Rio Shore Excursion: Skip the Line Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Day Tour

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

10 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

While in port, take a panoramic city tour, travel to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain and visit the Christ the Redeemer statue on this full-day shore excursion to Rio's most famous landmarks. Reach the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain and Corcovado Mountain by cable car and cog train through the Tijuca Rainforest, respectively. This 10-hour tour, which includes round-trip transportation from the cruise port, allows you to visit all of Rio's landmarks in one marathon day.

Rio de Janeiro full day shore excursion
Conquer Corcovado Mountain, Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain in one day
Board the cog train through lush Tijuca Rainforest
Admire the view of Rio's sprawling beaches from the top of Corcovado Mountain
Complimentary port pickup and drop off

What's Included

Skip The Line Train Ticket to Christ Redeemer Statue Access
Cable Car Ticket to Sugar Loaf Access
Professional guide
Lunch

Barbecue Lunch (Vegetarian options available) - On option with Lunch. If selecting an option without lunch, our guide will offer a variety of nearby suggestions that can fit any budget or taste!
Port pickup and drop off

Gratuities
Drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup point

Rio de Janeiro Port

Pickup details

Meeting point is Cruise Terminal Pier Mauá - The guide will be waiting for you at the exit gate of the Cruise Terminal 4 (right in front of the Kobra Mural), and will walk with you to the vehicle.

Itinerary

After disembarking your cruise ship in Rio de Janeiro's port, board your vehicle for the panoramic sightseeing tour of the city.

Start with visits to the Metropolitan Cathedral, well-known for its unlikely pyramid shape, and the famous Sambodromo, which hosts the festivities for the yearly Carnavale and is the major exhibition hall for Rio's samba schools.

See Cinelandia Square, home to historic cultural buildings like the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Library and the Municipal Theater. Then travel through Urca, the neighborhood where Sugar Loaf Mountain resides. Board the cable car up the mountain, making a stop for a scenic photo op and views over Corcovado Mountain, the Rio-Niteroi Bridge and Guanabara Bay on the way. At the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain, pause to admire the expansive scenery, including the beaches of Niteroi, the Fortaleza Santa Cruz and the famous Copacabana.

Enjoy the included lunch at a local restaurant before continuing on your marathon tour in the afternoon. Head for the Cosme de Velho station, where you'll hop on the cog train and ride through the Tijuca Rainforest to the top of Corcovado Mountain. Spend 45 minutes at the top of the mountain, marveling at the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue and enjoying views out over Rio and its surroundings.

At the end of your 10-hour comprehensive sightseeing tour in Rio, enjoy drop-off back at the cruise port.

Worry-free Shore Excursion:

We will ensure your timely return to Rio de Janeiro for this activity. In the rare event your ship has departed, we will arrange for transportation to the next port-of-call. See our terms and conditions for full details.

Pier Maua (Pass By)

Guanabara Palace (Pass By)

Sambodromo da Marques de Sapucai (Pass By)

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Aterro Do Flamengo (Pass By)

Urca (Pass By)

Morro da Urca

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sugarloaf Mountain

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Carretão Ipanema Classic Grill

1 hour 20 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Ipanema Beach (Pass By)

Praia do Leblon (Pass By)

Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Pass By)

Cosme Velho (Pass By)

Parque Nacional da Tijuca

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Corcovado - Christ the Redeemer

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infants must sit on laps
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate

Barbecue Lunch (Vegetarian options available) - On option with Lunch. If selecting an option without lunch, our guide will offer a variety of nearby suggestions that can fit any budget or taste!
This tour does not operate on Carnival, Dec 24, 25 & 31 and January 1st.
Wear comfortable clothing and shoes
Bring sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat in case it’s hot
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers

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

4.2

based on 30 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Our guide, Patricia - Wonderful and Vibrant

Melanie_T, Mar 2026

The meeting point communications & directions between Viator & Gray Line "sucked", to say the least. Viator mapping directed us to a totally incorrect meeting point! After 1/2 hour we finally contacted Gray Lines via a Brazilian police officer who helped translate our location and then kindly walked us to our guide, Patricia. And right outside the port disembarkation. Logical right, but not where we were directed. After finding Patricia, the remaining day was wonderful. Patricia is a great guide, full of knowledge about Rio and all the locations we signed up for. She got us to the front of all lines! When there was confusion and a last minute change at Christ the Redeemer, she found us seats, while she waited in line. I highly recommend Patricia and Gray Line. Just beware, if your map directions take you away for the disembarkation point, stop and look for your guide 1st. A lesson we learned!

