Private Half-Day Must Sees: Your Last Minute Booking in Rio!

Recommended by 93% of travelers

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

4 to 5 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.8

· Isabelle_C ·

Mar 2026

My family and I (party of 5) had an amazing time! Ask for Jessica! She was an amazing English-speaking tour guide. She was very knowledgeable about the area and even gave us some recommendations on other tourist destinations. She made our experience seamless with great communication, welcoming energy, and positive vibes!

· Thomas_K ·

Jan 2026

Our guide was perfect. She was able to adapt the tour to the weather and the traffic. We had a great tour of Rio because of her vast knowledge of the city and its culture.

Overview

This customizable private half-day tour is the perfect way to see Rio in that laid-back Brazilian kind of way. Pick-up is when and where you want it, and then its ‘choose your own adventure’ time. Christ the Redeemer, Ipanema Beach, the Selaron Steps, Sugarloaf Mountain, or some combination, it's up to you. And when you're hungry, stop for a delicious Brazilian lunch to refuel (at your own expense).

See what you want to see with this flexible guided tour of Rio
Feel safe and secure exploring this vibrant city with a local
Take in spectacular views while visiting Rio's best spots
Learn about the fascinating history of this cosmopolitan city

What's Included

Transport by modern, air-conditioned vehicle and professional driver.
Pick-up and drop-off is included.
Fuel surcharge
Lisensed tour guide
SugarLoaf drop-off

Lunch is optional - Price will vary from 50 to 280 BRL per person.

R$50.00 per person
Christ entrance fee

R$134.00 per person
Barra da Tijuca pick-up - travelers should pay the driver directly

R$100.00 per booking

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

✳✔ LAST MINUTE TOURS: PLEASE CALL US AFTER BOOKING! ✳✔This tour has a 4-hour duration or 1 extra hour bonus for lunch. ✳✔We pick up in all hotels in the SOUTH and CENTER of Rio and national airport (SDU). ✳✔For international airport (GIG) and BARRA DA TIJUCA which means this will affect the tour route and time, please negotiate directly with guide/driver. ✳✔ Hotel: Your guide will wait for you in the hotel lobby. ✳✔Port / airport: Your guide will be holding a sign with your name.

Itinerary

Corcovado - Christ the Redeemer

2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Escadaria Selaron

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Aterro Do Flamengo (Pass By)

Cinelandia (Pass By)

Cascatinha Taunay

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Botanical Garden

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Santa Teresa (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Infant seats available
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate

Last-minute tours: We will confirm your pick-up time after contact.
Your guide will wait for you at the hotel lobby. If you are exiting the port, he or she will have a Viator sign near gate 4.
Please read "inclusions and exclusions" and the voucher after purchase for important information.
Infant car seats are available. Please advise as a "special request."
Special restaurants such as vegetarian or gluten-free are available, please advise.
A small amount of walking is involved.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.8

based on 102 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Overwhelming tourist site

Judith_V, Mar 2026

Don't visit Christ the Redeemer between 10:00am and 2:00 p.m.! The crowd was overwhelming and the description does not include a warning about 150 steps that must be climbed after taking the " packed" train ride. Attempting to take a picture with thousands of people is almost impossible. It took 3 hours to see the statue even with skip the line tickets" and therefore we had no time to see any other sites in Rio de Janeiro.

Very flexible and good pace.

Alan_L, Mar 2026

We love the fact that the itinerary is flexible to our pace and liking. We didn’t feel rush and Marco is very knowledgeable.

Book with Jessica!

Isabelle_C, Mar 2026

Our guide was perfect....

Thomas_K, Jan 2026

Our guide was perfect. She was able to adapt the tour to the weather and the traffic. We had a great tour of Rio because of her vast knowledge of the city and its culture.

Worth every penny!

Sue_E, Jan 2026

Worth every penny! Not having transport in Rio - this was the best way to see all the “hidden gems” and missing all the long queues and overrated tourist spots. Santos took us to the most amazing places and views and experiences the true Brazilian style without the crowds. Completely tailored to what we wanted and wanted to skip. He is an amazing photographer too!

Highly recommend

Henry_L, Dec 2025

Very customizedtour. We has Issac as our guide. He was very fluent with English and very knowledgeable with the city and it's history. Highly recommend him. Was not disappointed and enjoyed our tour of the city.

Diogo shares his homeland.

