like any other park. But if…read moreyou climb the hill you'll find a skate park with amazing views of the city. During carnaval there were fitness dance parties, live music, etc. Good times. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf1luu2BD2E/

Marcos is a great guide and took us to many amazing places like waterfalls, mountains, less crowded…read morebeaches around Rio. He always give good tips of activities inside our budget. He is a good standup instructor, that can teach you to paddle from the first day.

From the owner: By hiking, cycling or stand-up-paddling you will experience a much more authentic Rio and feel so…read moremany nuances that would simply be missed on a conventional sightseeing vehicle tour. With Rio Active Tours, you have the security of doing your the most amazing trips under the supervision of a certified hiking guide. I hope that you enjoy Rio as much as I do!

We had a great time hiking Tijuca with this company. We were in a small group of 4 with 1 guide…read morewhich made it alot more personal. We stopped off in a few places to get excellent views & pictures, then did our hike to the top with exceptional views over Rio. Our guide the owner was very personable & pointed out lots of things to us. I can't recommend this tour or company highly enough.

From the owner: Rio Natural Ecotourism is an ecological adventure tourism operator which offers its customers…read moreunforgettable experiences in breath-taking natural scenery, bringing moments of great charm to your holiday and providing a lifetime of memories. Through contact with the stunning natural beauty and cultural riches, the most extraordinary histories and curiosities of the wonderful city and its surroundings are revealed to you. Tours and activities can be tailored to suite the individual needs and interests of our customers, according to their ability. For those seeking more tranquillity, we also offer culturally and ecologically orientated tours of the city. But for those seeking the thrill of adrenaline on their trip, our tours offer a diverse range of adventure tourism activities.

Rodrigo de Freitas is a huge lake that is in the middle of Rio surrounded by Copacabana, Ipanema,…read moreand Leblon. The surrounding paths around the lake are much quieter than the beach areas of the city. It is a good area to go jogging, bike riding, and there are swan pedal boats for rental too. I also noticed a few restaurants and food carts along the lakefront as well. I wouldn't call this place a must see for visitors, but you should pass by in a car to see what it looks like. The lake is also supposedly very polluted however, so it would be advisable to avoid swimming or jumping in.

It's not until you're drinking in the view from the top of Corcovado (aka Christ the Redeemer) that…read moreyou take in just how large this lake actually is. From that viewpoint though, you see every step of the 4.5+ miles of flat perimeter trail that surrounds it and you begin to understand how it is that this can be the venue for canoeing and rowing competitions during the 2016 Summer Olympics. Before my trip to Brazil I'd been led to believe that there was danger around every corner but my family walked around this lake late in the day, concluding after dark, without hint of incident. In fact, the scariest thing that happened was suddenly coming upon a giant Capybara mere feet from the footpath. He was not armed. The path around the lake is perfect for walking, jogging or bike riding and is well patrolled by trios of bike-riding police and never for a minute did I fear for my safety. As you make your way around there are numerous opportunities to stop for drinks or food. There's a Cine-plex, a food truck, bars/cafes, and even swan-shaped pedal boats for rent (in the daytime). If you're there in December, the lake sports a giant floating, moving, lit Christmas tree which is quite the attraction. The perimeter path around Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas is well-lit and well-used and is a great place to get in some non beach-based exercise. The water here is supposedly polluted (something that's being worked on) so contain your swimming to the nearby shores of Ipanema.

This trail is amazing. You get a wonderful view plus the monkeys are the most adorable things on…read moreearth.

You're coming here strictly for the views/vibe. The food is decent but it's nothing special. If…read moreyou're coming here strictly for the food you'll be disappointed. That's not to say the food is bad, it's alright. But on a Monday morning the wait to get a table was over an hour. It's outdoors so it can get really hot too. Even after we were seated it took FOREVER to get our food. Luckily we were just killing time until our flight. If you have other things to do it could be annoying. I got a burger and it was ok. It was cooked alright but it was a little bland. The fries were also just ok too. It's a nice experience but temper your expectations.

The prettiest brunch! After waiting around 45 minutes we were seated at Parque Lage. It was…read moreabsolutely beautiful and they have a vegetarian friendly menu! I got the coffee shake & the French toast and fruit cup. Everything was fantastic and couldn't possibly be in a more pretty place! There are views of Christ the redeemer from the courtyard! Great for photo! Definitely arrive early if you don't want to wait! Lines get long here!