Excellent tour and guide Rachel

Deborah_P, Feb 2026

The guide was really good and very informative, changing the order of the itinerary to suit the changing weather. The tour did feel a bit rushed and no spare time to have a relaxed coffee away from the group. Lunch was fabulous, a great choice.

Incredible Day! We did so much and it was amazing

Denise_R, Dec 2025

Millene our guide and our driver Alan made possible a very big plan for one day of sightseeing in Rio. They had great humor and kindness as they navigated us through Sugarloaf, Christ the Redeemer, Cathedral Metroplotana and a few other places I wanted to see. This was the best way to see the city. The info Millene provided plus her know-how made this day possible. Gray Line is a little difficult to make contact with. They didn’t respond to the confirmation they requested from me so I was beginning to lose hope but they did confirm, and the day was a great success. The included lunch was wonderful, but there was a lot of traffic driving to and from Ipanema. That’s the way it is.

Response from Host, Dec 2025

Dear Customer. Thanks a lot for the review. We are glad that you liked the tour. Please count on us on future trips. Thanks. Att, Giovanna Maldonado.

Amazing day seeing iconic sights. Henrique was amazing. Get skip the line at Sugarloaf.

Gordon_M, Jun 2025

Our guide, Henrique Joriam, was outstanding. Very glad we did the private tour option. This allowed us unlimited flexibility and never feeling rushed or having to wait on others. All of the sites visited were remarkable. Our guide was constantly watching the sky to choose the best time to see Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf. This worked out perfectly. Since we aren’t sports fans, we opted to see the Selaron Steps instead of the stadium. At the metropolitan Cathedral, the building across the street was pointed out because we would see it differently from the Christ mountain. From that viewpoint we later saw a cross formed by the inner perimeter that was not visible from the Cathedral. Our guide helped maneuver us to great seats on the cog train to and from the Christ, told us all about it and the chapel in the pedestal. We were able to view the city and spend as much time there as we wanted. Even though the tour title said “skip the line”, this applied just to the Christ not Sugarloaf. We opted to get the skip the line pass for Sugarloaf, which our guide paid for and we reimbursed him for. The $33 for both of us was well worth it. We went straight to the front of the line for all gondolas. The line at some exceeded 1.5 hours. Don’t even consider doing Sugarloaf without this pass. Our guide was so helpful, explaining what we were seeing. We never felt rushed throughout the tour. We opted for a late lunch at the steakhouse. So delicious. Our guide took extra time to take us to an outdoor market that happens one evening a week at Copacabana beach for a little shopping before returning to the ship. It was an amazing first visit to Rio and a wonderful experience that we highly recommend.

Best Rio in a day

Christopher_W, Mar 2025

Best way to see two highlights in one day - beat the line with an expert - Erick was knowledgeable, confident and friendly.

Response from Host, Mar 2025

Dear Customer. Thanks a lot for the review. We are glad that you liked the tour. Please count on us on future trips. Thanks.

Skip The Line saved 3.5 hours!!!!

Susan_B, Nov 2024

Wow!!! This tour did EVERYTHING, and guide Roberta and driver Anna were Excellent!! Picked up at the port, We were given a choice of seeing the stadium from the outside or going to 217 steps. We chose steps, because that was unique to Rio. We stopped at the amazing Cathedral, then stopped at the steps, then skipped the two hour line at Sugarloaf, then skipped the line at Christ, the Redeemer train. Had plenty of time at all. And then a real Brazilian Steakhouse!!! Holy cow! Good and food and food! Delicious!!!! Then back to the port. Would recommend this yo anyone, but especially cruisers! One of Roberta’s first questions was “What time do you need to be back?” 10 stars!

