Christ the Redeemer by Van and Selarón Steps
Badge of Excellence
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Tick off several of Rio de Janeiro’s top sights—including the Selaron Steps, Christ the Redeemer Statue, and Tijuca National Park—in just a few hours on a tour that offers a stress-free introduction for travelers short on time. In order to avoid the hassle of public transport, you’ll travel around Brazil’s cultural capital in an air-conditioned vehicle and benefit from the insider knowledge of your guide.
- See the best of the Eternal City on a whistle-stop half-day tour
- An ideal introduction to Rio de Janeiro for first-time visitors
- Cover more attractions in less time as you travel by air-conditioned car
- Leave the hassle of planning and buying tickets to your guide
What's Included
- Guided tour half-day tour via air-conditioned vehicle
- All Fees and Taxes
- Tickets to the Christ the Redeemer
- Professional guide with live tour commentary in English, Spanish & Portuguese
- Pickup and drop-off from meeting points in Copacabana
- Foods and drinks (available for purchase at the attractions)
- Gratuities (optional)
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Operating hours.8:30 am
Itinerary
1
Corcovado - Christ the Redeemer
40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Santa Teresa (Pass By)
Arcos da Lapa (Pass By)
2
Escadaria Selaron
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Zona Sul (South Zone)
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 19 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 287 reviews
Barry_A, Mar 2026
It’s a very good tour. Although the pick-up time was slightly late, it was not the driver’s fault at all. The driver, by the way, was awesome.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Dear Barry,
Thank you for your review! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the tour and had a great experience with our driver. We appreciate your understanding about the pickup time and hope to welcome you again soon! - C2Rio team
Tomoya_S, Jan 2026
The view from Cristo Redentor was incredible and we really enjoyed. However there was some mixed up and I got a call when I was waiting for pick up and I was told that I missed pick up and I need to go to other hotel. I got text and email to show my pick up is 8:09, but operator told me that they sent me as 7:30. I almost cancelled via Viator since operator did not answer a call. Fortunately my guide came to my hotel at 8:30 and we could join the tour, but i think they are not well organized and I was misinformed and very bad customer service.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We are very glad to know you enjoyed the incredible view from Cristo Redentor, but we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you faced with the pick-up. During high season, delays can unfortunately occur due to heavy traffic in the city and long queues at the main attractions, which may have impacted the schedule. We regret any confusion this may have caused and appreciate your understanding. Your feedback is very valuable to us, and we hope to welcome you again in the future for a smoother and more enjoyable experience.
– C2Rio Team
jennifer_W, Jan 2026
We booked a three hour experience and were told that we got moved to a full day tour. We had other things booked and had to leave the tour half way through without seeing the selarian stairs. We also had to pay a cab to take us back to our hotel.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We sincerely regret the inconvenience you experienced. For operational reasons, smaller tours may occasionally be combined with larger ones, giving guests the option to upgrade if they wish — however, this is entirely voluntary and does not extend the original tour duration. What may have occurred in your case is that, particularly during high season, the main attractions often have long queues, which can increase waiting times and cause delays in the schedule.
We kindly ask you to contact us at reservations@c2rio.travel so we can review your case in detail and provide the best possible assistance. Thank you once again for your comments, which help us improve our services. We hope to welcome you again in the future under better circumstances.
– C2Rio Team
Aidan_F, Jan 2026
Don't book this tour if you don't have time. It is several hours, more like 6 to 8 hours, you're also grouped with a full day group, so there is much more to the itinerary than is said. Way too many unnecessary stops. If you want a quick, seamless tour of christ the redeemer and the stairs, find another tour
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Dear passenger, thank you for sharing your feedback with us, and we’re sorry to hear that the tour didn’t fully meet your expectations.
The Christ the Redeemer by Van & Selaron Steps experience may take a few extra hours depending on traffic, crowds, and general operating conditions in Rio. While some parts of the itinerary can be shared with other tours, this does not necessarily extend the duration of your experience — it is simply a logistical approach to ensure smooth access to the attractions during peak times.
