I go to Brazil often on business. It can sometimes be difficult to get around especially if your…read morePortuguese is terrible like mine. I finally found Rio Cultural Secrets in Rio to help guide clients through the city going to and from appointments for business and also to squeeze in some fun. Alan and his partner Fabio were fantastic. They were prompt, professional and really knew the city. We always felt safe, as they always appeared exactly when we needed them. In addition, as we went to our business meetings, they told us about the city, it's history and people. A special highlight was to visit favela Vidigal near Rio. It was a special honor to visit there and see the talent of the street artists, and meet the people little bars and snack shops. We went to Helena's bar and thrift store. She made us a nice drink and visited with us. It was a lovely place curated with found objects which she cleverly decorates and uses through her decor. Go there- so wonderful. We can't thank them enough and will always call Rio Cultural Secrets for every trip to Rio and look forward to seeing Alan and Fabio soon!

From the owner: Rio Cultural Secrets - Tour Privativo no Rio de Janeiro Que tal acordar em seu hotel, tomar seu…read morecafé da manhã e encontrar seu guia privativo pronto para lhe mostrar tudo o que o Rio de Janeiro tem a oferecer em um inesquecível Tour?A Rio Cultural Secrets nasceu com o objetivo de oferecer Tours alternativos na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Temos a motivação de mostrar a Cidade Maravilhosa de uma maneira descontraída e informativa. Queremos mostrar locais incomuns até mesmo para os cariocas, seja em um Favela Tour, um passeio pelo Centro Histórico, ou atravessando a ponte rumo à Niterói, como também descobrindo os Segredos de Petrópolis, a Cidade Imperial.

The monument was incredible - the views from the top were absolutely amazing!…read more The lack of organization and zero crowd control was very frustrating. There were no queues for the train, nor for the entrance into the statue making it a total free for all.

During our visit to Brazil this of course was on our list of something we needed to see…read more We had a tour nice & early, getting in we took the elevator up so it doesn't take long once u are up there it's just simply .. WOW! The views from up here are insane, we had the lovely surprised of seeing monkey which was fun. The worse part is the crowds, we were here early morning like 8am & it was unfortunately crazy jammed packed so many people it's annoying & u pretty much just kinda deal with it. There's a gift shop, bathrooms & area for drinks. This was amazing to see in person, the crist statue, the insane views it really gives u such perspective at the beauty around u. Definitely worth the visit & one of those things that I would say are a must see.

We had an amazing experience with Manu. It was a two-day tour (on non-consecutive days), and we saw…read morealmost everything Rio has to offer: Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain, Santa Teresa, the favelas, the Selarón Steps, the old town, Tijuca National Park, Ipanema and Leblon, and much more. Each tour lasted nearly nine hours, yet the time flew by. Manu arranged a private car and was fully at our disposal throughout the tours.

Manu is a an amazing guide!! We had a wonderful experience in Rio seeing sights on and off the…read morebeaten path. He is entertaining, knowledgeable and fun and knows where to get the best food!

Clara was our guide she was amazing knowledgeable funny and helpful. My husband and I both really…read moreenjoyed this we had done other tours in the area that were not nearly as good. I would highly recommend this tour!

This is my first free walking tour and it was awesome!! Ive heard wonderful thing about the free…read morewalking tours all over the world. RIO had a free Olympic Blvd & African Heritage walking tour at 3pm meet up at the Historical Clock. I learned so much in 2.5hrs of time walking Brazil. The tour guide was on time, knowledgeable and gave us info about each stop listed below from there website. I will indeed use them again thru out the world. Make sure you tip whatever you want at the end of the tour! It was indeed worth my time to learn more about some the heritage of AAM in RIO. XV Square: The most important square of Rio de Janeiro is the first attraction of the tour. In the XV Square is located the Imperial Palace, where the Royal Portuguese family habited 1808 after moving from Portugal to Rio de Janeiro. Candelária Church: One of the most important and beautiful churches of the city. Construction of Candelária church started already in the beginning of the 1600's and continued for over 200 year before the official inauguration. Olympic Boulevard: Total length of the Olympic Boulevard is 3,5km, and we will be covering approximately a half of it. This area of the city was completely renovated for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and offers beautiful views of the Guanabara Bay. Mauá Square: This square is a mixture of history and modernity. Here we'll find the Museum of Tomorrow and the Museum of Art. Mauá Square used to be an amphitheater for several historical moments in Rio de Janeiro. Today it's a popular spot for locals to have a stroll, but it also hosts different cultural events especially during weekends. Pedra do Sal: A small street square in the heart of "Little Africa". This place is said to be the birthplace of samba! Part of the historical patrimony of the city, Pedra de Sal also hosts a traditional "roda de samba" every Monday night! Valongo Wharf: Official UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017. Valongo Wharf is the largest port receiving African slave ships in the world. The wharf was covered with land in the beginning of the 20th century, and re-discovered in 2011 during the renovation project of Rio's Docks zone. Graffitis on the Olympic Boulevard: Largest graffiti of the world made by one artist is located in the Olympic Boulevard! A mural made by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was a project for Rio 2016 Olympic Games. It covers a wall of 3000 square meters! I gots some really cool pics while on the journey of exploring!