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Dear Customer. Thanks a lot for the review. We are glad that you liked the tour. Please count on us on future trips. Thanks.

Must do or else you miss out!

Rafael_O, Feb 2024

Absolutely amazing! Andrea our tour guide goes above and beyond. The restaurant of choice was really good with plenty of meat selections. If you are on a Cruise ship I would not recommend this tour because you need more time than the ship allows to see both Cristo Redentor and Pan de Azúcar. This tour is a complete package and well worth it! Thank you Andrea! Miriam y Rafael Otero

Day/Night Mare in Rio

BB_VillagesFL, Feb 2020

It wasn't our tour operator's fault, but our tour operator didn't help much either. Our ship (Island Princess) was not cleared until after 12:00 Noon so our 8:30 Tour got off to a late start. We were told right from the beginning that we would not make the Rio de Janerio Cathedral so that was one item we missed. We also missed Tijuca National Park, along with visiting Sugarloaf Mountain at night when we saw nothing but lights from afar. Besides seeing "Christ the Redeemer", we saw a beach from a Sheraton hotel parking lot, and a soccer stadium from the outside that we circled around and watched people at the ticket counters. We realize the tour operator had no control over our ship letting people off late, but we spent so much time (at least an hour) just getting our group together, and a bunch of time wasted because the restaurant told us to kill time because they were crowded... Then, because we were so late and wasted so much time, the rain moved in like a monsoon and we had to make our way to the bus walking in 4" to 6" deep puddles.... It was a "Tour from Hell"! Our friends asked how we like Sugarloaf and we told the truth.. "We have NO Idea"!!

Night at Sugar Loaf

Chris_S, Feb 2020

It was awesome, our trip was delayed by 4hrs because of the ship, but the team waited for us and rearranged the tour, the night tour at Sugar loaf was amazing. THANKS.

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Dear Chris_S, Thank you for your review! It was unfortunate that the disembarking of the ship was held back, but we we were able to rearrange it and are very glad that you had a good time with us. We wanted to make sure you saw the best attractions in Rio in your limited time in the city! We look forward to seeing you in future visits. Hopefully with a little more time to enjoy the City! Thank you

Too long

Carlos_S, Dec 2019

The places we visited were very good, but to pick up passengers from different hotels was too long. I thought it was only for cruise passengers. We wasted around two hours and we had to change the bus.

Comprehensive One Day Overview of Rio

PAMELA_M, Mar 2019

Took this tour over the cruise line's shore excursion because (1) it costs less, (2) included more sites and experiences, and (3) I was pleased that Viator now offers a guarantee not to miss your ship. The problem with Rio is heavy traffic, so you crawl from one site to another. Nevertheless, this tour took us up Sugarloaf Mountain on the cable car, the bog railway to see Christ the Redeemer and the viewing stands for Carnival. The only disappointment was that no drinks of any nature - water, soda, tea, coffee - were included with the lunch. For a few extra dollars, Euros, pounds, yens, pesos, reals, please throw in a complimentary, non-alcoholic drink.

The highlights of this three-part...

Steve R, Apr 2018

The highlights of this three-part tour were the gondola ride to the top of Sugar Loaf and the visit to the Christ Redeemer statue. It was a cloudy day, so some of the vistas were not spectacular, but that's touring. Between the two was a lunch at a grilled-meat restaurant. Although the food was tasty, it was a bit much for us and we would have been just as happy with a more modest meal, reducing the tour cost. For some reason, communication between Viator and the local company was incomplete. We had to pay for both the Sugar Loaf Gondola and the restaurant meal because the local company did not have a record of our payment credit card accepted, fortunately. Upon return to the US, we contacted Viator and they refunded the amount we were charged.

My friend and I had a wonderful day...