Shenna_W, Nov 2025

Diogo is a national treasure and that nation is Brazil! He shared his knowledge about his homeland with us and gave us an EPIC tour! None of our questions went unanswered! We went to Christ the Redeemer and braved the crowds. He suggested angles for photos and allowed us to explore on our own for a few moments. After a few minutes we joined back up with him and took the train back down the mountain. Diogo, in one train ride, seamlessly blended humor and facts equally into a vocal tapestry that told us the sorted history of the founding and early centuries of Brazil. Throughout the tour we felt like we were in town with a friend just walking around sharing his passion for Brazil. Then we proceeded to the Botanical Gardens and it was Amazing ! When Diogo didn't have the information to share which was rare he went and got it! If you are a nature lover this should be on your list! It has just enough jungle immersion for our group for this trip. We walked for over an hour around the grounds and it felt like a few minutes sightseeing with family. We ate at the very famous restaurant “Grarota de Ipanema” where the famous bossa nova song “The girl from Ipanema” was written. The food we ate there was one of the highlights of our trip in Brazil. When in Brazil do yourself a favor, book the tour and request Diogo! You won't regret it,but you will learn alot and have a great time!

Andy in Rio

Andrew_E, Nov 2025

First Class Igor was excellent and guided us expertly . Roads were busy but he guided so that the time was best used. Excellent knowledge of Rio , people and history

Beth was very knowledgeable and paid attention to assisting the senior passenger.

Rena_P, Oct 2025

Viator is on time. Viator staff is very helpful and knows Rio De Janerio. Highly recommend using their tour guides.

Private tour

Michael_T, Sep 2025

Excellent knowledgeable friendly tour guide, Issac, and driver, Carlos! Made it a memorable experience.

Unreliable!!

Suheila_A, Sep 2025

Extremely disappointed. The tour operator did not show up!!!! It was the only morning I had free and they did not show up and no explanation was provided. Totally UNRELIABLE!!!! And unprofessional!

Response from Host, Sep 2025

Dear Suheila, as we explained on WhatsApp and apologized many times, we felt terrible for you to have gone through this experience. You made a late night booking and at the same time we had a problem in our staff on this day because of a bad virus going on, which everyone caught. Things got out of control. Hope you can have many other happy travels. We´re definetely reliable otherwise we would not have so many great compliments.

Private Tour Success

Chris_B, May 2025

Nicely customized tour by very good local guide with driver. We had two people with mobility limitations. Our tour guide did a fine job arranging for us to see as much as possible with limited walking.

Very nice tour! We...

m2gb268, Apr 2025

Very nice tour! We covered a lot of areas. Both the guide and driver were great! Highly recommended.

Great mini tour

Gillian_D, Apr 2025

Very nice trip with Isaac to Christ the Redeemer, and Sugar Loaf mountain, calling in at the Steps. Isaac was a really good guide, adept at finding the best way to avoid queues and enjoy the half day.

Tatiana was wonderful

Dan_S, Mar 2025

Our guide, Tatiana was great, she gave us a continuous history of Rio during our tour and made us feel very safe as we traveled through the city. She showed us many Rio highlights during our tour. Love you Tatiana.

It was a wonderful tour,...

Roxana_S, Jan 2025

It was a wonderful tour, we’ve seen a lot of sighs in a short time. Beth is very knowledgeable, extremely friendly and she went above and beyond to help us to understand Rio culture. Truly special, thank you

Perfect Tour of Rio Hot Spots!

Larry_C, Jan 2025

Just had an amazing private tour in Rio with Flavio as our guide! He was fantastic—great communication and took care of us from pickup to drop-off. We packed so much into our 4-hour tour, including the breathtaking Christ the Redeemer! If you’re looking for a memorable experience that covers the main highlights, this is definitely the way to go! Highly recommend!

Good times in Rio

Daniela_D, Nov 2024

This agency was very professional and accommodated us in our last day in Rio. Ryane was our very welcoming, informative and friendly guide. Gerardo our driver went above and beyond too. Thank you! We definitely recommend!

Perfect way to see Rio

Neil_C, Nov 2024

Our guide Michael was wonderful, very experienced and offered suggestions to make our experience amazing. After the Cristo we want an authentic Rio lunch and an art experience before rejoining our ship.

