The Best Half Day in Rio with Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Hill
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
+2
- 5 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Summit both Corcovado and Sugar Loaf mountains on this half-day tour in Rio de Janeiro. After bright and early pickup from your Rio hotel, travel through the Tijuca National Forest to get up close with the Christ the Redeemer statue without throngs of people around. After learning about its history from your local guide, move on to Sugar Loaf Mountain for spectacular views of the sprawling city.
- Enjoy a personalized experience in a capped-tour group
- Pass several other landmarks such as Palácio Guanabara and Largo do Boticário
- Choose between a package that includes entry fees and one that doesn't
- Plenty of opportunities to take panoramic photographs and videos
What's Included
- Hotel pick up and drop off - selected hotels in Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana
- Bilingual certificated tour guide
- Entrance fee - Entrance fees to Corcovado (Chritst the Redeemer) and to Sugar Loaf Complex can be included when selecting the option
- Transportation in a Deluxe Van with driver
- From December to March (high season), allow extra time for the tour. They can take much longer
- Drinks and Food
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Itinerary
Copacabana Beach (Pass By)
Parque Nacional da Tijuca (Pass By)
1
Santuario Cristo Redentor
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
2
Mirante Dona Marta
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Sugarloaf Mountain
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
Ipanema Beach (Pass By)
Praia do Leblon (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- Importante note: During the months of December through March, considered the high season, the city and the venues get crowded so please allow more time for a complete tour. Even doing our best to avoid lines sometimes the tour get extended and can take longer to finish. Please, plan ahead for any possible delays.
- The 9:00am tour needs a minimum amount of people to operate. Our regular hours (7:30am or 1:30pm) operate regularly
- During the Carnival period, because of the crowd, all tickets need to be paid in advance to the venues. So Any date change for the tour with less than 24 hours' notice will incur a charge of USD 40.00 per person.
- Approximately from August 2026 until May 2027, the Corcovado venue (the Christ the Redeemer statue) will be under renovation. The tour may take longer and accessibility may be affected.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 19 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 1,609 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
We had a great experience with Meilin, who was a knowledgeable, caring and thoughtful tour guide for our group. She had plenty of historical and cultural information to share with us. We were blessed to have a lovely clear morning at Christ the Redeemer so that we could see it (on some days it can be obscured by clouds!). There were plenty of crowds at both Christ and Sugarloaf mountain, but having chosen the included tickets made the experience smoother. Delightful views at both.
For us, we had a clean slate of what to expect on this tour. We watched Utube videos and yet was still pleasantly surprised about the knowledgeable information we received!!!
Our guide was very patient and informative with the whole group, yet took the time for individual one on one sessions when it was available!!
We feel our guide Maiko was the difference in making our tour a fantastic experience!!
Pickup time was moved around a bit which was fine. But they were very late. We didnt get picked up until 8am and then had other pickups - so by the time we got Christ Redeemer we were already 1.5 hours behind schedule which his insurmountable when you’re wanting a half day trip where speed is of the essence. Then we waited for 30 min for the driver to show back up at Christ Redeemer to take us to Sugar Loaf. By then, people were understandably frustrated because it was impacting other plans. One couple left at Christ Redeemer and then we left when we arrived at Sugar Loaf Mountain because it was already 12pm by the time we got there. They didnt even leave Sugar Loaf mountain until 4pm because the lines were so long to get up. NO way to advertise this as a half day. The tour guide was frustrated with the driver and made it a point to say he was a bad driver and was not part of the company but was a sub contractor.
The tour was worth it... our guide. Lucy was very insightful and had great energy. Lucy was determined to have all 19 of her."Kids for the day." enjoy the drive the ride the sightseeing, and the tour.... and also not lose a single one of us. She was a walking encyclopedia and enhanced our experience which my mom and I are very grateful..
Good stops - Sugar Loaf Mountain and Christ the Reedemer. Tour guide was nice and friendly. Not a lot of insightful information along the way on the tour. Tour started late so waiting for a long time with no update from tour company. Breaks at stops didn't seem to match correct timing.