Anne D, Mar 2018

My friend and I had a wonderful day on this trip. The views from the top of Sugar Loaf mountain and Christ the Redeemer were wonderful. We were picked up from the port just after 8am and taken to a hotel to join a larger group for the tour. There were a few times during the day when the organisation was a bit chaotic as there were several gaps in the day when we had to wait for our transport to the next stage of the trip. The worst part was our return to the ship when we were transferred to a private taxi to take us back to the ship. The journey started well but, it turned out that the driver had no idea where the port was and it took almost 2 hours for us to get back to the ship. My friend and I do not panic easily however, given the warnings we had been given about safety in Rio I was worried. The content of the trip was great but, as a result of the return trip to the ship I wouldn't recommend using this company in Rio.

The points of interest were...

Marie_P, Mar 2018

The points of interest were excellent. We loved the trolley ride up Sugar Loaf and the tram ride to see Christ The Redeemer. Lunch at the Brazilian Grill was great. Our morning guide was not very good however. He gave us very little information as we travelled along. That was a disappointment. Our afternoon guide was much better. However rating this tour against other Viator tours - the guides were not as good.

This tour was all and more than as...

JScott_S, Dec 2016

This tour was all and more than as advertised. The sights, the guide, the lunch... all super!

Tour was good - only problem was...

Barbara W, Nov 2016

Tour was good - only problem was waiting quite a while for bus to arrive after lunch and at the end of the tour.

Nice to have both attractions on one...

Eugene G, Feb 2014

Nice to have both attractions on one tour. Things got off to a very rocky stock when, as required, I called to reconfirm my port pick-up. On three occasions, someone picked up the phone, said "me no speak English" and hung up on me. Fortunately, my hotel concierge was able to call for me and make the confirmation in Portuguese. City tour between the two main events was a bit of a waste. We whizzed by places of interest, such as the opera house and made stops at places that were marginally interesting at best.

we had problems getting picked up in...

anthony_c, Feb 2014

we had problems getting picked up in the morning and eventually had to get a taxi to "catch up to them". we caught up and really had only missed the picking up of guest from all the different hotels ...so no harm really. the "morning part" of the tour sugar loaf was nice, but after that we started the drop off process of the people that were not going to continue to the "afternoon part". so what this tour is is the morning and the afternoon just put together. so you end up driving to hotels for pick up and drop off a lot. lunch was good, a local steak house. put the help at the restaurant was VERY confused and it took a long time to get the food and to the right people. but they had AC so it was nice to get in for a bit. FYI, all drinks even water are NOT included. we had 3 cokes and 2 waters and it was $R27. after lunch we headed with a new guide to the "afternoon" part of the tour. during the second part of the tour a few of us questioned wheather or not we (on a cruise ship) would have to go to all the hotels to drop everyone off, about 1.5 hours worth of driving or could we be taken straight to the ship. in the end they said they would get a bus and take us to the ship. so that was nice. would i do this tour again...no. would i go back to the sights, yes. after we got off the ship and checked into our hotel all of these tours were offered by our hotel and at a cheaper price. dont get me wrong i love viator and use them all the time this was a local tour hiccup. its alot of driving around. get a taxi for the day and do this on your on. it could be done very easily.

Two t5hings happened on this tour...

Marcia B, Mar 2013

Two t5hings happened on this tour which were not expected. #1--thunder and lighting the night before closed down the visit to We had 2 things happen on this tour which were not expected. #1--the Sugar Loaf tram was closed due to a thunder storm the night before which we could not reschedule due to our cruise departure. Not Viator's fault. #2--we wasted 2 hours over a lundh where we had to pay for a glass of water!!!! I stroongly suggest that they rethink that part of the tour. But---our ship was leavijng a 6PM and the tour guide got us up to see Christ the Redeemer which was fabulous and then arrange for our transpor back to the pier which turned out to be an empty 45 passenger coach!!! Good going Viator! M

Das Schiff musste seine...

RENATE_C, Feb 2014

Das Schiff musste seine Anliegezeiten in Rio aendern. Die Agentur, die diesen Ausflug buchte, war sehr hilfsbereit und hat meine Freundin und mich sehr gut an zwei Tagen untergebracht. Danke, Renate Cretan.