Failed customer service

Keith_J, Nov 2024

We prepaid several weeks before the scheduled tour and received a voucher the day prior. We were at the designated meeting point 10 min. early. When there was no communication and no tour guide after 20 min late we called and texted to find out what is the status. After several minutes of trying to communicate the tour company said they made an error and cancelled the tour. We lost 30 min of time and were left to try and figure out what tour companies near the Cruise Port are safe and can provide an English speaking guide. Total failure of both tour company and Viator

The tour, the guide, and the driver were the best!!

George_W, Nov 2024

Diogo was fantastic in all regards. No issues whatsoever. Driver was wonderful and funny. Would highly recommend this trip. Worth every penny and then some.

SCAMMERS

Anonymous, Oct 2024

I booked this tour and it was confirmed and the operator never picked us up. Do not book they do not communicate.

Response from Host, Oct 2024

This traveler booked the tour last minute at 11:30 PM on the previous day and we're sorry to say that we didn't see this booking in time. We write on the tour description asking travelers to contact us on WhatsApp with a call after booking. Unfortunately he couldn't wait 1 hour for us to send someone. It's also sad he feels the need to be so rude even after receiving a full refund. We would have send one of our great guides in a 1 hour period.

Ok Rio Tour

Jazmine_C, Sep 2024

First time in Rio. I will start by saying our tour guide Fabio and driver Romulo were both very nice and friendly. However, I don’t feel like this tour was worth the cost. I think it would have been cheaper to Uber around and see things on our own. We were talked into upgrading to a full day tour however we still only saw the 3 places that were guaranteed on the half day tour. When you factor in all the entry costs especially since they encourage you to get the fast passes, tour ends up being quite expensive. We also had to ask our tour guide lots of questions to get info on the stops. This was not like other tours I have done in other countries where the guide gives you a ton of information up front. Our tour guide and driver made us feel safe. Even though we asked to venture out on our own once the tour was done, the tour guide stayed with us until it was time for our return flight home.

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Hello Jazmine, our guide had the feeling that you really enjoyed your day, especially when he took you to dance samba as you requested, after his work hours. It's a pity that you cannot feel grateful for everything he did for you. I am absolutely sure he had the best intentions and did this out of care and love, together with our driver. This guide is very experienced, has many amazing reviews and I am pretty sure he's very informative. Maybe he thought you didn't want so much information. About the price, I suppose you should have done the regular bus experience.

Don’t go when overcast

Lisa_W, Jul 2024

The weather messed us up and we didn’t get to go to Christ. The weather can be helped, but all the fillers could have been. Boring. We saw so many churches. It gets old. Subbing part with some good vibes we have been great. Tour driver and guide were very good.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Dear Lisa, thank you for your review. We didn´t really understand, churches are not a part of the itinerary. This is also a custom tour, so you could gave chosen what to do in bad weather. But unfortunately the best places are outdoors. It leaves us with churches and museums.

Super helpful

Matthew_M, Jun 2024

Diogo was super helpful and accommodating throughout the day. He and the tour company went above and beyond to help us with a problem as well after the tour was over.

Once-in-a-lifetime tour of an incredible city!

Andrea_N, Apr 2024

What an incredible tour that far surpassed our expectations! Our tour guide Isaac provided world class insights as he brought us to the most beautiful spots in Rio. We felt so safe and privileged as he expertly guided us from place to place - all with great English. The van was cool and comfortable. Can't say enough good things. Rio is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so worth every penny to see it the right way!

Jean Carlos our guide and...

Nestor_D, Apr 2024

Jean Carlos our guide and Carlos our driver they were the best. We went to all the high lights of the city. Great 👍 👌

Excellent tour to fall in love with Rio de Janeiro

Deren_K, Apr 2024

Fred was such a great tour guide. We had a wonderful time exploring both Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain. Fred gave us excellent tips for the city, and, during our tour, pivoted to a fantastic market tour when Christ the Redeemer was cloudy which led to us leaving very quickly. They also provided transport back to the hotel after everything. The local candies available and Brazilian music in the car was the icing on the cake. We would highly recommend this tour, and can't wait to visit Rio again.

Fred was amazing! Pick up...

Jae_E, Mar 2024

Fred was amazing! Pick up and drop off were seamless. He communicated all the key details in advance, the tour was flexible, and he knew how to navigate the crowds for efficiency. After the tour he gave us numerous good leads for exploring Rio.