The tour was great and the tour guide did an outstanding job despite our driver being late in mutliple occasions. Due to the driver not being on time we finished up 4 hours later! Both sites were amazing though so it is the only reason this was not given a lower score
Great half day tour with Michael. Perfect amount of time to see the two Rio highlights. I would highly recommend this tour
A wonderful, easy way to see these amazing Rio landmarks. Lucie was a fantastic tour guide - she gave us all the info we needed and gave us time to explore on our own too, and Marcus got us around safely. The pick up and drop off option at the hotel made the whole thing totally stress free.
We had a wonderful time on our visit to Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain. It was our first time visiting Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Peter was incredible. Very knowledgeable and engaging. Filled us in on the history of the area on our drive to our destination. Very personable and kept us entertained. Gave us plenty of time to explore and answered everyone’s questions. Highly recommend.
Seamless, amazing, informative experience. The time was enough to enjoy and keep the group engaged.
Peter and Flavio were fantastic.
If you are planning to on a tour for Christ the Redeemer and it might be rain, cancel within 24 hours! I had a tour yesterday, it rained the agency did not cancel the tour, there was zero visibility and the tour did not even go to Christ the Redeemer and we were still charged full price
I had a horrible experience. The purpose of this excursion was to see Christ the Redeemer. That did not happen and I feel ripped off. I asked about a makeup date or refund which met with unsatisfactory results. This is the one and only chance for me to visit Brazil and to be disappointed after I paid $130 is totally unacceptable. If you as a company can see there wibe issues, you should cancel the event or provide a satisfactory agreement with the paying customer.
There were six of us, three adults and three teenagers. Amount of time at the stops was perfect for everyone to enjoy and take photos. Our tour guides were incredible as well.
It’s a really wonderful experience especially if Amelia conducts the tour. She was very knowledgeable but more importantly good fun.
Convenient way to see Cristo and Sugar Loaf easily. We had a lot of fun together and the van made traveling ready.
We were not happy with this tour. To start with they moved us the day before to a morning booking having booked the afternoon trip due to inclement weather forecast . As predicted the weather was terrible and we couldn’t really see any of the sites we had paid to see and it rained the whole time. The whole trip was pretty much a waste of time and money and the rain had cleared by the afternoon so our original booking would have been great.
In addition the tour guide really didn’t tell us much of anything on this tour it honestly felt more like a shuttle bus to the different places
Very disappointing, I didn't get to experience the tour due to their miscommunication. I paid and was issued a ticket w nominated time but then after a few hours they told me the tour was full and asked me to select a different time, which I did but I did not rcv their confirmation until after 9.20am the next day. My original ti.me was for 9am. I msg them twice and waited for a confirmation, once the day before, then 7.30am on the day...nothing, so I assumed i was still on the 9am tour as the ticket was still saying that time! But when I went to the pick up point they did not show Very disappointing to only rcv a msg to say I am confirm for 2pm. only at 9.20am. I'm not able to at that ti.me as I wud not get back in for my departure to airport that day. So I explain my response and situation and asked for a refund due to their mistake. They refused to refund me saying I opted for the 2nd time and that was confirmation. As much as it was their resoonsibikity and t.heir mistake, no compassion so I never got to see the highlights of Rio. They admitted their response was slow. I am very disappointed w the whole experience, I was looking forward to it. RIO is indeed a lovely City...I chose the wrong Company. For them it is just about the money, no understanding or making good😒 A Young, NZ
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Dear Alyse,
We are sorry that you were disappointed, but your review does not accurately reflect what happened.
From the very beginning, you were informed that the 9:00 AM departure was not available. As soon as we identified the issue, we contacted you and offered two alternative departure times: 7:05 AM or 1:55 PM.
You chose the 1:55 PM option. Once you selected that departure time, your tour was considered confirmed. At no point did we confirm a 9:00 AM departure, and therefore it is incorrect to state that you were waiting for a tour at that time.