We understand that this may feel inconvenient if you were expecting a shorter and more direct visit, and we appreciate you bringing your perspective to our attention. Feedback like yours helps us continue improving the clarity of our tour descriptions and the overall flow of our operations.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Sincerely,
– C2Rio Team
MENDYK_H, Nov 2025
The hubby and I booked this tour the day before(11/11/25), kind off the last minute as our scheduled tour was rescheduled. We were picked up from our hotel in a comfortable Mercedes van. The guide, Publiano, was very friendly, knowledgeable, professional and ensured that everyone was having a great time. I was extremely impressed that Mr. Publiano was able to converse with all of us who spoke various languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese. Everyone was well informed and was treated equally! Mr. Publiano took great photos for everyone at all the locations. My husband and I had a great time and I would recommend!
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you for sharing your experience, Mendy! We’re thrilled you and your husband had such a great time. Publiano will be delighted to hear your kind words—his ability to connect in multiple languages and capture amazing photos truly makes the tour special. We appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you again soon!
Carmen_M, Nov 2025
We so much fun they told old man was excellent. His English was very good and he was able to get some good pictures of us.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you for your feedback!
Tatianna_I, Sep 2025
This was a lifetime experience. It was really good. Everything was as it was advertisement on the website.!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
That’s wonderful to hear! It’s great when an experience lives up to expectations. Glad everything matched what was advertised — truly a memory to cherish!
Kyle_C, Aug 2025
Great tour guide, however the tour went 2 hours over. Total time was 5+ hours when advertised as 3 hours. Some people had to cancel afternoon plans due to the late return.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Dear Kyle,
Thank you for your valuable feedback! Occasionally, tours may extend slightly due to traffic or optional upgrades, depending on the day’s conditions. We truly appreciate your input to help us improve!
Sincerely,
- C2Rio Team
Brittley_E, Aug 2025
Poor communication made for a confusing day. The tour was conducted in three languages with two different tour options (half and full day) combined into one group. The combining of two tours made the whole experience confusing as to when things ended for the half day tour. There are many extra stops that are not on the Viator description and the tour is a few hours longer than the three hours advertised. If you have time it is great because you get to see extra things but plan accordingly as you never really know when your tour is ending. The tour guide was nice enough but having to manage two different groups in three languages was stressful for him. This is less of a tour and more of a hop on hop off bus for the various sites as when you get there you just walk around on your own. The experience was fine but definitely not what we were expecting.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Dear Brittley,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
We sincerely apologize for the confusion and lack of clarity during the tour. Your feedback is extremely valuable and will be carefully reviewed with our Management team to improve future operations.
We understand how important clear communication and organization are, and we regret not meeting your expectations. Please feel free to reach out through our service channels if you need further assistance.
Sincerely,
– C2Rio Team
Tyler_C, Aug 2025
Our guide Priscilla was so nice and full of energy. She really kept our attention and made sure everyone was together and safe the entire trip.
As for the tour…it was a 8/10. I didn’t give it a 10/10 because it was cloudy at the top and we could hardly see the statue. The clouds broke for a split second and we were able to get pics but couldn’t see the city at all. Obviously, you can’t control the weather and it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Just note that depending on the weather and season you may not be able to see anything. I would check to see when the best time to visit to ensure you have a good view. We were allowed 30 mins there because we had other things to get to, could have used a tad longer.
Just to reiterate, our guide and driver was fabulous…weather not so much.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Dear Tyler,
Thank you for your detailed feedback!
We're glad Priscilla and our driver made your experience enjoyable. We hope to welcome you again on a clearer day!
Sincerely,
– C2Rio Team
Matthew_W, Jun 2025
Booked the 1/2 day three hour tour. After booking, the company failed to communicate they had put us on the full day tour. The guide didn’t communicate this fact, and did not answer our questions about the itinerary and timing once we were on the tour. Many other guests also expressed their confusion on the trip itinerary and timing of events. Due to poor communication and not getting any responses from the company and the guide, we had to leave after 4.5 hours and only seeing one of the promised sites. Although hotel pick up and drop off was part of package, had to Uber back to hotel.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Dear Matthew,
Thank you for your feedback, and we’re truly sorry for the inconvenience.
The tour you booked was a half-day experience, but it was upgraded with a few additional attractions as a bonus. Unfortunately, this change wasn’t clearly communicated, and we understand how that caused confusion during the tour. We also regret that the guide didn’t provide clear information about the itinerary and timing.
