World City Guide

Tours of the City

Walking Tours
A number of companies provide specialist guided walks in Rio, available on request. Roteiros Culturais (tel: (21) 9911 3829; website: www.culturalrio.com.br) runs cultural sightseeing tours to Rio’s historic and colonial landmarks, led by History of Art Professor Carlos Roquette. Tours can be tailored to personal preferences and time available, and cost R$25 per hour. The Downtown Rio Tour crosses the best areas of the oldest neighbourhood in town, from the Opera House District to the oldest and richest Baroque church in Rio.

Rio Hiking (tel: (21) 2507 4417 or 9721 0594 (mobile); website: www.riohiking.com.br) provides English language guided walks in Tijuca forest and up Rio’s mountain peaks. The price, including an ascent of Tijuca Peak, pick-up and lunch, is R$125 for five hours or RS$160 for eight hours.

Jeep Tours
Several companies offer jeep tours to out-of-the-way attractions. Rio by Jeep (tel: (21) 2575 8626 or 9693 8800 (mobile); website: www.riobyjeep.com) specialises in in-depth tours of Tijuca National Park and out-of-town beaches. Rio by Jeep offers two ecological tours of Tijuca forest. The ‘National Park Tour’ takes three and a half hours and costs R$75, while the ‘Complete Tour’ is longer, at five and a half hours, costing R$100. Hotel pick-up can be arranged.

Jeep Tour (tel: (21) 2589 0883 (reservations) or 9977 9610 (mobile); website: www.jeeptour.com.br) offers a number of different jeep tours, as well as walking tours, panoramic helicopter tours and combined tours in Rio and further afield. A four-hour tour of Tijuca forest costs R$85, while a three-hour tour of the Favela de Rocinha, the largest slum in South America, costs R$75. Hotel pick-up can be arranged.

Helicopter Tours
For a bird’s eye view of the city, Helisight (tel: (21) 2511 2141 (week days) or 2542 7895 (weekends and holidays); website: www.helisight.com.br) offers sightseeing flights of various lengths and itineraries. A 15-minute flight covers the city centre, the Sambódromo, Maracanã stadium, Corcovado and the statue of Christ, Pão de Açúcar and Copacabana and Ipanema beaches and costs R$350 per person. Departures are from one of three helipads, located at Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, Dona Marta Belvedere (access route to the statue of Christ) and Sugar Loaf (cable car’s first stop). Helipads are open daily 0900–1800 and night flights are also available from the Sugar Loaf and Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon helipads.

Boat Tours
Saveiros Tour (tel: (21) 2224 6990; website: www.saveiros.com.br) operates a cultural boat tour around Guanabara Bay, providing a unique viewpoint of the city and Niterói island. The two-hour trip departs from the Gloria Marina daily at 0930. Tickets cost R$25 and are available for purchase at the Marina.