You also mention that you did not receive confirmation. However, the message exchange clearly shows that you received our communication regarding the unavailable departure and responded by choosing the 1:55 PM option. This is precisely why your reservation was updated to that departure time.
While we acknowledge that our response time could have been faster, the fact remains that the unavailable departure was communicated to you before the tour date, alternatives were provided, and you selected one of them. Unfortunately, after a customer accepts an alternative schedule and the reservation is confirmed accordingly, we cannot be held responsible if the customer later decides not to attend.
We always strive to assist our guests and find solutions whenever possible, but refunds cannot be issued for services that were available and confirmed under the schedule chosen by the customer.
We are glad you enjoyed Rio de Janeiro and wish you all the best in your future travels.
That tour was awesome and so lively! Ursula, our guide, was super friendly and knew her stuff. We even got sidetracked and held things up at Christ Redeemer, and she (like a good mom) came back to find us. So sorry again, Ursula! 🤭
Unfortunately, the trip was poorly organized, and there was little information about what was happening, the schedule, etc. Though they couldn't do anything about the weather (it was very overcast), the "tour experience" was not good and I cannot recommend this company.
We took "The Best Half Day in Rio with Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Hill" tour, and Karla Belem made the entire experience incredible! Her English was fluent, and her passion, energy, and sense of humor kept everyone engaged from start to finish.
She brought the landmarks to life with rich stories and historical background, and she was always proactive about capturing great pictures for us. Huge thanks to Karla for being such a wonderful guide, and to Viator for organizing a seamless tour. Highly recommended!
It was a very well planned trip, with all details taken care of by the lovely English Speaking Guide Monica. She energetically explained all details, the history as well as many anecdotes. Timing was very well maintained. Despite a bit cloudy weather, had a beautiful view from both the tops. It was worth remembering. Thankfully, the other travellers were simply awesome; one each from Serbia, England, Ireland, a couple from US and a father & two sons team from France. It was a lovely experience.
Kiko was an excellent guide! Tour was a nice small size, both destinations were incredible! Recommend going as early as possible in the morning as it was already crowded at Christ the Redeemer. Would recommend this tour to friends and family!
Carla was a great guide, very enthusiastic, knowledgeable and fun. Highly recommend this trip if you are short on time
This was a great experience. Huge shoutout to Carla, she was amazing and gave us great facts about Rio. Everyone needs to book with her!!!
Fantastic guide and driver, but the weather turned bad so Sugar Loaf wasn’t visible. I would highly recommend! Gabi (guide) and Bruno (driver) were absolutely amazing!
Our guide Carla made our day! She was enthusiastic, informative, and kept the energy high. We had a great day seeing some of Rio’s most iconic sites.
It was horrible, frustrating, and annoying experience for me as I was not picked at all from the hotel where I had selected for pick up. Was informed my booking reservation was not in the system despite having received the confirmatory email with tickets and booking reference.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this situation caused you.
Unfortunately, despite all our efforts, technology can sometimes fail and unexpected errors do occur. As soon as we became aware of the issue, we did our best to minimize your disappointment and assist you in every way possible.
We completely understand how upsetting it must have been to have a confirmed reservation, tickets, and booking reference, and then experience this problem on the day of your tour. Please accept our sincere apologies for what happened.
While this situation was never our intention, we truly regret that your experience did not meet the standards we strive to provide. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we are genuinely sorry for the frustration and inconvenience caused.
Makes the visits super easy with very little queuing. Lucy was great - knowledgeable friendly and organised. And wow - what an experience.
This tour was outstanding. The company communicated with us frequently about our pickup. The tour guide, Victoria, was very knowledgeable and friendly. The driver was careful. The van was pristine clean. The sights were incredible.
Amelia was so awesome. She was friendly from her reception at pick up until the end of our tour. She had vast knowledge about Rio and the sites we visited. Her knowledge about the various other countries and cultures was impressive. Her sense of humour and kindness made our tour more human! She was caring and considerate to the group. She was the best tour guide! Thank you Amelia. You made our tour of Rio so enjoyable.
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