Regarding your return to the hotel, the guide did offer the option to return with the group in the van, but we understand that waiting for the rest of the group wasn’t ideal for you. We’re sorry this led you to arrange an Uber instead, around the time you had planned to finish the original half-day tour.
We’ve already approved the partial refund you requested through the platform. Your feedback is very important to us, and we’re working to improve our communication and service.
Best regards,
C2Rio Team
Matthew_B, Jun 2025
Really great customer service! I really enjoyed the tour! The tour guide was great and made sure the trip went well.
Taleesa_P, May 2025
Daniel was an awesome guide and Victor was a safe driver! We learned so much about the history of Brazil and felt well taken care of! I would recommend to anyone!
Christine_V, Mar 2025
The driver was an hour and 20 minutes late to pick us up, and communication was very poor letting us know what was happening. Another guest just gave up and left.
Christ the Redeemer is much smaller than expected. The tour once it started was great - but I would use another operator in the future due to the bad timing and communication.
Suzanne_D, Mar 2025
Although we were picked up on time and driver and tour guide were fine, line ups were crazy long. It took an hour in line just to get the bus up the mountain to see Christ the Redeemer. Would have liked to have a few more minutes at the steps. Only had time to basically get down and no time at all to look. Felt very rushed. Perhaps if the line ups weren’t so long we would have been allowed more time.
Response from Host, May 2025
Dear Customer,
Thank you for your feedback, and we’re glad to hear that you were satisfied with the punctuality of the pickup as well as the driver and tour guide.
We truly understand your frustration regarding the long lines and the limited time at Christ the Redeemer. Unfortunately, during peak periods, wait times can be longer than expected, which can impact the overall experience despite our best efforts to manage the schedule.
Please know that we are continuously working to improve our operations and find ways to offer more flexibility when such situations arise. Your comments are very valuable to us, and we’ll certainly take them into account as we evaluate how to enhance our guests’ experience in the future.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again on a smoother visit.
Warm regards,
Customer Experience Team
Jazz_C, Mar 2025
Had such a great time! Our tour guide Piter was great guide and helped us understand some of the history of Rio a bit better. Had time to stop and really see certain attractions and take picture. Definitely would book again and recommend! 10/10
Response from Host, May 2025
Dear Jazz,
Thanks for sharing your experience!
We're so glad to hear you had a fantastic time and that Peter made your tour special by sharing Rio's history. It's great that you got to explore the attractions and take some memorable photos. We really appreciate your recommendation and can't wait to welcome you back for another tour.
If you need anything else, just let us know!
Best Wishes,
Customer Experience Team
Adam_B, Mar 2025
The amount of time we visited the Redeemer statue was very short (10-14 mins). It takes roughly 8 minutes to go from the bottom to the top and back down again. By the time we get there, we had a short time to take some photos and admire the statue. This was disappointing as visiting Redeemer was the main reason I booked the tour.
My suggestion is to either extend the visit to 20 minutes or create a tour that only visits the Redeemer and allows the tourists more time to admire the Redeemer.
Aside from that, the tour guide (Gustavo) was very friendly, informative and made me feel welcome as the only English speaking guest in the group and I enjoyed the other places we visited.
As it is, I’m sorry to say that I can’t recommend this tour.
orachid, Feb 2025
The tour was nice. Emma and the driver were super good. Emma was friendly, accommodating & knowledgeable.
We certainly enjoyed seeing the highlights.
Ulric_E, Feb 2025
We signed up for the half day tour and had been told that it would run from 8:30 to 11:30. We were picked up at the hotel. Delays in picking people up (there are always some laggards that I wish the company would just leave behind) and then horrendous traffic and extremely long lines at the Christ the Redeemer place meant that we spent one and a half hour in the van and then 2 hours in line, mostly baking in the sun. We reached the monument at noon. So, 4 hours to get there! We and what felt like 10,000 more people squeezed in on the platform. Yes, the view from there is gorgeous but hard to enjoy it. The next stop on this tour was the stairs (Selarón). Got there around 1:30. Again very very crowded. Not worth it.