From the owner: Founded by Vicente Cardone, Rio Alternative Tour is an Agency of Receptive Tourism in Rio de…read moreJaneiro, who loves the city and is pleased to welcome the people who come to visit her. Our great advantage is the personalized service. Flexibility is the key word on the tours that we provide. You will visit the places you want, the way you want to see them. We identify the needs of visitors to the city, optimizing your valuable time and money. Our work goes far beyond a conventional tour, is an alternative way to see the city. Along the Rio Alternative Tour, you will visit the most interesting places where you will find the true essence of Rio Your ride will be more agile and comfortable, without being subject to all the limitations of a tour group, will have an infinitely greater freedom and can choose the places you wish to visit. Our tours are conducted in modern vehicles and insurance. We have a diverse team, tour guides and drivers experienced, skilled and responsible, that will make you feel at home.

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!

Bromelia Rio Travel and Tour are the best way to introduce yourself to Rio and fall in love with…read moreit. I was amazed by how each experience I had with Lauren and Val led me to want to do another tour with them. Each one I did was unique and amazing. First I decided to stay at Casa Bromelia. This B&B is ran by Lauren and Val. I found this option on their tour site. I stayed 3 nights and am positive I will return for more. Casa Bromelia is a block from Ipanema beach. You cannot beat this location. It has so much historical charm on the outside and the interior decor Lauren selected is beautiful! It has 3 bedrooms that could potential be booked. The beds are super comfortable and the sound proof windows make you forget the outdoor world is even there. Trust me this is bliss after long adventures all day in Rio. You share a bathroom with the other guests, but I often felt like it was my own. Never had issues waiting for it. Besides the amazing comfort of the rooms having Lauren and Val there to give advice on your stay made the trip. They could point you in the right direction for whatever you are in the mood for that day. You could join in on one of their tours, they will give you advice on restaurant to try, and the best beach stand to visit. Lauren and Val are so genuine and you can tell love Rio. They want you to love it too. I highly recommend staying at Casa Bromelia for your accommodation for your stay. Second, I did the Rainforest Hiking Tour to Dois Irmãos. The view for this is the best I have seen. Better then Christ or Sugar Loaf in my opinion. You can see a 360 view of Rio. I joined in last minute for this tour. I heard about it from a guest who was staying in a different room the afternoon before. Staying at Casa Bromelia made it easy for this last minute addition. A couple staying at a different location joined our group too. We met at Casa Bromelia and headed to the mountain. Val guided this tour and you can tell he has a love for the environment. He was picking up any little piece of trash as we hiked. I appreciate this gesture. In this tour we started at the bottom of the Vidigal Favela. We each took a separate motor bike taxi to get to the start of the hike at the top of the Favela. This was very safe and a great way to see the favela briefly. The hike was great for beginners. I am 35 years old and in average shape. There are some steep parts, but nothing you can't do. Val guided us at our pace and made sure we all were doing okay. The group talked the entire way up. Trust me the view is worth it!!! We walked down through the favela on the way back. It felt safe and interesting to see close up. Third, I did the Back Street Samba Party Excursion. I scheduled this in advance when I booked the place. Lauren guided this tour and you can tell she truly enjoys Samba and the spirit it brings to the Rio culture. I did it with one other guest (31 years old) staying at Casa Bromelia and an older couple (70 years old) staying at a different location. The ages didn't matter. We all had such a fantastic time together. There is no way you can't in this particular tour. First, we all met at Casa Bromelia at 6pm and learned how to make a Caprinhina! We also had one too! Then we headed to the central part of Rio to a back street Samba gathering. The location was amazing to see. Something I would never have found on my own in Rio. We listened to music, drank a few more Caprinhinas, ate espichinos (meat on a stick) and danced the night away!! Lauren's enthusiasm for this amazing tour really made us all fall in love with Rio and Samba. If I had more time I would have loved to do the cooking class tour, which Lauren doesn't run, but sets up for you or the City Walking Tour that Lauren does. Oh .... or the Photography Tour. The photos taken look amazing and how often do you have a beautiful background like Rio to do a personal photo shoot in. Lauren sets this up for you as well. I have officially fallen in love with Rio AND Bromelia Rio Travel and Tour! I will be back!!

Best Local Experience! I would not have found any of the information I received nor experienced any…read moreof the authentic moments I had without the help of Bromelia Rio Travel. And best of all, you made me feel prepared for my trip even before I arrived! Always available to answer my questions, offer suggestions and get me excited for my Rio holiday. Highly Recommended.