The guide, a young woman, was very good and handled the difficult situation very well. She made some good executive decisions that saved us some time. But the tour company should have done a much better job in alerting us about the big crowds and long lines.
Eddie_C, Feb 2025
Vincent was awesome! Very punctual and friendly demeanor. He happily translated everything he was describing in multiple languages (Spanish & English for our group) and ensured everyone in the group was accounted for. It was a joy touring the city. Totally worth the admission price!
Kevin_M, Jan 2025
Great time. Could use more time at Christ Rising. The cable cars up to sugarloaf mountain was perfect view as the day cleared up.
Joseph_T, Jan 2025
Geisa was terrific. She helped my wife all thru the tour. My wife walks with a cane. Even though we went on an earlier van to Christ the Redeemer, she contacted us via WhatsApp and picked us up along with the rest of the group. 10 stars for Geisa!
Ashley_L, Jan 2025
This tour was incredible and FAR exceeded my expectations. I got even more than expected. Not only did we see all the incredible sights but we also learned so much history and the meaning behind many things. It was both informative and fun. Also a great value for the money! I liked that we got to do and see so much in so little time. A great experience to book if you want to get the most out of your travels. Wonderful too meeting people from all over the world, especially as a solo traveler.
Our guide, Joao was incredible!! The best guide I've ever had. He was so knowledgeable and so kind and friendly. Joao created a beautiful and safe environment for the group to feel comfortable exploring and learning.
I would most definitely book this again and I recommend it one hundred percent! Thank you!!
Steve_T, Jan 2025
Did not run on time, started late and finished later. Traffic and the crowds definitely contributed. Our guide was great, real knowledgeable and super attentive to the group. We were the only English only members and he was so patient with us.
Frank_M, Jan 2025
You change the van in the middle of the tour, waiting 2-4h in the sun. I was traveling with a toddler and my parents in law, and the guide did not let us use the priority lane. Also the guide in general was not providing much information at all
James_W, Jan 2025
The transportation experience was great - guide was great. You roll the dice on weather — we didn’t have great weather at the Christ the Redeemer statue itself - lots of fog which is common in December even when Rio is sunny. The other parts of tour were great too.
Kirstin_M, Dec 2024
Great experience, prompt and worked perfectly for my last full day in Rio. Saw a few different places along the way to Selaron and Cristo. My only 2 complaints are 1. the pick up was running late which is completely ok, i just think they should send a ETA text to people. I was ubering to a pick up area and was by myself so it was concerning to not know where the van was or if i had missed it etc. I ended up texting via WhatsApp but them sending a text would be better customer service wise.
2. I wish we had a little more time to walk around/shop at the stops. I found it a little rushed to just to do things like use the restroom and pick out a few souvenirs. Other than that this was a great tour and I would still do it again next time!
Luke_T, Sep 2024
We were sold a tour of Christ The Redeemer followed by Selaron steps from 8-11am. We were completely mis-sold this tour and had 3 hours of our time wasted and our post tour plans ruined.
Firstly, we were told pick up was at 08:03 but we were not picked up until 08:20. This was a minor inconvenience as we understand traffic etc., can cause some delays. However the guide then messed up the other pick-ups and we were back next to our hotel at 09:10 still picking up other guests that had been missed. We didn’t actually get to Christ the Redeemer until 10:22. Even more frustratingly though was we were put on a mixed tour which meant that after Christ the Redeemer we were taken around the city without our consent to places we had already been, waiting to get to the Selaron steps and finally leave the tour and carry on with our last day in Rio. We didn’t get to the steps until 13:00 (the tour was meant to end at 11:00!) and had to leave the tour at the steps to take a taxi straight to our next place because so much time was wasted. This meant we weren’t taken back to our hotel which we paid for and we incurred additional costs with the taxi.
We had a terrible experience and when we brought this to our guide’s attention she responded in a rude “not my problem” manner.
We have written to customer services requesting a refund and have had a very poor response so far, with our last email being ignored.
Derrick_B, May 2024
It should be advertised as “Go see a water fall tour”, because that’s basically all it is. I would not recommend this tour to anyone.
cristi_m, Apr 2024
Christ Redeemer and Celeron steps. Carla is amazing!!! Only negative which was no fault of tour was so many people/ crowds. Poulo our driver was very good!!
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